Friends from Unexpected Places
by Monsterlord-18
Summary: a deadly threat threatens not only Equestria, but the entire Galaxy it's in. add some other-worldly heroes into the mix and it's a battle royal for the fate of the world, with 3 unlikely friends in the middle of the mess.
1. A Deadly Mystery

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 1

A Deadly Mystery

A young Grey Pegasus wandered the Everfree forest, lost with no hope out.

"h-hello!" she called out. Nobody but creature calls answered. She got more scared.

Ice-Cold Fear ran though her veins. What if she couldn't get out; She'd be lost forever. She'd never see her family again, or her friends, or anybody ever again. She'd die here.

The Pegasus stopped walking and started crying. Hope had left her. She had nothing to keep her going. She would wander though the Everfree forest forever or until death claims her.

Something rustled in the woods beside her, frightening her ever more.

Something poked it's head out and she saw it but we can't. she backed up in fear but the creature just cooed.

The girl was nervous about what to do now. She was told that anything and everything in the Everfree forest could kill her but not this one. Not by the looks of it.

"un… hi?" she asked. The creature leaned out closer, a bit curious. "my name is Derpy. Derpy Hooves. And you?"

"e… eTu`nes." the creature replied in a calm male voice.

20 years later…

Everypony in Ponyville slept soundly into the night. It had been 3 weeks since Twilight Sparkle's brother, Shining Armor, married Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.

Something pink flashed in the night sky.

A portal opened up and something massive flew out of it.

Distantly, atop of a mountain, a large and deadly creature saw the mysterious object and growled. In his eyes, he saw a opportunity for food. And revenge.

*insert opening theme here: .com/watch?v=4By8YHOnILo *

The following morning, Twi looked though her books, trying to find something.

"where the heck is it? I know it was in here somewhere." she groaned, looking though her books.

Someone knocked on her door. "come in." Twi called. The door opened and Derpy walked on.

"hey there, Twilight. I brought you your muffins." Derpy said as she walked in.

"Thanks Derpy. Just put them anywhere." Twi said, looking into her book without giving Derpy the slightest glance.

"un… Twilight?"

"huh?" Twi responded, not even moving away from her book.

Spike came down, carrying a couple of scrolls from their room and saw this. "oh, brother. Not again." he groaned.

He headed down and paid Derpy for the muffins. "sorry, Derpy. She's been pre-occupied lately. Says she saw something last night. I think she just needs a hobby."

That got Twi's attention. "I'm telling you, I did see something last night. It was some sort of… giant portal."

"portal. Riggggght." Spike didn't believe her. He spun his finger around his head and made the 'coocoo' noise. Derpy chuckled.

Twi just got angry. "Spike!" Spike stopped doing it and chuckled. "now, did you bring me those astrological charts I asked for?"

"Yep. But I still don't understand why you need them." Spike said. Twi used her powers to bring the Scrolls over to her, as well dragging Spike with them.

"I'm trying to figure out if what I saw last night was a natural occurrence. If not, then something came made it and came though it into Equestria. But what will be a mystery if this was artificially made."

Derpy looked at Spike with a confused look and he just shrugged back. Even he didn't understand. "and thanks for the muffins Derpy, now please leave. Need to figure this out."

"Okay. Bye, Twilight. Bye, Spike." Derpy said as she left. Unfortunately, she didn't watch where she was going and instead ran into the wall, making a Derpy sized hole.

Derpy headed for Sweet Apple Acres with Applejacks order when a powerful Earthquake came out of nowhere.

It was a powerful one, shaking the trees violently, cracking every window in Ponyville, even causing everyone to bounce.

Eventually, the Tremors stopped and everyone relaxed.

"What the Equestria was that?" Rainbow Dash asked, feeling the Tremors all the way up on her home. She headed down to Ponyville and arrived to see everyone talking about the same exact thing. Naturally, she went to Twi's house.

Sure enough, the rest of the Mane 6 were there and they were asking what was going on.

"Twi, think you can explain this out of nowhere Tremor?" Dash asked.

"sorry, Rainbow. I'm still busy truing to figure out what I saw last night." Twi said, taking notes.

"Thing you saw last night?"

"Twilight thinks she saw a portal open up last night and she's trying to figure out if it was natural or made." Spike explained. "I just think she needs a hobby."

"Well, she's not alone." Rarity said. Everyone looked towards her with 'WTF' plastered on their faces. "last night, I got up to get a drink of water and I sure enough saw something out there in the sky last night."

"Was it pink and swirling, like a waterless whirlpool?" Twilight asked.

"yes. Yes, I think it was."

"aha. See, I knew I wasn't seeing things." Twilight exclaimed.

"Okay, so maybe what you saw was real. That still doesn't answer if it's real or not. Could've just been a lightshow in the sky." Spike said.

"And that's… what I'm trying to figure out."

"And what about the Earthquake we just had? You don't think they're related, do you?" Applejack asked.

"I don't know. If they are, then something really weird is happening here." Twi said.

Derpy made her way though the Everfree forest, heading for Zecora's house. For some reason, this part of the forest felt familiar to her, like she was here before. Nah. She dismissed it and walked on. Only time she entered the forest was when Zecora came to town and every time since then.

Zecora stared intensely into her bubbling cauldron.

"such a troubling Prophecy. But what could it really mean?" she wondered.

Derpy knocked on the door and entered without waiting for a response. "hey there, Zecora. I got you your order." Derpy placed the basket near Zecora and turned to leave.

"Wait, Derpy Hooves. I have something of importance to you." Zecora called out.

Derpy stopped halfway to the door. "for me? What?"

"something concerning a Prophecy. Come. Take a see." Zecora gesturing to the pot.

Confused and curious, Derpy walked over to look. Zecora gestured to the contents of the cauldron. Derpy peaked inside.

A image of a large monster appeared, frightening her.

"What is that?" Derpy asked.

"a Prophecy, one about to come to pass. I know not what it completely means, so at the moment, it's on thin glass."

"but what does it have to do with me?"

"inside, I see the image of a Grey Pegasus, a Monstrous Demon, and creatures unknown to me. I only know that the Gray Pegasus is you, Derpy."

Derpy looked at her with comical disbelief. "me?" Zecora nodded. "I may not be smart most of the time, but I doubt it has to do with me." Derpy turned to leave.

"don't take this lightly, Derpy. Prophecy's have a way of coming in unexpected ways." Zecora warned. Derpy listened but left before Zecora could finish.

Zecora looked back at her bubbling cauldron. The image of the monster's large monstrous eyes stayed in it for a moment.

Derpy made her way back to Ponyville, still unconvinced about Zecora's words.

"a Prophecy? About me and some unknown monsters? How dumb does she think I am?" Derpy told herself.

Something whizzed right by her head, just grazing her mane by a few inches. Derpy looked back and saw that nothing was there. "that's odd." she said. She shrugged and walked on.

A arrow stuck out of a tree trunk, shaking as it just hit it.

A loud boom filled the air. Wind was sent flying out from the middle of the forest, sending Derpy flying into a tree. She hit it hard.

The sheer wind made it's way to Ponyville, nearly taking all of the shingles off of the roofs around town.

Something burst though Twilight's house and landed right near her, almost slicing off her front right leg.

The Pegasi were almost sent flying into the sky when the wind suddenly stopped.

"What the hay was that?" a random pony yelled.

"something freaky-deaky. That's for sure." Pinkie Pie said. The wind had sent a pie flying into her face, covering it in cream like from a 3 Stooges shtick.

"What in the world…" Twi said with awe and confusion. In the ground, right next to her, is a Chakram- a large yellow ring that's used like a Boomerang.

"what the heck is that thing?" Rarity asked as she walked in, noticing the Chakram.

"how should I know? All I do know is that it torn a hole in my roof." Twilight said, looking at the hole it made.

"wow. And just from 1 little ring. Anyways, that big nasty windstorm blew though town, taking anything that wasn't nailed down and making it into one big mess. I thought Rainbow said that there weren't going to be any storms for at least another week." Rarity complained.

"She did." Twi confirmed. "just what is going on?" she asked.

Derpy arrived at Sweet Apple Acres to deliver the last of her orders.

All the apples and leaves were stripped off of the trees and were just gone. Applejack looked on, dumbstruck.

"that little ol' windstorm did all this damage?" she asked Big Macintosh.

"Yep."

"well, that's just great. It'll take weeks to find them all. Months to just wait for them to grow back again."

"Then why not start looking for them?" Derpy suggested as she walked up.

"hey, Derps. But looking for them will take forever."

"Not if you ask everyone for help. Sure Twi and the others will." Derpy suggested.

A.J. thought for a moment. "you know, that's not a bad idea. May cut the search in half. Nice idea, Derpy. Surprised it came from you."

"I'm not that stupid. I'm smarter then people make me out to be." Derpy said, giving A.J. a stare.

"right. Well, you know, I could use your help with something." Applejack said.

"What?"

"Come by our stall in Ponyville tomorrow and I'll let you know." A.J. smiled. "that way, I can help in the search. Think you can come by tomorrow?"

"sure I can find time. Where is it again?" Derpy asked, not sure where the stall is.

"near city hall. Just come by and I'll tell you what to do."

"okay." Derpy said excitedly. "Thanks again, Applejack." Derpy said. She headed off back to town.

"you sure it's a good idea, letting Derpy watch the stall?" Big Macintosh asked.

"no. not really. But it's better then letting her help in the search. She'd destroy half the town just trying to find ONE apple." Applejack insinuated.

"Oh. Almost forgot." Derpy said, coming back. "here's your order." she said, reaching back into her saddle bag and pulling out a bag of muffins.

"Thanks, Derps. Much obliged." A.J. said as she took it and paid for it. Derpy took the money and headed back to town.

Up high, high in the sky, hidden in the clouds, something flew though the air, something big.

"Man. We just got here and we already got attacked. Is it too early for me to start hating this planet?" a cold and calm guy asked.

"a little bit. Just because one monster attacked us doesn't mean the entire planet is like it." a sweet girl said. "right?"

"I already hate it. I lost one of my Chakrams in the fight. I'm gonna have to find it before we go up against it again." another girl, a cocky one at that, said.

"think you have it rough? I have to repair Orion before we can go up against it again, otherwise we'll be stuck here." some other guy said.

"good point. But that beast made off with one of our wings. So we can't just leave even if we wanted too." another guy with a british accent said.

"and it looks like you can talk on this world as well. That may become annoying." another girl said.

"don't start with me, Sora." the british accent replied. "now… what do we do against that monstrosity?"

"well… I got a plan." a cool and collected guy said.

Everyone listened intently.


	2. Otherworldly Heroes

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 2

Otherworldly Heroes

"my name is Derpy. Derpy Hooves, and you?" young Derpy asked the unknown creature that came out of the bushes near her.

"e…eTu'nes." the creature replied, frightened for his life. It shook in fear and Derps noticed it.

"you okay?" she gently asked.

"I… I'm…" the creature collapsed. Purple blood seeped out from behind it. Derpy gasped and ran over to it.

"hey. You okay?" she asked. The creature didn't reply. He was out cold and losing a lot of blood. Derpy started worrying. She knew nothing of first aid and had no clue how to get out of the forest to get help, but she had to try something.

"un… un… hold on. I'll be right back. Gonne try to find… something." she worriedly said as she ran off the find something to stop the bleeding.

20 Years Later…

Down in Ponyville, Applejack was getting her stall ready when Derpy came by.

"I'm here, Applejack." she said. "what do I have to do to help?"

"simple, pardner." A.J. said. "just sell, sell, sell what stock I have left." Applejack said, stomping her hoof in the ground with each 'sell'. "Odds are, my family's gonna need the money if we don't find all the apples that got blown away in that windstorm yesterday."

"I remember. And…" Derpy reached back into her saddle bag and pulled out several apples. "I found these out near the border to the Everfree Forest."

"well, thanks there, Derpy. Much obliged." A.J. turned to leave. "you remember what I said, right?"

"yep. Sell, sell, sell." Derpy replied, mimicking A.J.'s stomping.

"okay. Just making sure." A.J. said. She went off to look for the apples blown away from the storm with half of Ponyville's population.

Time passed well into Sunset and not much happened. Only Lyra came by and she only browsed.

Derpy, bored as heck, toyed around with some coins, spinning them around underneath her hoof.

Twi walked back and saw her. "hello there, Derpy. What are you doing here?" she asked as she walked up.

"hi, Twilight." Derpy boredly said. "Applejack asked me to watch this stand while she went to search for her apples."

"you mean the ones lost in the windstorm yesterday?"

"Yep."

"well, I just checked up on them. They found over half already. They didn't fly far." Twi explained. "so, you should be free tomorrow."

"that's nice." Derpy said, still as bored as sin. "this is why I hate stalls. You can get bored easily."

"well, It can't be that bad."

"with half of the town gone searching?"

"Got a point there, Derpy. When do you get off duty?" Twilight asked as she took a apple and paid for it.

"should be around now. Long after my daughters got out of school."

That surprised Twilight enough to spit up when she chewed. "Your daughters!" she blazingly asked. The food she spit up landed on Derpy's face. Twi chuckled sheepishly.

"yes. Dinky and Sparkler?"

"Sparkler? I heard she was adopted by someone. That was you?" Twi asked.

"yep."

"So Dinky would be… your real daughter?"

"yep."

"your biological daughter?" Twi asked, feeling unsure.

"why is Everypony so surprised by that?" Derpy asked, a little bit peeved.

"well, your eyes… they don't exactly scream motherhood." Twi explained.

"and what does my eyes have to do with anything, like who I am or how I act?" Derpy angrily asked. Twilight was caught off guard by that response. "Besides, it's not like I asked for these." she depressingly said.

"huh?"

"long story."

Begin Song: .com/watch?v=Ob5g2irAUdo MLP Fighting is Magic - Rarity Theme

0:00.

A large shadow flew across the land. The shadow clearly makes out a Dragon, while the thing pursuing it was some large blob. Unfortunately, both objects are high in the clouds so nobody can get a good look.

Both flew past a mountain range and headed straight for the village in the center; Ponyville.

0:27.

Plumes of red and yellow filled the skies above, it's origins hidden by the clouds. Everyone down below gazed up in awe and wonderment.

"wow. Gotta hand it to Rainbow. She puts on a good show." Twi said.

"Un, Twi? That's not me." Rainbow said, standing right near her with Pinkie Pie.

"then… what's all…"

0:40.

A massive beast, draped in dark shadows, fell out of the sky as plumes of fire pursued it.

The monster turned around and fired fireballs up into the clouds.

One of them sure hit something.

1:06.

A massive ship- think of it as a flying version of a 18th century Sailing Frigate - flew out of the clouds, it's aft thruster section smoking from where the fireball hit. The spinning turbines where the masts should be started to strain under the pressure, same for the ones in the back.

The cannons in the front fired at the monster but it was too fast for the ship to get a decent hit.

The monster roared as it flew circles around the ship.

The ship charged into the monsters flight path, caught it, and pinned on the side of a mountain. It's Aft cannons fired relentlessly on the monster.

"Twilight, just what in Equestria is going on up there?" Applejack asked as she, Rarity, and Fluttershy came running up.

"I… I have no idea."

1:33.

The Monster growled angrily. In it's mouth, a blue light appeared and started getting brighter. Whatever it was, it was gathering power.

The Monster was able to push the ship away…

1:46.

… and fire a laser beam out of it's mouth.

It hit the engines and sent the ship spinning like a top.

The monster rammed into the ship, sending it towards the town.

The ship hit the ground just outside and flipped over something big to sent it back into the air where it spun around and around on it's side.

Whatever was on the ship as it flipped over fell out and rolled into town, half of them into stalls or buildings.

The ship landed on the other side of town without hitting a single house and carved though the ground, stopping at the base of a small mountain.

2:13.

The Monster chuckled evilly and gave a wicked smirk. "Easier then I thought." he said demonically as he flew up into the sky.

2:26. End Song.

"What the hay was that!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, not believing what she had just saw.

"how should I know? I saw it at the same time you all did." Twi exclaimed.

Groaning could be heard coming from one of the wrecked stalls.

"Who put this wood on top of me?" someone with a british accent groaned.

A couple of ponies ran over and lifted the wood off of who was under there. Applejack and Fluttershy went over to help but didn't arrive in time but did so who was underneath all that wood.

"is that a dragon?" A.J., F.S., and the other ponies wondered.

"Hey hey hey. The names Bahamut. And don't you forget it." Bahamut groaned. The Crimson dragon with Albino markings fell out on his stomach and groaned. "that's the last time we let Aura fly _Orion_ into battle."

"Who and the what now?" Applejack asked, confused as heck.

"you mind getting off of me, Dragon boy?" some woman underneath him asked.

"Oh. Sorry, Sora." Bahamut jumped off the pile of wood he was on.

Sora, a woman of 20 who's skilled with a Bow and Arrow, crawled out and sputtered like a horse. "Who's idea was it to let Aura fly the ship?" she groaned.

"blame Satoshi. He was the one who was asleep." Bahamut said.

"un… excuse me." Applejack calmly said, getting their attention. "But what in Equestria are you talking about!" she bluntly asked.

Sora couldn't find a answer so she just laid there, mouth open. "un… I got nothing. You?" she asked Bahamut.

"I think these are natives." Bahamut said. "but talking horses? Don't tell Jax."

"I think she'll find out on her own."

"What are you talking about? And who are you…. Things?" Twilight asked, walking over.

"We're called humans, horsy." Sora outright said. That term shocked the ponies to a T. that's basically calling a human just a ape. "And…"

Begin Song: .com/watch?v=aD8JwtS2cMU Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep OST - The Tumbling

A loud roar filled the air, cutting the conversation short.

The Monster returned as it barreled though the clouds.

"Ugly's back." Bahamut said, not towards Sora.

"we see him. We see him." someone said over a unseen radio. It was loud enough for the Ponies to hear it.

The monster growled as it glided over the town. Drops of darkness fell from his wings and landed on the ground.

"Hey. Say it, don't spray it!" Requiem complained, picking herself out of another stall near Twi's house.

The shadows started taking form, turning into nightmare versions of different sorts of humans and ponies. "that's new. Didn't know you could do that." the 18-year old heroine exclaimed.

She smirked, reached back behind her, and pulled out a red and blue sword with a black and white angel-demon wing crossguard. "bring it on." she egged on, taking a battle pose.

The monster looked down to the ground, seeing the fight. It looked back at it's wings and sighed lamentably.

It flapped it's wings once and flew away from the town, towards the eastern mountains.

"looks like Ugly is leaving." Ash said, pistols drawn and aimed at the beasties.

"I noticed. You happen to have a plan, Mr. Silverton?" Aura smirked.

"yeah. Get out of this alive and pound you for calling me by my last name." the 21-year old cowboy dressed gunslinger said.

"hehe. True 'dat." the 19 year old lance wielder smirked.

The 2 of them are all that stood between the shadow monsters and a crowd of defenseless ponies.

"un… you mind telling us what's going on?" a nervous Twilight asked, staring at the legion of shadow creatures.

"Un… we're all that stands between you and total destruction?" Sora said, giving a faux smile. She drew her bow out and took aim at the monsters.

"wonder how much it takes to kill one?" Bahamut wondered.

"we're about to find out." a silent Sora said.

On top of the town hall, on the tippy top of a lightning rod, a 14-year old mage looked over the town.

"345... 346... 347 nasties." she counted. "barely even worth the spell I have in mind." she smirked.

She took a couple of chakrams off of her belt. she started to glow a warm green color as tossed the yellow rings into the air. She brought her arms together and closed her eyes as she cast the spell. the Chakrams started spinning around her.

Ash jumped back, took aim at one of the creatures, and fired at it. It dispersed into blue fire after one shot. Ash landed and took aim again.

"Are they that easy to take down?" he asked.

Aura looked at his lance then smirked at the monsters. He charged them, did one slice, and emerged on the other side of the crowd with nary a scratch. The monsters disintegrated.

"guess they all." Aura said as he leaved his lance on to his shoulder.

"Show off."

Green lighting started shooting into her as a Glyph of the same color appeared beneath the town hall.

"oh, mighty force of nature. Us mortals respect your destructive power…"

Requiem landed in the middle of a congregation of the monsters, all of how are converging on her.

"28, 29... 30. Oh, what is a poor little girl like me to do?" she jokingly asked, acting like a frail damsel in distress.

She smirked, raised her sword high, and slammed it into the ground.

A white light extended outward about 30 feet, engulfing the creatures surrounding her. All 30 of them instantly disintegrated.

Requiem pulled her sword out. "man, I love that spell."

The Chakrams started expanding their spinning zone, eventually taking up the entire area around city hall.

"…and this mortal respectfully call upon your mighty winds to help defeat our foes with your powerful gusts…"

Sora ducked and kicked one of the monsters in the gut, disintegrating upon impact.

Bahamut engulfed himself in fire and rammed into several other monsters, destroying them.

"just who are these guys?" A.J. asked in amazement.

"I wish I knew, but they seem to know what they're doing." Twilight replied, also in amazement.

Derpy and the other Mane 6 looked on in amazement. Derpy noticed the girl on top of city hall, casting that spell.

The Chakrams started spinning more violently as the spell reached it's apex.

"… let us blow our foes away into the bowels of Hades from which they came."

The girl opened her eyes.

"RAVAGING VORTEX!" she yelled out.

A massive tornado appeared in the middle of town, spinning wildly.

The remaining monsters were picked up by the force and pulled into the vortex.

Everyone else held on for dear life, not wanting to be sucked in as well.

Ash and Sora also held on but Requiem, Aura, and Bahamut allowed themselves to be pulled in.

"They are crazy." Twi exclaimed.

Blades of yellow shot out of the tornado, as well as plumes of fire.

Requiem, Aura, Bahamut, and Jax jumped out of the tornado.

The Tornado exploded in a flash of fire, destroying the remaining monsters.

End Song.

The giant monster flew though the air, heading away from the town.

It sensed that it's hoard had failed and growled.

A very intense pain filled it's head. He felt like his head was going to split open. It shook it's head and the pain went away.

It flapped it's wings and flew as fast as it could.


	3. Explanation Needed

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 3

Explanation Needed

Young Derpy Hooves returned to the badly wounded creature with vines and leaves. "I honestly hope these aren't poisonous." she hoped as she started bandaging the creature with the vines and leaves.

Halfway though, the creature took a deep breath and coughed up blood. It surprised Derpy. "please hold still. I gotta try to…" the creature flailed it's arms around, hitting Derpy in the head. "Ow! I'm trying to help you." she yelled out.

She ran over and pinned the creature down. The creature panted as it stopped freaking out. It looked into Derpy's non-walled eyes. He felt… comfortable. The creature fell back into unconsciousness.

Derpy breathed a sigh of relief. "that was close." she sighed. She went back to work bandaging the creature up.

20 Years later…

2 hours passed since that battle from earlier and things have really heated up in town.

At the badly damaged corpse of _Orion_, Requiem and her friends were discussing what to do with them now being stranded on this new world around a fire.

"well this worked out well." Ash said sarcastically. "Our ship is destroyed, we're stranded on this rock, and we're running low on supplies, something we came here to do. Amazing how things can go sour in 24 hours."

"thank you for that dramatic summery, Ash." Aura sarcastically added. "*Sigh* so… anybody have ideas on what to do?"

"I got an idea. Leave." Jax said, reading a book.

"leave where?" Bahamut asked with confusion.

"anywhere that's not here." Jax sternly said.

"oh, brother." Sora groaned, resting her head on her left hand. "here we go again."

"Jax, you have got to get over that irrational fear of Horses." Requiem shook her head.

"well let's see how you feel when you're almost killed by one when you're 3 years old."

"not again." everyone groaned.

"hey hey hey. I was nearly trampled by one when I was a kid. Near death experience. Scarred me for life." Jax explained, closing her book.

"And it was thanks to that that we had to walk all the way to Bangkok back home. Ain't that right?" a disgruntled Ash said. "did I ever thank you for that?" he sarcastically asked.

"can we please stop this?" Requiem asked. "I'm starting to get a headache here." she groaned, holding her head.

"fine. I'll stop. But I'm not gonna enjoy being stuck here." Jax said. She got up and walked away towards the ship. Everyone else groaned.

"She's gonna be a problem." Aura said.

"just figured that out, Sun boy?" Satoshi complained. Aura gave him a stern look.

"*exasperated sigh* getting back to the problem at hand…" Requiem insisted. "What the heck are we gonna do about this? We're stuck here until we can repair _Orion_."

"yep." everyone agreed.

"so… what do we do?" Requiem asked.

Everyone had no answer. They were in the dark on what to do as much as her.

"Well… we're gonna have to interact with the natives." Bahamut said. "We got no choice in that matter. We may need their help repairing the ship."

"nuh-un. No way." Satoshi exclaimed. "Orion's my baby, made with my hands. Having someone else operate on him is just… well, it doesn't sit right with me."

"that means we'll be stuck here…*yawn*…much longer. Maybe even a year." a sleepy Sora said.

"oh. That would be bad." Satoshi said. "w-well, maybe I can let them handle the basic reconstruction of the ship; just the body and that. I can handle with the wiring and the engines and the…"

"okay okay okay. We get it. Don't tell us all that Technical mumbo-jumbo please?" Aura asked. "my brain always hurts when you go into that stuff."

"now who's fault is that?" Jax yelled from afar.

"Damn her super-human hearing." Aura growled under his breath.

"I heard that." Jax yelled again.

"yesh." Aura winced though his teeth. "and not to mention supplies. If we're gonna be stuck here, we may as well see if the locals can offer some supplies."

"Yeah. Sure." Sora stubbornly said, spinning her bow in the ground.

"got something to say, Sora?"

"Well, there's always a chance that they'll refuse to give us aid. They may leave us for dead." Sora explained.

"Well… if you put it that way…" Aura and Satoshi said depressingly. Sora did have a point.

"well, they looked nice." Requiem said. "they didn't look like bad people. Err… ponies. They may help us or maybe not." everyone nodded in agreement. "but…" Requiem got up. "There's only one way to find out if they will help." Requiem grabbed her sword and buckled it to her belt.

Aura gave her a look. "What's with the sword?"

"well, it's night out and we're on a unknown world. Girls gotta be prepared." she smiled.

"True." everyone muttered.

"I'll be back soon. Hopefully with good news." Requiem said as she walked off towards town. Bahamut and Fenrir followed behind her.

Meanwhile, back in Ponyville, the entire town had gathered inside Town Hall to see what to do with the aliens.

The entire town was abuzz with talk about the strangers. They were a species they had never seen before, riding a vehicle they never knew existed, and battling a monster they never saw before.

The mayor banged the gavel and adjusted her glasses. "can we please quiet down?" she called out. "quiet please." she asked again. The entire town still talked.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and flew up onto the podium. That shut them up.

"Thank you, Rainbow Dash." the mayor grudgingly said. R.D. smiled and headed back to the ground, landing between Fluttershy and Spike, who was busy working on a letter. "ahem. Now, I assume we're here to discuss about our new…visitors." she assumed. The entire crowd nodded in unison. "Right. Well, what do we know about them?"

"I know that one of them wrecked my stand." a random Earth Pony yelled out.

"yes. We saw. The one they call 'Sora', right?" Applejack asked for confirmation.

"I think that was her name. but she wrecked my stand."

"we hear you, we hear you. But we have yet to learn what they are or if they mean harm to us, or what they're relation is to that Monster we saw." Rainbow exclaimed. Everyone murmured in agreement.

"So what do we know about them?" Doctor Whooves asked.

"well… we know they can put up quite a fight…" Applejack started.

"…and with such flair and finesse." Rarity finished.

"We know they fly in a giant ship…" Lyra added.

"…and that they have a Dragon, a Wolf, and a Eagle with them." Fluttershy brought to the table.

"And that they have a powerful spell caster." Twi pointed out. "though I never heard of a spell like that; that… RAVAGING TEMPEST thing she shouted." she mimicked.

"but back to that monster..." Spike rolled the conversations toward that thing. "…what do you suppose it was?"

"dunno. It was covered in dark clouds. I don't think anybody got a good look at it." Derpy said.

"Celestia knows you can't." Dash joked. Derps got angry and pouted.

"but those shadow creatures that came out of it's wings. You don't think they're Changelings, do you?" Octavia asked.

"doubtful. Those things were shaped like the newcomers as well. Doubt the Changelings could change into them. Besides, they're likely halfway to the moon by now." Applejack said.

"but that still doesn't change the question. Who in Equestria are they?" Colgate asked.

"We…" Requiem said while leaning on the doorway, arms folded across her chest. Her sudden appearance surprised Everypony there, even giving Fluttershy a fake heart attack."…are called Humans." she explained.

"Humans?" everyone asked.

"Yeah. Highly evolved apes." she said. "we come from a small rock called Earth. Quite like this place. Except the horses don't talk." Several of the ponies grumbled, catching Req's attention. "I take it you don't like the term 'horses' very much."

"Not really, Ape." Applejack said with a fazed look.

"Guess I had that coming." Requiem muttered.

"I think I speak for all of us when I say… what in tarnation are you all doing here?" Rarity asked.

"well, originally, we were here to get supplies. Hopefully without anyone noticing. But that giant beastie you saw squashed those plans to heck. Now we're stuck here with no supplies and no hope of even leaving." Requiem explained.

"oh dear." Rarity gasped.

"at least this place is friendlier then home. Back there, practically everything was trying to kill you." Bahamut said.

"well, we have the same problem, you know?" Berry Punch said.

"still better then back home." Bahamut insisted.

"well, is there anything we can do to help?" Twilight asked.

That caught Requiem by surprise. She thought she was gonna have to put up a fight. Guess not. "well, we could use some help repairing _Orion_, as well as places to sleep while it's being repaired."

"I'm sure we can work it out in the morning but… *yawn* …right now, I think we're all a bit sleepy." the mayor yawned. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"True that." Requiem yawned. "sure we can survive one day camping out. Hasn't killed us before." she stretched her left arm. "you know, to be honest, I thought I was going to have to convince you all to help us. I even prepared a speech on the way down. Why help for no reason?"

"we're friendly folk. We always led helping hands to whoever needs it." Lyra said.

"Seriously, what is it with her and hands?" Rarity whispered to Dash. Dash just shrugged.

"huh. How about that?" Requiem muttered. "well, whatever the reason, thanks. And I promise, we'll be sure to take out that monster before we leave." Requiem promised.

Requiem turned and left the building. the crowd started to move out.

"Oh. Forgot to mention." Bahamut called out, flying back into the building. "I'd keep an eye on Jax; the spell caster. She's not exactly the biggest fan of ho… of ponies." Bahamut explained.

"Why?" Fluttershy asked.

"near death experience when she was three. Hasn't been a fan since. Just letting you know, in case she makes some rude comments or something."

"Okay then. Thanks for the warning." Applejack thanked. Bahamut nodded and flew after Req.

Everypony started heading for home.

"Got everything, Spike?" Twilight whispered to the dragon.

"Got it." Spike said, putting the finishing touches on the letter.

"Good. We'll send it to Princess Celestia in the morning. Maybe she'll figure out what to do with this mystery creature." Twi whispered. Spike nodded.

The Earth group still sat around the fire as Requiem, Bahamut, and Fenrir returned.

"how'd it go?" Sora asked.

"Surprisingly simple." Requiem said as she sat down. "They agreed to help out."

"Really? You didn't have to put up a fight or anything, did you?" Aura asked.

"No. they offered before I could get a chance to ask. They're quite friendly."

Jax scoffed at that idea.

"they agreed to help rebuild _Orion_ and even offered us places to stay while we're stuck here." Jax squealed in fear. "can see how happy you are, Jax." Requiem joked.

"Nuh-uh. NO WAY! There's no way I'm staying in a house with horses." Jax protested.

"Okay." Requiem said, getting comfortable. "but first, the word horses. They seem to frown on that word. Apparently, it's racist."

"oh."

"and if you won't agree, Jax, that means you'll be out here… in the cold… on a unknown work…alone." Requiem potentially egged on.

A wolf, not Fenrir, howled into the night sky, scaring Jax. "ehh… I think I can put my feelings aside, in this case." Jax nervously agreed. "But that doesn't mean I'll like it." she added.

"Right. Right. But we're camping out for tonight. We'll work out the arrangements tomorrow." Requiem explained.

"sounds fair. After all, we are on their planet." Ash said.

Satoshi yawned. "I don't know about you, but I feel like hitting the hay."

"No arguments here." everyone agreed. Ash pulled out his gun, configured it to fire Water bolts, and fired it into the fire.

3 dark shadows shot out of a mountain outside of Equestria and headed towards 3 different locations; one headed for the outlands, towards the Changelings last known location. One seeped though cracks into Discord's statue. And one infiltrated princess Luna's mind via her ear.

"all 3 sleeper agents are in position and ready." a booming male voice(Kevin Michael Richardson) said.

"perfect. If everything goes according to plan, we're get Equestria on our list." a mysterious female voice(Jennifer Hale) said evilly. "hopefully, we'll find the key here."

"un… the key to what again?" another male voice(A.V. Kennedy meets Yuri Lowenthal voice; in short, Me.) asked, confused by what she met.

"The key… to the Outside." the female said evilly.


	4. Living Arrangements

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 4

Living Arrangements

Young Derpy sighed as the makeshift bandages set on the unknown creatures wounds. "Whew. That was… some tough work." she panted.

The creature stirred and slowly opened it's eyes. "whoa whoa. Don't move. You had a tough time." Derpy said. "barely had enough time to bandage you. Hopefully, vines will work for now." she sighed.

The creature rested it's head on the ground and breathed deeply. Derpy smiled but it quickly faded as she looked around. Doesn't matter, she was still trapped in the Everfree Forest and without any food or water, she was gonna bite the dust soon. But it was late and she was tired from helping the creature.

She laid down on the forest floor and went to sleep. eTu`nes did the same.

Time passed. eTu`nes woke up to the sound of Derpy shivering. It struggled as it tried to get up.

Eventually, it did. It limped over to Derpy and laid down beside her, helping keep her warm in the cold night.

Derpy noticed this but didn't move and smiled. Least he's okay.

The 2 fell asleep, side-by-side as the creatures of the forest went about their business, trying their best to avoid the creature.

20 Years Later…

The Morning Sun rose. Requiem and Co. slept soundly as the sun rose and illuminated the countryside. Some had used their capes-if they had them-for blankets to cover themselves in the cold night.

The sun hit Sora's face and woke her up. She opened her eyes, sat up, and stretched. "Man… what a night." she grunted as she stretched. "man, my back hurts like hell." she groaned again.

She looked over the campsite. Everyone was fast asleep but Jax wasn't there. "Guess she woke up early… or didn't bother coming." Sora concluded.

She rubbed her eyes, got up, and walked off to a nearby stream.

Jax slept in the corpse of _Orion_, sleeping soundly in a makeshift hammock. Eventually, the suns rays hit her, waking her up.

"I don't remember putting in for a wake-up call." she groaned tiredly, eyes still closed. Something buzzed by her. She swung her arms, hoping to squash that bug. She hit something.

"Ow. Watch where you're swinging." someone yelled out.

Jax's eyes shot open. Since when do bugs talk? She got up only to see Derpy staring at her curiously. Jax yelled, fell out of her hammock, and fell 10 feet down, landing flat on her butt.

"Ow. That looked like it hurt." Derpy winced.

"what are you doing here?" Jax angrily asked.

"why are you so angry? I just came by to say hello. That, and your friends asked me to help find you when I flew by." Derpy calmly said.

"I don't exactly have the fondest memories of horses." Jax angrily replied.

"Oh. So you must be the one who had the near-death experience. Jax, right?" Derpy asked, trying to figure it out.

"you tell Requiem one secret and she blabs it out to strangers. And Horses, at that." Jax muttered.

"hey hey hey. We're called Ponies, not Horses." Derpy replied. "how would you like it if we called you Apes, huh?"

Jax lips pouted. She crossed her arms angrily and looked away. "wouldn't exactly like it." Derpy gave her a stern look. "*angry sigh* fine. As long as I'm here, I'll try not to call you things 'horses'. that good enough?"

"better then nothing." Derpy said. She flew on out. Jax responded with a raspberry.

Satoshi looked over the beaten up _Orion _with a couple of construction ponies and Rainbow Dash.

"So… you're able to travel the stars in this contraption?" R.D. asked.

"You might say that." Satoshi replied.

"Huh?"

"mmm…. How do I explain this to a country girl?" Satoshi muttered. Rainbow's lips pouted angrily. "Umm… see, we don't really travel the stars, we travel in the corridors between them."

"Corridors? Like a hallway?" Rainbow asked.

"You could say that. Anyways, the Corridors exit out to all sorts of worlds, each with a different species and/or civilization. In fact, this last world was high in sorcerers and mages and monsters. And this one girl- Lina, I think her name was -you did not want to piss off. Otherwise, you won't see a tomorrow."

"Yikes."

"Yeah. Scary chick. There was also… a world with one heck of a history of split worlds; think they were called Sylvarant and Tethe'alla, 2 worlds filled with Dragons; think they were called Berk and Warfang, a entire solar system with anthropomorphic animals flying spaceships. a whole bunch of worlds in one very large nebula beset by monsters called Heartless and Nobodies, and… and… I think that's all I can remember."

Rainbow's mouth hung open. She was dumbstruck. That many worlds? That's something. She shook her head. "2 worlds… filled with Dragons? Wow. And I thought we had it rough."

"Ahem." one of the construction ponies cleared his throat, getting both of their attention. "Aren't we gonna get started on this?" he asked.

"well, we have to wait for word from Requiem. If we have to sleep in the ship, it'll make things difficult for us on the reconstruction." Satoshi said.

"Pbbt. No way we'll let you sleep out here. Odds are, you'll all find places to stay in Ponyville." Rainbow said.

"but just in case, let's wait till tomorrow to start on the reconstruction."

"but what about taking notes and blueprints?" one of the construction ponies asked.

"Already took notes and I still have the original blueprints. Trust me. I planned for every contingency."

Rainbow looked at him, not really convinced by that statement. "YEAH. That's why your ship was beaten by a unknown beast in only 2 minutes flat."

Satoshi stiffened and gave R.D. a stern look. Dash just smiled like a idiot.

Requiem browsed though Twilight's library, looking though the various books. Twilight came down from above and notice Req.

"Oh. When did you get here?" she asked.

"Just a few minutes ago." Requiem said. "I must say, you got quite a collection." she said as she flipped though a Daring Do novel.

"Thanks. We got most of everything; Action, Adventure, Romance, Non-Fiction…" Twi went on explaining. She wouldn't stop. Requiem paid her no mind but Spike covered his ears with corks as he went back to work, taking inventory of the books still in stock. "…and Equestrian History."

"wow. Lot of different genres." Requiem muttered, just agreeing. She didn't really hear Twilight but she could tell from the situation to say what she said.

"Right?"

"you know she can't hear you, Twi. She's too involved in that book she got." Spike explained.

"oh. Then, why'd she agree?"

"been in this situation before." Requiem said, again still looking in the book. "learned what to say though Trial and Error."

"Oh."

"wow. This is really intense." Requiem gasped, halfway though the book. "is she gonna survive that trap?" she asked Twi.

"wow. You really like books, did you?" Spike asked.

"yep. I also have my own collection. Loads smaller then what you got but it's something." Requiem stopped ready and thought for a moment. "I should probably check to see if they're still in the ship." she said to herself.

Someone knocked on the door of the library. "it's open." Twilight said. The mayor walked in.

"Greetings, Twilight. Spike. And un…" she tried to remember the human's name.

"Requiem." Req. replied.

"Requiem. Everypony's gathering down at Town Hall so we can discuss what to do with our new acquaintances." the Mayor said.

"This early?" Requiem asked. "I expected it to take a day or more, not 3 hours."

"We work fast." the Mayor said as she headed for the door.

"No argument here." Req. muttered as she walked after her.

Twi and Spike headed to the door.

"is the letter ready?" Twilight asked Spike.

"put the finishing touches on when you were talking to her." Spike said.

"Good. Send it to Celestia, pronto. She's gonna want to know about this."

Spike nodded and did just that.

True to the mayor's word, everyone was gathered at the Town Hall, including Requiem's group. Ash, Sora, Aura, Satoshi, and Bahamut were sort of in the center but spread out over the area. Jax hung up in the rafters, not very keen on joining the crowd.

Requiem walked in with the Mayor, Twilight, and Spike. Req, Twi, and Spike sat in the front row as the Mayor walked onto the podium.

"Ahem. We're all gathered here today to take about our new… acquaintances from beyond the stars. If they will kindly get up and show themselves to the crowd." the Mayor announced.

The Humans got up and nervously waved to the crowd. Some of the ponies waved back. Jax rolled her eyes and started peeling a apple with a knife.

"now then, I'm sure we are all aware of the situation that has stranded them on our world by now; that giant deadly monster we can only speculate it is." the crowd muttered in agreement. "So, that leaves us with this predicament; room and board. As Requiem kindly asked last night, she asked that we help them find places to stay during their stay here."

"and I hope we're not imposing or anything. Don't want to make anyone feel… what's the word, weird." Sora said.

"you're not imposing. If anything, you and your pals are interesting. We never saw the likes of you before." Rarity said. "if anything, I'd say the stay will be interesting, darling."

"Un… thanks. And the Darling line? Not a big fan." Sora said as she sat down. Rarity shrugged at the remark.

"Also…" Requiem called out. "… we will help out with wherever we stay. You ask us to help, we will help. Just clarifying a few things." Req sat back down.

"That being said, we had a number of volunteers; All of whom will take you in, least till your ship is repaired."

"if they can manage us, we'll stay wherever." Aura said.

"Says you." Jax said to herself as she took a bite of her cut-up apple.

"so… who's willing to put up with us foreigners?" Satoshi asked.

Fluttershy pushed a chalkboard next to the Mayor. "well, that's up for the Volunteers to decide." the mayor said. "let's see… who's first… Applejack?" the Mayor called out.

"well, Aura doesn't look like a bad apple. He looks strong enough to help with the apple harvest." Applejack said.

"you'd be surprised how strong I really am." Aura smirked.

"Okay. So that's Aura to Applejack." the Mayor said. Fluttershy used some chalk to put a check next to both Applejack's and Aura's name. "up next is Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight and Requiem looked at each other and smirked.

"I'm staying with her."

"She's staying with me."

"okay. So Requiem goes with Twilight." Fluttershy put a check by both their names. "Mr. and Mrs. Cake?"

"well, is anyone in your group a good baker?" Mrs. Cake asked.

"I am. Kinda." Sora said. "not exactly A-list but I'll help out anyway I can."

The Mayor nodded to Fluttershy and she put on another check. "Rarity." she called out.

"well, I always said that it pays to be friendly. As my mother always said, 'always be nice to those in need so you can…" Rarity rambled on.

"JUST CHOOSE!" everyone, even the _Orion _crew, yelled.

"Okay okay. I'll take Ash." she exclaimed in frustration.

Ash chuckled nervously. "Great. Sharing a place with a fashion-mogul. Lucky me." he said sarcastically. Spike pouted angrily. Twi and Req chuckled at the site.

Fluttershy put on another check. "next is Fluttershy herself." the Mayor said. She looked back to a nervous Twilight.

"Un… um… well, I can take care of any animals you have." she meekly said.

"Thanks." Satoshi said. "we have 3 in our group. Bahamut, Fenrir, and Cobalt; a Dragon, a Wolf, and a Eagle, respectively."

"A Dragon?" Fluttershy yelped. She hid behind the chalkboard. Rainbow rolled her eyes, flew up, and flipped the chalkboard over, Fluttershy with it.

"I think he means that Bahamut character."

"I know who he meant." Fluttershy squeaked. She flipped the board again. Rainbow groaned.

"relax, love. I wouldn't hurt a fly." Bahamut said. "unless it's trying to kill me, in that case… *shakes head* regardless, I promise I'll be on my best behavior. I'll keep Fenrir and Cobalt in check. Those 2 are unpredictable."

Fluttershy peeked over the chalkboard. "I-if you say so." she meekly said. She flew over and put a check next to her name and Bahamut's.

"Okay. Next… is Rainbow Dash."

"guess I'll take Satoshi. He's the last one left." she said.

"un… I heard you live in a cloud. Exactly how am I supposed to get up there and back down? And how am I supposed to even walk on clouds?" Satoshi asked, a bit peeved.

"I'll help you with that." Twilight said.

Fluttershy put a check on the board. "and that leaves us with… no more volunteers and one more Alien; that one being the Equestrian hater." the Mayor droned.

Everypony muttered amongst themselves. Jax scoffed and ate another apple bite. She was glad for that but she still would've like to be considered.

"seriously?" Requiem exclaimed. "I know Jax hates hor… Ponies, but she still needs a place to stay."

"Face it, Req." Jax called from above. "I'm unloved here." she cried sarcastically. "gonna have to spend my days out in _Orion _all alone and cold. Oh, poor me."

Sora rolled her eyes and Aura shook his head 'no'.

The doors opened wide and Derpy ran in. "Sorry I'm late. I was busy." she panted.

Everypony groaned. The humans looked at each other with confusion. "Why do they hate her?" Req silently asked Twilight. Twi shrugged. She's lived in Ponyville for 2 years and she still didn't know.

"Well, Derpy, we were discussing who the strangers will be staying with until their ship is finished. Everyone has been taken." Rainbow said. "well, everyone except her." she gestured up the rafters. Derpy looked up and saw Jax, lazily sitting on a rafter and eating a apple.

Derpy thought for a moment and nodded. "I'll take her." she said. That caught the entire crowd by surprise. Jax spit up her apple and nearly choked.

"you'll take her?" Sora exclaimed, surprised as hell.

"Sure. Might be fun."

Jax's Chakram flew from above, hovered near the podium, and let loose a small wind that caught her as she fell. "What? No no no no no no no no no no no no. the day I stay in the same house with a horse is the day I die." Jax exclaimed. She looked ot her right and saw the mayor. She snapped her fingers and brought her arm up a few inches. A small barrier separated the two. "and I don't plan on that happening here."

"Oh, lighten up, Jax." Ash exclaimed. "all you've been doing while we've been here is complain, complain, complain. Just give it a chance, will ya?"

Jax groaned. "fine. I'll try it. But I won't like it." she exclaimed.

"well, that settles everything, I guess." the Mayor said. "if we're done, I suggest our volunteers show our guests to their homes away from home."

The crowd got up and headed for their homes. Some of the ponies wished Derpy good luck with Jax.

"wow. First time I saw Everypony wish Derpy good luck." Applejack said as she, the rest of the Mane 6, and the otherworlders, minus Jax, walked though Ponyville..

"you mean people haven't done it before?" Aura asked.

"well, Derpy has gotten a reputation of being a bit of a klutz." Pinkie said. "a very destructive klutz."

"And with Jax, her troubles have doubled 3-fold." Rarity said.

"how so?" Bahamut asked.

"well, it's hard being a single mother, raising 2 kids by yourself." Fluttershy said.

"she's a mom?" Requiem asked. "and she's raising 2 kids by herself?"

"well, she's got her roommate Carrot Top and her brother Doctor Whooves helping her, but it's been tough." Twilight said.

"And with Jax, it probably got tougher." Ash said. "wonder why she even volunteered if she's going though this much trouble?" he wondered.

"It's her nature. She's more willing to help then all 7 of us combined." Spike said.

"oh. Well, I still feel sorry for her." Ash said. Everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Well, enough of the depressing talk, let's show you guys to your new homes." Rarity changed the subject.

"Yes. Quite. Let's see where we have to sleep." Satoshi yawned. "that way, I can get up early and get started on_ Orion_."

"you need the spell to get to Rainbow's house first."

"Right. Forgot about that."

"Come by the library in a few moments. The spell will be ready by then."

" 'kay." Satoshi shrugged.

Applejack and Aura approached Sweet Apple Acres. The fallout from that wind storm has been taken care of. Almost half of the apples have been accounted for.

"you live on a barn?" Aura asked, a bit surprised.

"Born and Raised. Been apple pickin' all my life."

"huh. Well, this doesn't seem so hard." Aura said to himself as he looked the farm over.

Fluttershy lead Bahamut, Fenrir, and Cobalt up the path to her house.

"now remember, none of the animals here are to eat. Understand?" she asked Bahamut.

"I know. I know. Can't say the same for those 2, however." he said, looking back on the Wolf and Eagle. "but I will do my best to keep an eye on them."

"I hope so. If it's not too much trouble." F.S. meekly said. Bahamut gave her a confused look.

"Come on, Human-boy. They're fine." Rainbow Dash said as she walked to the entrance of her house.

Satoshi, now with butterfly-like wings, followed behind her. "just didn't expect I'd get Butterfly wings. I was expecting wings like Aura's or Requiem's, not bloomy Mothra."

"Aura and Requiem have wings?" R.D. asked.

"Yeah. Requiem's sort of a Demi-Goddess while Aura is a…. well, not sure how you would call him, but yeah he has wings."

"oh. Well, this way to your room. Got plenty of room."

Satoshi looked around. "I noticed."

Mr. and Mrs. Cake showed Sora around Sugar Cube Corner. "wow. Nice digs. First time I ever stayed in a sweet shop."

"well, it's nice and cozy, if you don't mind the twins." Mrs. Cake said.

"And your roommate." Mr. Cake said.

"Roommate? I have a roommate?" Sora asked.

"Yep. Me, Roomy." Pinkie Pie said, hanging upside down from the ceiling. Sora jumped back a bit. "hehehehehe. Did I surprise you? I'm pretty sure I did cause I always surprise Everypony wherever I go. Someofmyfriendstoldmei',I…." Pinkie babbled on for a long while.

Sora turned her attention to the Cakes. "I have to bunk with the eternal sugar high?" she shakingly asked. Mr. and Mrs. Cake nodded.

Pinkie grabbed Sora's hands and started dragging her up. "'twaitforyoutotryon,they',ithinkthey'regonnalookfineand…"

"God, I hope Ash is willing to trade." Sora whined.

Ash couldn't believe his eyes. He was living in a dress shop with a fashion mogul. This is pull hell to him.

"Wipe your feet before you enter, please, dear sir. Trying to keep this place as clean as I can for when Photo Finish comes by tomorrow." Rarity said. "If you'll please follow me, I'll show you to your room." she said as she headed upstairs.

Ash, mouth wide open, turned to the audience. "if you mention this to anyone, I'll kill you." he said to the audience, flashing one of his Mana Pistols.

"Oh, this is so exciting. Never had a human sleep over before." Twilight squealed.

"you never saw a human period till we showed up." Requiem said.

"True. But this is so exciting. We can stay up late, tell stories, roast marshmallows… oh, if only Rarity and Applejack were hear, it would be a girls night." Twilight said.

"Well, if you do happen to make noise, mind trying to keep it down?" a sleepy Spike said. "I want to try and get some sleep."

"Will do, Spike." Twi said. Spike walked up to his and Twi's room and slammed the door. Requiem and Twilight giggled.

Jax entered Derpy's humble abode; a apartment no bigger then the one from _Three's Company_.

"Gee. Swell place." Jax sarcastically said.

"we make do." Derpy said.

Jax shook her head upon hearing those words. "we? Who's we?" she asked, worried as hell.

Doctor Whooves came out of the kitchen, carrying a tray of drinks on his back, when he noticed Derpy and Jax. "ah. Derpy. Wondering when you were coming home." he said as he slid the tray off his back and onto a table. "and this must be the infamous Jax we heard much about."

"you already heard about me?" Jax asked.

"News of your hatred for us, as you say, horses, has already spread across Ponyville like wildfire. And I'll say this; we're not the same beast that nearly killed you when you were young. We're different."

Jax scoffed. "yeah, right. We'll see how long that lasts." Jax sternly said. "And who are you, anyway?"

"Ah, yes. My name is Doctor Whooves. I am Derpy's brother from Canterlot who moved hear not long ago to help raise my sister's young children."

Jax snapped. "c-children?" she shakingly asked.

"Mommy." Dinky ran in from behind and up to Derpy.

"hey, Dinky. How was school?" Derpy asked like any mother would.

"fine. Except we missed the Strangers."

"well, we have one with us, in case you didn't notice." Sparkler said, standing right beside Jax. Jax moved to the side, far away from Sparkler.

Jax started stuttering. "y-y-you have kids."

"well, Dinky's the Biological one." Carrot Top said as she walked in. "Sparklers adopted. And before you ask, I'm a fiend of the family."

"There's another one?" Jax exclaimed. "Oh, good grief, I'm surrounded by horses."

"Hey. Language." Sparkler said. Jax laughed sarcastically and gave Sparkler a stern look. Sparkler gave one back.

"Where's my room?" Jax asked with a gruff voice. Derpy, C.T., and D.W. pointed towards a room to Jax's left, just 10 human feet away. "Thanks." Jax calmly walked in, slammed the door shut, and locked it.

"Well, she's gonna be a nuisance." Carrot Top said. "why'd you say yes?" Derpy was going to reply but C.T. cut her short. "wait. Don't answer. I know why. Dumb question."

Jax fell forward on her bed and groaned upon landing.

"I had to get stuck with the reject's to the horse version 'Three's Company' plus 2." Jax raised her head. "I'm cursed. That's all that needs to be said." she said.

She flipped over onto her back and looked up at the ceiling. She could hear laugher from the other side of the door. She narrowed what about to 2 things; they were either laughing at Jax or playing a game. Either way, she wanted no part of it. She just fell asleep.


	5. Intro

Requiem Trinity Intro

Begin Song: .com/watch?v=Edl9NB9ry1g Luminous Arc theme - Brilliant World

0:00.

The camera is traveling at supersonic speeds, traveling in a light-pink tunnel, heading towards a bright light.

The light shone bright…

0:18.

The main title- The Requiem Trinity -appears in very fancy letters with the sun in the background.

0:25.

Requiem stood on the edge of a cliff, her silver-blue hair blowing in the wind as Cherry Blossoms flew by.

Aura swung his lance in a forest clearing. The end caught on blue fire as it was swung in front of the camera.

Bahamut flew though the air and barrel-rolled into some clouds.

Ash leaned on a tree, arms crossed. Fenrir slept beside him as Cobalt landed on his shoulder.

Jax and Sora fought, with forks, over the last steak in a tavern, much to everyone's dismay. In the end, Sora won.

Satoshi made adjustments to _Orion's_ engines as the ship itself rested in a docking cradle.

_Orion _flew though the pink tunnel, heading for some new world.

0:53.

Ash and Sora fired their weapons. They hit several Ogres in the face.

Bahamut and Aura dropped down from the clouds, both covered in fire. They rammed into several Wyverns.

Jax performed the Indignation spell. A Massive bolt of lightning came down from above, causing a massive nuclear type explosion.

_Orion_ flew from above and fired it's cannons at a unknown target.

Requiem glowed as angel wings came out behind her.

a massive white bolt of light came down from above and caused a bigger explosion then Indignation.

A blinding flash of light followed from that, illuminating the entire screen.

1:29.

Satoshi made modifications to a Arwing with Fox McCloud handing him tools. He handed him the wrong one, causing Satoshi to yell.

Bahamut flew though the skies of another world with Spyro and Cynder flying beside him.

Aura and Hiccup fished off a boat dock. Toothless jumped out of the water, scaring Aura to fall backwards out of his seat. Hiccup started laughing up a storm.

Ash stood at the edge of a room while Sora, Donald, and Goofy talked with Leon and Cid.

Sora shot down a Ymir Fruit and tossed it back to Genis, Lloyd, and Colette.

Requiem, Lina, Gourry, Zelgadis, and Amelia stood back to back, surrounded by monsters.

One of Jax's Chakrams rung around Twilight's horn. She and the other Mane 6 gave her a scowl look. Jax chuckled nervously, scratching the back of her head.

1:56.

Satoshi flew said Arwing into the fray with Fox and Falco flying beside him.

Bahamut, Cynder, and Spyro flew from above and rammed into Malefor's gut.

Aura engulfed himself in fire as wings of fire appeared on his back. He flew though pillars rising out of the sea with Toothless and Hiccup.

Ash charged with Sora as they attacked a Darkside Heartless. Ash ran up it's arm and shot it in the head.

Requiem and Lina combined their powerful spells to perform a souped up Dragon Slave and Judgment Ray.

Jax concentrated on a spell with the Mane 6- armed with the Elements of Harmony- as well as the 3 princesses.

It fired from above and hit a massive monster.

Another flash of light followed.

2:25.

3 figures cloaked in shadow appeared in the sky. The light from a nearby sun revealed who they are.

One was a Black Knight, armed with a wicked sword. Another was a 8-headed Dragon, each head being a different element.

The last one, and clearly the leader, is a girl of 14 with Purple hair and a evil smile.

2:41.

Glass cracked and shattered as each of the heroes seem to fall towards one of the 3 bad guys; Requiem, Aura, and Bahamut fell towards the Black Knight, Ash, Fenrir, and Cobalt fell towards the girl, and Sora, Jax, and Satoshi fell towards the 8-headed Dragon.

The heroes hit but the 3 seemed to ripple like a rock hitting a pond. The heroes fell right though.

One blinding flash of light later…

2:55.

Requiem hovered off the ground, draped in blue light. Aura flew up next to her, covered in blue fire.

The 2 went back to back and pointed their weapons towards a unknown enemy.

Their powers combined, forming a Blue Phoenix made of Fire behind them. The tips of their weapons glowed.

Beams of light fired out of the sword and lance, swilling into one as they hit a unknown target and caused a explosion that covered a entire planet.

3:10.

_Orion _flew the air at top speed.

The heroes from the other worlds were onboard, weapons able if they had 'em.

Requiem sat on the bow, staring out at what lay ahead.

The masts retracted into the ship. A green force field covered the entire open deck. Metallic wings came out from the sides of the ship and extended outward

The aft opened up, revealing starship like thrusters.

3:40.

The thrusters ignited and the souped-up _Orion_ flew towards a large black tower that extended up into the sky.

The picture froze and took a water-painting look as it slowly faded to black.

3:59. End Song.


	6. Life Amongst Ponies

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 5

Life Amongst Ponies

Young Derpy woke up to the sounds of life in the Everfree Forest. First time she saw the place in daytime. It's not as scary when there's light. She stretched and cracked her back as she got up. She also noticed that eTu`nes wasn't there.

"now he couldn't have healed that quickly. Could he?" Derpy wondered. She didn't really get a good look at eTu`nes so she can't really be sure what he was. She was lucky to have bandaged him the way she did.

She got up and started to take a look around. The place didn't look as bad as Everypony made it out to be. It looked just like a normal forest elsewhere in Equestria.

She heard rustling in the bushes beside her and got afraid again.

eTu`nes backed up out of it, dragging a dead bird in it's teeth. Derpy gagged and wondered why it ate meat. her question was answered when she took a good look at the creature.

Turns out eTu`nes is a Dragon, and a very dark and demonic looking one at that, but only a baby, which made Derpy wonder how he got so badly injured in the first place. He still had the bandages wrapped around him.

"un… should you be doing that?" a curious Derpy asked.

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Never better, actually." eTu`nes said. "you hungry?" he asked.

"Un… no thanks. Poultry doesn't really agree with me." Derpy chuckled nervously.

eTu`nes just shrugged and dug right in. Derpy looked around and found some flowers for her to munch on. eTu`nes got curious. "so.. Why did you help me?" he asked.

That question caught Derps off guard but she should've expected that question. "well, I was raised to give help whenever someone is in trouble. And last night, you looked like you were in big trouble."

"I was." the Dragon responded. "thanks for saving me."

"No prob." Derpy said as she went on munching her flowers. "helping others is what I do best." she smiled.

eTu`nes was perplexed by what Derpy did. What did she do with her mouth? Curious, he tried to smile as well, but ended giving a very stupid grin. Derpy tried to hold back the laughter. eTu`nes never heard this sound before but gave it a whirl.

20 Years Later…

Jax woke up just as the day began.

"Man. What a nightmare." she grunted. "I thought I was stuck on some world inhabited by horses and I had to live with them." she rolled out of bed. "I shouldn't eat Bacon before bedtime. Always gives me weird dreams." she scratched her bed head as she walked over and opened the door.

She entered the other room and what she saw scared the living daylights out of her. Coming out of the kitchen, sitting in the living room, and sitting on the couch were ponies. "Oh god. It wasn't a dream." Jax whined.

"Well, look who's finally up." Sparkler exclaimed.

"We were wondering when you were going to get up. It's already 8:13." Doc. Whooves said.

"it's a bloomin' waking nightmare." Jax exclaimed, mouth wide open.

Carrot Top walked by and saw the gaping mouth. "would recommend closing that. Don't want any Parasprites flying in." she said as she walked over.

Jax shook her head in frustration. "Okay. Just keep it together, Jax. So you're in hell right now, no biggy. Just have to grind though it before _Orion_ gets repaired. No problem. Could be worse." she told herself.

Jax slumped in her seat as everyone else at the table was chatting it up. Derpy and Dinky weren't there for some reason. She grudgingly ate cereal from a bowl, and it was no easy task trying to find a bowl or a spoon in this town. Thankfully, some crazy pony named Lyra was able to let her barrow it for as long as they were here.

"you okay, Jex? You hardly said a word since when you woke up." C.T. asked.

"It's JAX. Jacqueline 'Jax' Yggdrasill. At least try to get it right." Jax snapped as she put the straw in her mouth and took a sip of her O.J.

"un… 'kay. Whatever you say." Sparkler nervously said.

Jax rolled her eyes. She knew she was going to regret asking this. "So… what's all of your relations to this Derpy character?"

"well, I- Doctor Whooves, as people call me - am Derpy's distant brother from Canterlot and occasionally visit, although recently i moved here to help her out."

"you told me that yesterday, Doc. But help her out with what?"

"Well… oh, how do we explain this, Derpy's husband left her last week. We've been helping her move on but there's only so much we can do. Not to mention Dinky. She's taking it with a strong heart but there's only so much one filly can take."

"Oh. I didn't know that." Jax somberly said. She's acting like a jerk to someone who's husband abandoned them. Even though they were horses, Jax felt like a jerk. "so, what about you 2?" she asked C.T. and Sparkler.

"Well, me and Derps have been roommates since college. She helped me though tough times and I thought I should return the favor when time comes. Although, her constant raiding of my fridge is starting to get annoying." Carrot Top said.

"huh?"

"well, I hide all of OUR muffins inside and always try new ways to make sure Derps doesn't get to them but she always finds a way. I even asked Twilight to enchant it but Derps just used rarity to countermand it. She's smarter then she looks."

"I can imagine." Jax muttered, taking another sip. "and you, Sparks?" she asked Sparkler.

"if you must know, my real name is Amethyst Star."

"didn't really ask for that. Just asking what your relation with her is?"

"Well, my parents died 3 years ago due to a unknown disease and Derpy took me in. I've been her 'daughter' ever since."

"Ah. Well, that explains that, I suppose." Jax said as she took a bite out of her bread.

"I swear I'm in hell right now, Req." Jax exclaimed, pacing back and forth in Twi's library. Req was busy dusting some bookcases with Spike while Twi looked at some notes.

"oh, It can't be that bad." Requiem said.

"Oh, you have no idea what I'm going though. I thought I could handle it but it's just too much." Jax groaned.

"It's only been a day. Give it some time. You'll learn to like them." Spike said.

"Pbbt. Yeah, right. I'm just waiting for Orion to get fixed then I'm out of here." Jax exclaimed. She then noticed what Twi is doing. "what's the Unicorn doing?"

"trying to find out what that monster is and if it has a weakness." Twi explained herself. "so far. No luck. And you should be nicer to Derpy. She's going though a tough time right now."

"I heard." Jax angrily said.

"What hard time?" Req asked.

"Apparently, Derpy's husband left her and her daughter Dinky last week. Just up and disappeared."

"ouch. Guess no matter what the species, there's always someone like that."

"Yep."

"But again, I agree with Twilight. Go easy on Derpy."

"oy, not you too." Jax turned and headed for the exit. "hopefully Aura or Ash or someone can offer me better advice." she angrily said as she stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

"wow. She must really hate ponies." Spike muttered.

"You have no idea." Req replied. "I'm surprised she's taking it this well."

Twi and Spike looked at each other. "this well? What's worse then this?" they both asked.

Satoshi grunted as he climbed out from the engine room. "well, the engine's pretty much {bleep} up." he groaned as he reached the rim. "gonna have to rebuild it from scratch."

"well, that sounds bad." Rainbow said as she flew down with a bucket of nails and a hammer.

"yep. Gonna add at least a few more weeks to our stay here." Satoshi groaned as he wiped off any oil from his hands. "Jax is just going to be thrilled." he said sarcastically.

"why does Jax hate us, anyways? We didn't do anything to her." R.D. asked as she sat down next to the mechanic.

"well, you know about the near-death experience she had. Normally, a person would cower in fear upon seeing what almost killed them. Jax, on the other hand…"

"Channels it into hatred?"

"yep. She is always a odd one." Satoshi sat back. R.D. looked at that and assumed a stupid assumption.

"So, you like her?"

"Yeah. As a friend." Satoshi looked towards Dash. That's when he got the message. "oh. Oh, you mean like Boyfriend and Girlfriend? No no no. we're not like that. I'm not attracted to her in anyway."

"How can you be sure of that?"

"Doy. I'm gay." Satoshi said. Rainbow looked up him with a confused look. Satoshi rolled his eyes. "means I don't like girls." again, same confused look. "means I'm attracted to other guys?"

"What?" R.D. was still confused.

"oh, let's see. What's a good example…" he muttered. "un… like say, if, somehow, you were attracted to, I don't know, Rarity the same way Spike is?"

"what, like a crush?"

"um… you could call it that." Satoshi got up. "all right. We got to repair the outer hull, recast the metal bracings for the masts, replenish supplies; which is what we came here to do in the first place, and repair the engine." he added up the time in his head. "it should take… 5 months. Give or take."

"5 months?" R.D. exclaimed. "that's a long time."

"well, it'll give us a good time to see how you ponies live on this world. Give us something to learn."

"Well, you couldn't have picked a better time. Tomorrow's the Summer Sun celebration." R.D. said as she flew up to a nearby scaffolding.

"The who-what now?" Satoshi asked.

"You'll see." she smiled. Satoshi just shrugged and jumped back down to the engine.

Aura, with his shirt wrapped around his waist, grunted as he hit a tree with his lance hard. Apples fell onto the ground to get caught in baskets placed by A.J. and Applebloom.

"not bad, Aura." A.J. said, impressed by his brute strength.

"I aim to please." he smirked. He swung his lance into another tree and the same result happened.

"I'm amazed you humans are that strong." Applebloom said in amazement.

"Well, usually, we're weaklings, but every once in a while, someone can train himself to be uber powerful."

"Oh. What does uber mean?" A.B. asked.

"something you horses won't ever understand." Jax said as she walked up from a path.

"hey!" Applejack and Applebloom exclaimed.

"oh boy." Aura said sarcastically. "What do we own this honor, cranky? Still peeved that you have to live with Ponies?"

Jax grabbed Aura's hand and pulled him to the side. "I'm in hell right now."

Aura looked towards the audience. "didn't she already ask this with Req?" he pulled out the script. "I swear she did." he muttered as he flipped though the pages and just happened to look on ahead. "WHOA! Big stuff is going to happen."

Jax looked in the direction Aura was looking, rolled her eyes, took the script, and set in on fire. "Funny. Now can we have a real talk?"

"Sure. What about? Not happy with the fact we have to stay here?"

"damn straight. I can tolerate the fact that we're stuck, but did we have to get stuck on a world inhabited by horses…"

"Ponies."

"…whatever. And we have to be forced to help them out?"

"well, it is their world, and I think that Req would have suggested this regardless."

"okay, you have a point there, but still…"

"Jax. Deal with it. Who knows? May make you change your mind on Ponies all together." Aura said as he headed on back to A.J. and A.B.

"Yeah. The chances of that happening is little to none." Jax muttered as she headed back to town. "hopefully Sis will agree with me."

Ash stood on top of a podium, being used by Rarity as a living model for a dress she's making. Fenrir and Cobalt were in a corner, laughing their fur and feathers off.

"This… is… embarrassing." he groaned.

"shush now. Mannequins don't talk." Rarity said, looking over a design.

"I'm not a bloody mannequin. And why are you even doing this?"

"well, we don't know how long you're gonna be here and you can't expect to be staying in those rundown travelers clothes, are you?"

"well… no." Ash admitted. "but still…"

"so, I have to make sure all your clothing needs are taken care of before events for such things happen."

Ash stood there with a dumbstruck face. "I have no clue what you just said. Besides, what events?"

"Well, there's the Summer Sun Celebration tomorrow, which is being held here in Ponyville for the 2nd year in a row, then there's the Grand Galloping Gala a few months from now, then Nightmare Night, the Running of the Leaves, Hearth's Warming Eve, Winter Wrap Up…"

"I get it. I get it. Just get it over with before any of my friends come in, please?" he pleaded. Rarity scoffed and went back to work. "by the way, you have some creative names for your holidays. I'm guessing Nightmare Night is your version of Halloween?" rarity gave Ash a confused look. "dress up in costumes, collect candy. That sort of thing?"

"Oh, right. Right. Well, if you say so, then I guess it is." Rarity said. She used her magic to bring a tape measure to Ash. "by the way, I'm gonna need you to tell your friends to come here whenever possible so I can get their measurements."

"And somehow, I knew you were gonna ask me that. Can we just get this over with?"

"sure sure. But one must never rush fashion, darling. Otherwise, you'll end up being a laughing stock."

"and if my friends see me like this, I will be a laughing stock, now please hurry." Ash begged.

"okay okay. Not very patient, this one." Rarity muttered.

"Just not fond of being used. Literally, in this case." he said, looking down at himself.

The sun reached the Noon part of it's trek across the sky.

Down at Sugar Cube Corner, Jax sat in a secluded corner as everyone else, both Pony and Human, chatted it up.

"so, how's it like living with Fluttershy, un… Bahamut, was it?" Applejack asked.

"pretty good. She's really nice to animals. Not something I thought I'd see in a Pony." Bahamut said, eating a cupcake. "she's also pretty cute."

"Cute, huh?" A.J. insinuated.

Bahamut realized what he said and put a halt to her assumptions. "no no no. it's not like that. I have a girlfriend back on Warfang." he quickly said.

"Warfang?"

"Different world."

A.J. started laughing. "you're funny, B-boy. Always giving a good laugh."

"What!" Bahamut exclaimed.

A.J. laughed again as Satoshi picked up his Quiche and sat down next to Twi.

"So, what is this Summer Sun Celebration you all keep going on about?" Satoshi asked.

"well, it's a celebration that, every year, Princess Celestia raises the sun signaling the end of Summer." Twi explained. "originally, it was to celebrate Nightmare Moons banishment to the moon but since she came back, it's fallen to 'ending summer.'" she took a drink of her milkshake though a straw.

Sora spit up hers in surprise. "Who banished who to the moon?" she coughed.

"Nightmare Moon. Originally, she was Princess Luna, Celestia's sister, before, for some reason, she went evil and tried to plunge the world into eternal darkness. To stop her, Celestia was forced to lock her in the moon. Then 1000 years later…"

"then 1000 years later, we came and knocked her back to reality." Rainbow intervened, punching the air.

"Wow. Some story." Req said, taking a drink of her shake though a straw. "and knowing this world, it's probably true."

"And that's not even the craziest story. …" Pinkie Pie went into overload, chatting as fast as a chipmunk.

"is she always like this?" Bahamut asked.

"You have no idea." Sora groaned, rubbing her head. "she's like a living Energizer Bunny. She just keeps on going and going and going… anyone want to trade?" she pleaded. Everyone shook their heads 'no.'

". Can you believe that?" Pinkie finished.

"YES! I can believe it." Sora said with a smile.

A timer dinged from the kitchen. "oh, those must be the muffins. Be right back." she said as she bolted into the kitchen.

Everyone gave Sora a mean stare. "what? I'll do anything to shut her up. Anyone happen to have any duct tape?" Everyone burst out laughing at Sora's predicament. "it's not funny."

"it kind of is." Spike laughed. "you're living with a eternal party animal and you can't take it."

Sora thought about it and chuckled. "guess it kind of is."

Jax scoffed at it and took a drink of her soda though a straw. Fluttershy noticed her sitting all alone and walked over to her. "why not join your friends? You're missing a good time." she said.

"no thanks. I can hear everything just fine here." Jax grumbled as she took another drink.

"oh. Un… I see. Well, sorry to bother you." F.S. meekly said.

Jax noticed this and rolled her eyes. "okay, fine. Just not really big with crowds. Particularly ones with horses involved."

"oh. I see. Well, how's life with Derpy?" Jax gave her a scolding look. "oh. I see."

"Don't mind her, Shy. She's been like this all day." Aura said, taking a bite out of his muffin.

"well, who wouldn't be in the place I'm living at. The apartment is literally ripped out of _Three's Company." _

"three's company?" Rarity asked A.J. she just shrugged.

"oh, can't be that bad. Besides, I hear she's going though a pretty tough time. Try to lighten up. Let loose." Req said.

"I gave her the same advice not 3 hours ago." Aura said.

"talk about stubborn." Sora said.

"You are not helping with my predicament." Jax exclaimed. "I am currently in my own version of hell right now, stuck in a tiny apartment with 5 other Horses…"

"Ponies!" everyone corrected.

"UGH!" Jax headed for the door. "AGH!" she slammed the door behind her, leaving behind a bewildered crowd.

"What just happened?" Twi asked in confusion.

"Jax had another one of her breakdowns. This was surprisingly light. Usually, there'd be a destroyed mountain or two." Ash said as he turned around and took a drink of his Soda.

"how long do these 'breakdowns' usually last?" Rarity asked.

"it varies. The longest one was a week. I think it started when she found out when we were stuck on a planet filled with hor… ponies." Sora said. "thankfully, this one seems to be the least destructive one. Just don't do anything to send her over the deep end, or else you'll pay for it later."

"Noted." the Ponies said in unison.

Just then, Rarity remembered something. "oh, that reminds me. We've got to get you all some fashionable clothes for tomorrow. You must look presentable for the Princesses, you know!" she said in a sing-songy matter.

"say what?" Bahamut exclaimed.

"hey, I suffered though it. You can do the same, Bahamut." Ash exclaimed.

"what about Jax?" Twi asked.

"odds are, with her temper tantrum, she won't show up tomorrow. And if she does, it's her own fault she wasn't prepared." Satoshi coldly said.

Jax found herself on top of a hill overlooking Ponyville and just sat there.

"what a bunch of jackasses." she muttered angrily, thinking about her friends. "not even knowing what I'm going though."

She heard laughing behind her, emanating from the woods behind her. Curious, Jax decided to go take a look.

In the woods, the Cutie Mark Crusaders; Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, along with some other fillies from school, were playing volleyball. There was a net in the middle so it felt like a real game.

Jax walked up behind a tree and hid herself from view.

"all right. This next one is coming your way, Dinky." Scootaloo said as she tossed the beach ball into the air and spiked it to her. Dinky dove to get it but fell short. The ball hit the ground before she could even get close.

"ha. Just like her dopey mother. Can't do anything right." Diamond Tiara told Silver Spoons. Both started laughing like a couple of jackasses.

Even Jax thought that comment was low. She may not be the biggest fan of horses but she knew that was mean.

"you leave my Mom out of this." Dinky exclaimed. "she's the greatest mother… no, the greatest Pony in the world."

Tiara laughed a single laugh. "Ha. Yeah right. Did you not see the damage she did to the Town Hall during Applejacks farewell party to the Rodeo? She's not only stupid, but a klutz as well, and a very destructive one. I'm amazed you're still standing with a mother like that."

That sent Dinky over the deep end. She attacked Tiara and the 2 began wrestling. Pretty soon, every Filly in the area were chanting 'fight, fight, fight.' all except the Crusaders.

Jax groaned and walked out from behind the tree. They were kids so she decided to go easy on them. "okay, break it up. Break it up." she clapped. "now's not the time to be fighting."

"who's that?" one of the Fillies asked.

"that's Jax. One of them aliens from Space. As well as the one that hate's ponies." Applebloom told her.

"oh."

Dinky and Tiara didn't stop fighting. Against her better judgment towards this species, she reached into the cloud of dust and pulled them both out, still biting and slapping each other.

"Hey! Stop it." Jax said forcefully.

"I don't have to take this. Do you know who I am?" Tiara asked.

"Don't know, don't care. Now get out of here before I REALLY put you in a world of hurt. Okay, you little brat?" Jax threatened.

"Okay. Okay. Fine." Tiara replied with anger. Jax put them both down. Tiara and the other Fillies left, everyone except Dinky and the Crusaders.

"why'd you help? I could've handled her." Dinky said.

"not from what I saw. You're pretty easy to anger whenever someone talks about Derpy."

"well, that's because she's the bestest Mom in the world."

"un-huh." Jax said, not really convinced. "listen, I know bullies, and fighting them will just make them egg you on even more. No way around it."

"Well, she keeps on making fun of my mom. What am I 'apposed to do?"

"talk her down. Make her feel bad. Trust me, she'll surrender faster then you can say 'Derpy's your mother.'"

"You think that'll work?" Dinky asked.

"one way to find out. When she starts to bully you again, just follow my advice and talk her down."

"if you say so. Just not sure it's gonna work." Dinky said as she headed for home.

Jax watched her walk off and shook her head in frustration. She turned to leave but the Crusaders blocked her path. "why'd you help her out? I thought you hated us Ponyfolk." Applebloom retorted.

"well, I wasn't going to stand by and let some bully walk all over her. I had some bullies when I was a kid so I know what it's like. Besides, that kid, Tiara or whatever her name was, was acting like a pompous snob and she needs to learn a lesson."

"You got that from just that meeting?" Belle asked.

"I have a knack for these things." Jax smirked.

"So, if you're willing to help us, maybe you'd be willing to help out everyone else. Like not be a snob yourself and try to pleasant?" A.B. asked.

Jax sighed in defeat. She didn't really want to do it but had no choice. "Fine. I'll at least try, okay? But I'm not making any promises."

"Pinkie Swear?" Scoot asked.

"Pinkie Swear?" Jax replied in confusion.

"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." the trio performed at the same time.


	7. Summer Sun Celebration

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 6

Summer Sun Celebration

Young Derpy found herself back home with her family. Her mom offered and Derpy squealed with joy when she found a plethora of Muffins right in front of her on a silver platter.

"muffins!" she squealed with envy as she jumped for them.

As soon as she reached them, the muffins, family, and house disappeared into thin air, leaving a disappointed Derpy behind.

A voice called out to her, out from the surroundings. "-rpy… derpy…. Derpy!"

"Derpy! Wake up!" eTu`nes yelled. Derpy woke up to the dragon hovering over her.

"eTu`nes?" Derpy asked in confusion. She got up and looked around. She was still in the Everfree Forest. She scratched her head in confusion. "how long was I asleep?"

"quite a while."

Derps got up and stretched. She and eTu`nes have been exploring the forest for over a week now, hoping to try and find a way out. Unfortunately, they didn't find one. Instead, they found a lake with plenty of fish to keep eTu`nes satisfied and plenty of roughage for Derpy to live off of. If Derpy's stuck in the forest all her life, this would be a good place to live.

Derpy went to the lake to get a drink of water as eTu`nes uncovered a map he made of the Everfree forest using his memory. His wounds have mostly healed up, with the ones on his stomach and back halfway gone. The one over his left eye, however… the scar shaped like a J leading from his left cheek up above over his eye, that is showing no signs of healing.

"okay… so we searched in all for directions except for south. Odds are, if we head south, we might find a way out. Hopefully."

"how would we even know which way is south?" Derpy asked, wiping away the water.

"Sun rises in the east and sets in the west, right? And it's currently early morning, so…" e looked up at the sun, which was still rising. He used his claw and pointed to the right. "south is that way." he said with confidence.

"if you say so." Derpy chuckled.

So, the duo headed south, hoping to find a way out. Unfortunately, a good chunk of the paths were blocked by rockslides or other natural disasters. They were eventually forced to give up around midday.

"well, that's encouraging." Derpy sarcastically and angrily said as the 2 walked back to camp.

"so we didn't find a way out today. We might find one tomorrow." eTu`nes tried cheering her up.

"let's face it. I'm gonna be stuck in this darned forest for the rest of my life…" her stomach growled, adding sadness to her face. "…which may not be long."

eTu`nes got nervous and couldn't bear to look at her.

The lake started bubbling but they didn't notice.

"Listen, Derpy… there's something I didn't quite tell you." he nervously said.

"What?"

"um… well… I may know of a way out."

The lake started bubbling even more as Derpy got angry. Very angry. "WHAT? You knew of a way out and didn't tell me? Why? Why would you keep this a secret?"

"well, I…"

Something massive burst out of the lake, getting their attention and scaring them both. It's shadow cast over them as it roared.

20 years later…

Decorations, banners, and all sorts of streamers and balloons were going up all over Ponyville as they got ready for the Summer Sun Celebration.

Requiem grunted as she hammered in a banner above Carousel Boutique.

"there. Perfecto." she said with a Italian accent. She jumped down and landed right at the entrance, which was wide open. Inside, Sora was getting measured by Rarity. "all done. Banner's up." Req said as she walked in.

"Excellent. Now, please stand still, Sora. This is a delicate procedure." Rarity said, concentrating on Sora.

"you really don't need to do this." Sora nervously said. "I can tell you my waist measurements so please stop."

"Nonsense. You want to look presentable for the Princess' tonight, darling. Can't go out dressing like homeless peasants."

Requiem sputtered, then gave a growling sigh. "Rare, you don't need to do this. We got our own ball dresses and tuxs."

"oh." Rarity said, disappointed that she won't be designing new clothes for a new species. Sora and Red looked at each other and sighed.

"although…. They do need some work. Maybe you can fancy them up?" Sora suggested.

"well… it's not what I initially wanted to do but it'll work. Long as you bring them before midday, I can get them all ready for you by the time of the party." Rarity agreed.

"perfecto. I'll be right back with the clothes. Shouldn't take more then 3 minutes." Requiem said. She turned around and headed for the door.

"3 minutes? Darling, it'll take longer then 3 minutes for you to get to-"

"Wait for it." Sora interrupted, stepping down from her perch.

Requiem walked out of the shop, her back starting to glow. Within a few seconds, a pair of black angel wings shot out of her back. Rarity's mouth shot open in surprise. Requiem took to the air and flew towards _Orion._

Rarity's mouth hung open by the sight she just witnessed. "ho…wh…wa…ho…wi…wh…" the rest of the thing just turned into nonsense gibberish after that.

"Something we should've mentioned is that Req is something of a Demi-Goddess." Sora said.

"De…de….de….de….de…..de…." a shocked Rarity just repeated the words over and over.

Spike walked in though the open door, a bit confused by the door being wide open and ever more confused by Rarity's stunned expression. "What's with her?" Spike asked.

"Saw Requiem's wings and I told her of her background."

"Oh, of how she's a Demi-God?"

"You know?"

"she told us the first night she stayed over, about how you all met, her crazy brother Catalyst, your world nearly ending…"

"wai…ya…wha?" Rarity asked, still in shock.

Sora looked at Rarity with a weird 'WTF' expression. "methinks we should wait till later to tell everyone what happened on Earth." she told Spike.

"if you say so. It's your world, not mine." Spike muttered.

Requiem returned from Orion, everyone's fancy clothes in her hands. She landed and her wings magically retracted into her back. "okay. Got 'em." she said as she walked in. she set them down on the table. "now… they need a few repairs and may need some new accessories. We've been using them for quite a while now. Think you can handle that?"

Rarity shook her head and regained her senses. "oh, un… anything for a Demi-Goddess. I'll get started on them right away and get them ready by nightfall." she said as she trotted on over and went to work.

Requiem turned her gaze to Sora, who whistled like she didn't do anything wrong. "you told her, didn't you?"

"well, I think flying away on magical wings that appear out of your back would've been a dead give-away. Plus, Dragon-boy here pretty much spilled it when he came in."

Requiem gave Spike one of her glares. "What? If you didn't want anyone to know, you shouldn't have told me and Twilight. We can't keep secrets."

Requiem didn't reply but instead gave a mean glare. "I was hoping my past would be a secret this time around. On all the other worlds we visited, someone always manages to blurt it out and people start treating me like a pampered princess. Not exactly a big fan of it. I was hoping that only two people would know this time around and keep it a secret. Guess I was dead wrong. No matter the world or the species, there's always someone who likes to gossip."

"w-w-w-w-w-w-w…" Spike couldn't form any words, He was too nervous. Sora hit him in the back of the head and he regained his cool. "well, I only told Rarity and I'm pretty sure Twi will keep it a secret. She doesn't gossip much."

"I hope so for your sake." Sora joked in a singsongy style. "So, what did you come over here for?"

"well, I came to see if Rarity finished my hat yet?" Rarity used her magic. His hat floated by his head. Spike jumped up and caught it. "Thanks. Still not sure how I ripped it. Think Peewee may have gotten to it again."

"Peewee?" Sora whispered to Req.

"his pet Phoenix." Requiem explained.

"pet Phoenix?" Sora exclaimed out loud.

Req groaned and pinched between her eyes. "I'm really gonna have to tape your mouth shut."

Jax lay underneath a tree as the sun began to set, arms behind her back and just relaxing, far from any horses. "now this, I could get used to." she sighed, content that she's far enough away.

"JAX!" someone angrily called out. Jax groaned angrily and got up. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were running up towards her.

"not you 3 again." Jax groaned. The trio dog-piled on her, holding her down. "hey hey hey. What's with this?"

"you got a lot to explain." Sweetie Belle said angrily in Jax's face.

Jax rolled her eyes and picked Sweetie Belle off of her and dropped her off to the side. "okay. I'll bite. What's this, Cutie Mark Crusaders Interrogators?" Jax joked, having already heard of their exploits from Derpy and C.T. the night before.

"don't try to distract us. It's because of your advice this mess happened." Scootaloo exclaimed.

Now Jax was confused. What the hay were they talking about? "you lost me."

"remember when you told Dinky to try to talk things out with Tiara yesterday?" Applebloom asked.

"I remember. What of it?"

"well, Dinky told Tiara that she wanted to talk and try to avoid trouble and you want to know what happened?"

"What?"

"Tiara and Spoon just went and beat her up. Got in a fight. Took Cheeralie AND Big Mac to break them up."

Jax groaned and held her head. "oh brother. Every species, there's always a prick. You'd think their parents would step in."

"trust me, Tiara and Spoon are gonna get a stern talking to, but Dinky…" Sweetie Belle stopped before she went further.

"What about her?" Jax asked, feeling a little bit concerned.

"Well, after the fight, she just ran away. Nobodies seen her since."

"uh-oh. Well, when did school get out?"

"a couple of hours ago, which we had to spend trying to find you so you can help us look for her." Scoot said.

"oh, boy." Jax sighed. She looked at the sun. it was just about to set. "*agitated sigh* fine. I'll help look for her."

"you will? Really?" a surprised Applebloom asked.

"yep. My advice that got her in trouble in the first place. Plus, I think her mom and her friends would wring me like a towel." The Crusaders looked at each other with confusion, not really sure what Jax meant by that. "you wouldn't happen to know which way she left, did you?"

"un… think towards that mountain over there." Scoot said, pointing a fairly close mountain. It would still take awhile to get to it.

"hmm… reasonable distance for a filly." Jax muttered. She looked back towards the village. "think we can make it back in time before anyone notices we're gone?"

"we'll be fine. The Celebration lasts all night and ends with Celestia raising the sun in the morning. We'll have all night to find Dinky." Bloom said.

"well, I still don't want to miss a party, even if it is thrown by… horses."

"Ponies!" the Crusaders exclaimed.

"Whatever…" Jax groaned as she ran off towards the mountain, the crusaders not far behind her.

Deep in a cave, in the same mountain that the group is heading to, Dinky cried as hard as she could. She had 2 black eyes and bruises all over her body and even some cuts from Tiara's… well, tiara.

Even deeper in the cave, something big woke up as large red eyes opened up and glowed.

The sun had set and the Summer Sun Celebration was in full swing. All over Ponyville, there were games, rides, and stands for food. Everyone was having a great time.

The humans and the Mane 6 gathered at Carousel Boutique to get ready for the celebration.

"*wolf whistle* dang, Req. you look good." Aura chuckled, acting like a idiot.

Requiem, dressed in a very beautiful purple low-cut prom-style dress and with her silver-blue hair tied up in a ponytail, showed it off. Thanks to Rarity, it was fixed after the fiasco back on Warfang.

Same holds true for everyone other human in the place. Sora was dressed in a gorgeous blue lacy ball gown; Satoshi, Ash, and Aura were dressed up in tuxes, only differences being the tie color; Satoshi's is blue, Ash's is red, and Aura's is black. Even Bahamut had a stylish hat going for him. Practically the only ones in their group who aren't dressed are Fenrir and Cobalt.

While repairing them, a little Rarity flare was thrown in as gems are donned on it. For the girls, it was the bottom of their skirts and their gloves, and for the guys, it was the ties and also the gloves.

Resting on a nearby mantel was Jax's dress, a combo of Sora's from the waist down and Requiem's from the waist up.

"I must say, Rarity. You did a good job fixing these up. Really swank." Satoshi said, looking his tux over.

"I try my best." Rarity said, also dressed in fancy clothes, looking as she did for Armor's and Cadence's wedding 3 months back. Heck, the entire Mane 6 looked as they did for the wedding. "but working on another species can test one's self."

"well, we can surely tell you that you passed with flying colors." Ash said. Rarity blushed a little. Sure, it came from a human but it was still a compliment. Spike, on the other hand, took it the other way.

Bahamut looked at himself in the mirror and noticed Jax's dress. "Something tells me Jax is not coming."

Sora heard him and looked back where he was looking. "guess not."

"well, that's a shame. Jax has always been one for parties. But I guess one being hosted by hor…. Ponies was more then she could bare." Req said.

"Guess you're right." Sora somberly said. She shook her head, getting back to her old self, and headed for the door.

"HOLD ON!" Twilight said, cutting Sora off of the exit. "there's still a few things you should know about these customs, since you're new."

"She has a point." Aura said as he straightened his tie. "mind filling us in?"

"well, for starters, keep on a lookout for Lyra. She's been fascinated with humans for a long while." Applejack said. Twilight got a little peeved that she got interrupted.

"Lyra? Interested with us?" Req asked, checking her hair.

"well, more like the species in general. On our world, your kind basically faded into Myth. Nobodies seen one for over 3000 years."

"Wow. We're legend." Aura joked. Req chuckled. "so, what else do we have to worry about?" Aura asked.

"Well, you may see Zecora in town as well. She's a Zebra and we're not sure if they're on your world." Rainbow said. Twilight got even more angry.

"They are, though none of us have seen one." Ash said. "anything else?"

"well, there's also likely to be some guards around, with the botched Changeling Invasion 3 months ago." Rarity said. Twi started to get steamed.

"Changelings?" Bahamut asked, picking something out of his teeth.

"think of them as insect-like ponies that can change into copies of other ponies."

"like what, 2 Dashs or 2 Pinkies?"

"you could say that."

"Come on come on come on. We're gonna be late for the party." Pinkie bounced, giddy with anticipation. Everyone else was ready so they headed for the door, leaving behind a very irritated and confused Twilight.

Jax and the Crusaders walked down a path, following a trail Dinky left behind.

"Thing about horses, you're very easy to track since you leave deep impressions in the earth." Jax smirked.

"why do you call us that?" Scoot asked.

"What, horses? Cause that's what you are; beasts of burden, though miniature." the Crusaders looked at each other with un-convinced expressions. "ugh. Never mind. Let's just find Dinky and get this over with." she groaned as she walked on ahead.

"she really needs to take a chill-pill." Bloom said as she and the other 2 ran after her.

Jax stopped for a moment as she sensed something evil nearby. Wasn't the monster that stranded them but something more… familiar. The crusaders saw this and got curious.

"Un… Jax? You all right?" Belle asked.

"yeah just… just felt a shiver do down my spine." Jax glanced behind her. "anyways, it's gone now."

"Owh. I hate it when a shiver goes down my spine. Gives me Goosebumps." Scoot said, shaking in agreement.

"I know, and not knowing how they happen is more freaky." Applebloom started going on as she and the crusaders walked on ahead, eventually out of Jax's earshot. "I mean how…"

Jax continued to stand there for a few moments before walking after them. _"thought I left you for dead back on Hollow Bastion." _she thought to herself, thinking back to her battle with 'him' on that world. She shook her head. She didn't want to think about it. She ran on towards the trio.

Someone slowly walked out of the shadows, eyeing Jax's every move. "you can run, but you can't hide, Melody." he evilly said. A geyser erupted from the ground, engulfed him, then quickly disappeared, taking him with it.

The Celebration kicked off into high gear when Pinkie entered the scene. Almost immediately, the party was kicked into overdrive as the festivities got more elaborate.

"guess Jax really didn't come." Sora said.

"And I can't see neither hide or hair of Applebloom…" Applejack exclaimed, looking the crowd over.

"…nor Sweetie Belle…" Rarity added.

"…or even Scootaloo." Rainbow Dash finished.

"well, just because they aren't here in this spot doesn't mean that they're aren't here at all." Requiem said.

"if you say so… but I got a really bad feeling about this." Fluttershy said.

"they're fine. I'm sure of it."

"Dinky! Dinky!" Derpy called out for her daughter but Dinky was nowhere to be seen. She did, however, notice the Mane 6 and the humans and went over to them. "excuse me, but have you seen Dinky anywhere?"

"Dinky? No, I don't think we have." Twi responded. "why?"

"Well, I can't find her anywhere. I'm starting to get worried."

"I'm sure she's fine. She's probably off with Applebloom and the others somewhere, trying to find their cutie marks." Applejack said with confidence.

"if you say so, A.J. I just got this sinking feeling that something bad is going to happen."

"hey hey hey. Pretty sure Jax will look after them." Sora interrupted.

"but I thought you said Jax hates all us pony folk." Dash replied.

"true. Well, then hope she doesn't blow a fuse." Sora chuckled nervously.

Everyone gave Sora a non-convinced look and she just gave up. Spike left for a refreshment stand, still looking back towards the group. Thanks to that, he ran into a certain regal Alicorn's legs.

"oof." he fell on his butt. "mind watching where you're…" he stopped when he saw who it was; the well-known queen of the night, the dark-blue Alicorn who was once the demon Nightmare Moon, the pony simply known as… "Princess Luna. Sorry. didn't watch where I was going."

"Not at all, Spike." Luna smiled.

"Well, least you're not speaking loudly and with all that 'we and thou' stuff anymore."

"Indeed. Twilight's lessons last year were most helpful. Speaking of the Unicorn, where is she?"

"Over there, with the others." Spike said, pointing to the group. That's when Luna noticed the humans.

"and… what manner of creatures are they?" Luna asked, referring to the evolved apes.

"oh, the humans? Well, they landed here about… I think 4 days ago. Anyway, they're stranded here due to some unknown monster that's wrapped in dark clouds. Not even Twi can figure out what it is."

Luna didn't care about that. She still focused on the humans. She felt like she heard that word somewhere before. "un… Luna? Luna?" Spike asked, waving his hand in front of her face, snapping her out of it. "you okay?"

"yeah. Something about what you said… has me puzzled. Ah. It should pass. For now, could you grab me something to drink? Preferably something with a peppermint taste?"

"No prob." Spike said as he headed to the concession stands. Luna returned her attention to the Humans and decided to investigate on whether these were trustworthy.

The group was chatting. Someone said a joke that made them all laugh. During which, Twilight saw Luna coming over. "oh. Princess Luna." she called out. Luna nodded and reached the group. "thought you weren't gonna make it. Where's Celestia?"

"my dear sister had matters to attend to in Canterlot that made her unable to come here. Unfortunately, she'll be performing the end of the Celebration there." the Ponies of the group were disappointed while the Humans were confused. Luna turned her gaze to the other-worlders. "So, who pray-tell are these people?"

"the name is Requiem." Req said with confidence. She turned and gestured to the others. "This is Bahamut, Ash with his pets Fenrir and Cobalt, Sora, Satoshi, and Aura. There is another with us, Jax, but she seems to have disappeared."

"mm-hmm. Pray-tell, how did you arrive on Equestria? No humans have been seen here before."

"we came on that thing." Satoshi said, pointing to a dim _Orion_. Even though it was dark, you could still make it out, as well as the scaffolding and cranes surrounding it.

"I heard from Spike that a mystery beast took it down."

"Very big thing. It must've been as big as 20,000 cupcakes." Pinkie explained. "or was it 30,000 cupcakes? I could never tell cause with cupcakes, you always get some weird …"

Sora shut her gob before she could jabber everyone's ear's off. "You really need to cut back on the sugar."

"what is with the scaffolding and the cranes?" Luna asked, now starting to act like a interrogator.

"Well, the Ponies are helping us out and we didn't even ask. We just explained the situation and they offered to help. Req even had a whole speech planned." Bahamut said in a joking matter. Luna was not amused. "I know. I suck."

"And we even offered them places to stay while they're stuck here." Fluttershy said.

"Yeah. It's giving us both good chances to study the other." Twi smiled. "For example, did you know Requiem is a Demi-Goddess?"

"Twilight!" Req exclaimed. "You really can't keep secrets, can you?"

"A… demi-goddess?" Luna asked, curious of the term.

"Well, that's if you're a child of, well, a god or goddess.

"really…" Luna was a bit curious, but also a bit nervous. A Demi-Goddess human on Equestria, a world where Human's weren't seen in millennia. Luna couldn't help but feel nervous.

"yeah, but rarely has Req had to use those uber-powers. Last time, it was to take down another individual with god-like powers. I think his name was… Xehanort?" Satoshi wondered, trying to remember.

"That was me and another Sora, genius." Ash exclaimed. "and we barely won. Besides, Requiem used her power with that Lina chick to beat that Monster, un… Shabranigdo, I think his name was."

"oh, right. Guess my memory is starting to go."

"if it hasn't already." Aura joked. The humans started laughing, leaving the ponies confused.

Eventually, The group split up and went their separate ways for the evening. Only Luna and Twilight remained where they once were. "So, what do you want to do first, Princess? A game of Parcheesi? Horseshoes?"

"actually, I'm curious about these new friends of yours. They haven't been seen on Equestria for who knows how long."

"oh. Sure. What do you want to know?" Twilight responded as the 2 headed into the game part of the celebration. Spike ran up after them, carrying his and Luna's drinks.

Dinky cried hard into the night, deep in that cave.

The large red eyes inched closer and closer. Dinky stopped crying and noticed the eyes. Sadness got replaced with fear as Dinky tried to run but her legs are frozen. She can't move.

A massive reptilian hand came into view. Dinky got even more scared but noticed something odd wrapped around it. It was… green and adore with fancy markings. It looked like a bracelet.

The creature stared down at Dinky, curious. She looked… familiar, to say the least. He reached out to her but stopped just seconds after he started. A buzzing sound came out of nowhere, surprising them both. The creature retreated into the cave as Dinky became scared of what else is in the cave. She had no way of knowing how big it is or what else is in it.

Jax and the Crusaders followed the hoof prints and found themselves in front of cave.

"Well, that's not good." Scootaloo joked.

"no telling how big that cave is. Dinky could be anywhere inside." Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

"well, got to do something." Applebloom said. "Besides, Spelunking could be our special talent."

"hey, yeah. Thinking what I'm thinking?" Scoot smirked. Jax rolled her eyes. She heard of what happens when these 3 find something.

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS SPELUNKERS!" all 3 yelled. Jax covered her ears to lessen the blow.

"Iyiyi. Talk about a pair of lungs." Jax groaned, wiping off any earwax she may have gotten. "may as well go in. standing around out here ain't gonna help us."

The crusaders nodded and the 4 went in, unaware of the large unknown beast that just burst out of the top of the mountain seconds after they went in.

All over Ponyville, everyone was having a great time, even Luna, and that's something that hasn't been seen since Nightmare Night.

At the center of town, at town hall, Requiem, Satoshi, and a pony named Vinyl Scratch were busy working on something.

"Sure this'll work?" Satoshi asked.

"Positive. Can't be living in fear due to that giant beasty flying around. Got to let loose and have fun." Req smirked.

"but everyone else is having fun."

"*sigh* Satoshi, you have much to learn about people, or in this case Ponies. Got everything ready, Vinyl?"

"Ready to go. They don't call me the best mix artist in Equestria for nothing."

"yeah, we heard. DJ PON3." Satoshi sneered. Vinyl laughed nervously and scratched the back of her neck.

"So, how are you going to do it? Last I checked, this is a song." Satoshi asked.

"Simple." Requiem grabbed a microphone. "Karaoke."

The buzzing sound grew in intensity as Dinky curled up in fear, afraid of what's going to happen.

"DINKY!" Someone yelled out for her, somewhere behind her. Dinky looked back. "DINKS? Where the heck is that pony?" Sweetie Belle groaned.

"Over here!" Dinky yelled out.

"DINKY!" Scootaloo replied, a bit surprised. "Where are you?"

"FOLLOW MY VOICE!"

"wait! Got a better idea." Jax yelled out. Dinky waited a few minutes. A ball of blue light flew though the wall to her right, which surprised her. "other side of this wall." Jax said from the other side.

"told you we should've taken a left." Applebloom said.

"now what?" Dinky asked, pressing her ear on the wall.

"Step back, for one." Jax said.

Dinky nervously backed up away from the wall. "STONE BLAST!" A large circle shaped hole opened up as the part cut out flew to the other side and broke apart into pieces.

Every pony had gathered at the town hall, hearing rumors of something going on.

"What do you think's going to happen?" Bon Bon asked.

"I don't know." Lyra replied.

"I know what's going to happen." Bahamut smirked, sitting down beside them. "and it's gonna be good." he said, popping some popcorn into his mouth.

The entire town went black as the lights were shut off, leaving only a murmuring crowd.

Begin Song: .com/watch?v=z2EMupg4YE4 Simple and Clean -PLANITb Remix-

0:00.

The smoke cleared in the cave. Jax walked though from the other side and tripped on a stone, falling over. The Crusaders ran over her and over to Dinky.

"There you are." Applebloom exclaimed.

"We were worried about you." Scootaloo added.

"Why'd you leave?" Sweetie Belle finished.

Jax got up and dusted herself off. "how about we give her some breathing room first?" Jax walked over and looked Dinky over. "hmm… doesn't look too bad. Just some bumps and bruises."

Dinky pushed Jax away. "and it's all your fault." Dinky gritted though her teeth. Jax was surprised, to say the least. "I tried following your advice but Tiara and Spoon still beat me up!"

Applebloom heard something weird in the caves, like a buzzing sound.

"how was I supposed to know? In case you forgot, I'm not exactly a horse lover, you beast of burden!"

"you guys here that?" Applebloom asked Belle and Scoot, gesturing to the buzzing sound.

"Yeah. What is that?" Scoot wondered. They all felt like they heard it before.

"if anything, you're the beast!" Dinky restored.

"Quiet!" Belle exclaimed, getting between them. "You can argue when we get back to Ponyville. Something about this cave is giving me the heebie-jeebies."

"like what?" Jax asked. She didn't have to wait long for a answer. The buzzing sound returned, louder this time.

"What is that?" Dinky asked.

Jax snapped her fingers and a fireball appeared in her hands, illuminating the cave. Crawling all over the cave walls… were Changelings.

0:44.

Stage lights illuminated from atop town hall, flickering like a concert hall.

"What's going on?" Twilight asked.

"Shh." Aura shushed her. "you're gonna miss it." he smirked.

Satoshi maneuvered the lights with a board while Vinyl was busy with the percussions. The music was being handled by a small stereo that happened to be on _Orion._

Lights flickered rapidly. In the small seconds between each flash, the crowd could faintly pick out a Human standing in the center.

1:14.

Changelings crawled on the walls around Jax and the fillies. There must've been hundreds of them.

"un… what are these new horrors?" Jax asked.

"Changelings." Applebloom gulped. "we saw them 3 months ago at Shining Armors and Princess Cadence's wedding. They're insect-like ponies that feed off of love and their queen thought that a wedding was a good idea to attack."

"If they feed off of love, it was a smart move." Jax smirked. She grabbed her Chakrams and took a battle pose. "but a bug is a bug, no matter what they look like. And bugs need to be squashed."

One of the Changelings shrieked in fear. Like the ponies, they never saw Humans before, but it didn't matter long. They sensed Love in Jax, love for a certain cowboy-like human, and that was enough for them.

The Changeling swarm disconnected themselves from the walls and started hovering in midair.

"now would probably be a good time to…" the Changelings charged them all. "…RUN!" Jax yelled out. She and the fillies bolted for the hole Jax had made, with the bug-like ponies in pursuit.

1:47.

The lights started to shine bright, illuminating the entire town hall area.

Standing in the center of the entrance was Requiem, her eyes closed and a wicked smirk on her face.

Vinyl tossed a microphone Requiem's way. She raised her arm up and caught it.

_You're giving me too many things Lately you're all I need You smiled at me and said, _

Requiem began singing. (and in her own voice, not the one in the song with the link).

the humans in the crowd whistled, Aura being the loudest. Even though they never heard her sing before, even the ponies started cheering. Besides, everyone loves a good concert, right?

2:16.

_Don't get me wrong I love you But does that mean I have to meet your father? When we are older you'll understand What I meant when I said "No, I don't think life is quite that simple" _

Jax and the fillies ran though the caves, the Changelings in hot pursuit.

Jax quickly jumped in the air and flipped around.

"BLIZZARD!" she yelled out.

A torrential snowstorm blew though the caves from behind her and froze the first dozen or so Changelings but the rest kept coming.

Jax landed and ran after the others.

2:31.

_When you walk away You don't hear me say please Oh baby, don't go Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight It's hard to let it go _

Requiem was putting up quite a storm. The crowd was cheering.

Ash took Sora's hand and pulled her up onto the stage. The 2 started dancing a ballroom style dance, but more energetic.

2:46.

_When you walk away You don't hear me say please Oh baby, don't go Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight It's hard to let it go. _

Jax threw one of her chakrams back towards the pursuing insects. It clipped one of the monsters in the wing and sent him rolling on the ground. He rolled right into a stalagmite and slumped to the ground.

Jax smirked, caught her Chakram as it returned to her, and continued running.

3:03.

_The daily things_ _That keep us all busy Are confusing me That's when you came to me and said _

half of the crowd started dancing to the music. Even Luna was bobbing her head a bit to the beat.

Twilight's drink ran out. She got up and went for more. On the way, she bumped into some pony from behind and both fell.

"Ow. Sorry about that." Twilight said. She quickly went into shock and started blushing when she saw who it was: the most handsome stallion she ever saw.

"You say something, Miss?" he gently asked. His lavender mane flowed in the wind.

"un… I said I was sorry?" she asked, still dumbstruck by the handsome stallion. She shook her head and regained herself. "Sorry, what's your name?"

"my name is Halos Light, but you can call me Halo." Halo said. "and you?"

"Twilight. Twilight Sparkle."

3:20.

_Wish I could prove I love you But does that mean I have to walk on water? When we are older you'll understand It's enough when I say so And maybe some things are that simple _

The Fillies ran as fast as their legs could take them.

Jax hopped up onto the ceiling, slammed one of her chakrams into the ceiling, jumped off, and slammed the other Chakram in the ground.

"INDIGNATION!" she yelled out.

a intense lighting field extended out of the Chakrams, centered at one point between the two, and fired a powerful lightning bolt.

it torn though the Changelings but didn't decimate them. Jax scoffed in defeat as the Chakrams flew back into the hands and continued to run.

_When you walk away You don't hear me say please Oh baby, don't go Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight It's hard to let it go _

a screen extended down behind Requiem and started playing events from their past, including what happened on Earth, such as Bahamut hatching, Requiem's and Aura's hometown Teria on fire, and Requiem fighting a massive monster in the middle of a field which itself is in the middle of a intense beam.

3:48.

_Hold me Whatever lies beyond this morning Is a little later on Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all Nothing's like before _

Jax ran upside down on the ceiling, firing fireballs at the Changelings. In all of the blasts, the fireballs only took down 3.

"dang it. There's just too many." she grunt. That's when she came up with a devious idea.

4:03.

_When you walk away You don't hear me say please Oh baby, don't go Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight It's hard to let it go _

the screen now started to play footage from the other worlds they visited and what they did, such as Sora and Lloyd Irving charging copies of Mithos, Yuan, and Kratos, Ash going back to back with Riku and Mickey, surrounded by Heartless and Nobodies, Aura flying alongside Toothless and Hiccup, Satoshi flying in a Arwing alongside the Star Fox team, Bahamut meeting a blue Dragoness on Warfang and fighting alongside Spyro and Cynder, and Requiem and Lina Inverse casting a joint spell that looked wickedly powerful,

4:18.

_Hold me Whatever lies beyond this morning Is a little later on Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all Nothing's like before. _

Jax skidded around a corner and bolted for the exit.

She turned around, threw her chakrams in to the wall, and yelled "STONE BLAST!"

Rocks blasted out of the wall and pelted the Changelings from the sides. Jax smirked but it quickly vanished as the roof started to collapse.

4:33.

_Hold me Whatever lies beyond this morning Is a little later on Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all Nothing's like before _

The footage now started to show the romantic side of the group, such as Requiem and Aura kissing, Bahamut and the blue Dragoness sitting on a hill staring at a sunset, and Ash and Sora holding each other.

"did you notice that Jax and Satoshi weren't in the last one?" Spike asked Rarity.

"I did. Those 2 would make a cute couple, wouldn't you agree?" Rarity asked in return.

"if you say so." Spike shrugged.

4:48.

Jax ran for the exit as the cave started to crash in on itself.

The Fillies ran outside and panted, waiting for Jax.

Jax dove for it just as the cave collapsed. The force sent one Changeling flying into the bushes, knocking him out.

5:03. End Song.

The song ended and the crowd went wild. They all asked for a encore. Requiem, not being one to disappoint, decided to do so, but with a different song.

Jax and the Fillies panted as the dust began to settle.

"That was close." Jax panted.

"Those… were some wicked moves." Scootaloo panted.

"Ah. They were nothing compared to what I pulled off back home." Jax joked. She got up and helped the other Fillies up. "man, what a night." she looked up at the moon. "and it's only….. Bah da bah…. 11:00 o'clock. I think we might make it in time for the end of the festival."

"YAY!" the Crusaders and Dinky cheered.

They got up and started for home when the buzzing sound came back again. Everyone froze in their tracks and looked back with frightened expressions. "You got to be kidding me." Jax groaned.

Begin Song: .com/watch?v=MzL4IA16k78 Zelda: Skyward Sword Music - Koloktos / Moldarach

The rocks exploded outward, raining down onto the forest. Jax cast Barrier, blocking any boulders heading towards them.

The Changelings buzzed out and took to the sky.

Jax lowered the barrier and ran a few feet after them. "no no no. they're heading towards town." she exclaimed.

"now what?" Dinky asked.

"how am I supposed to know?"

"how about running?" Scootaloo suggested.

Jax dismissed it and started thinking. She stopped after a few seconds and came up with a good idea.

The insect-like ponies buzzed though the air, closing in on their target: Ponyville.

A thin piece of wood zoomed across the ground, heading in the same direction.

"THIS IS CRAZY!" Belle exclaimed.

"YOU SURE? PRETTY NORMAL BACK HOME!" Jax yelled. She was using Air Thrust to propel the board along the ground.

They eventually overtook the Changelings, to which they cheered.

At the schoolhouse, without the involvement of the Crusaders, Big Max and Cheeralie were having a romantic time together. A time that was drawing to a close.

Jax and the Fillies yelled as they flew though the air. Their board snagged on a branch and sent them flying into the playground, surprising the 2 lovebirds.

"what's going on here?" Cheeralie asked. The dust settled and they both saw who it was. "What are you 4 doing? Aren't you supposed to be in bed?"

Jax rose up and shook dirt out of her hair. "we'll explain later, but for now, can you hide?" she asked nicely.

"from what?" Big Mac asked.

Applebloom hopped onto his back and turned his neck to the Changelings. "From that!" she exclaimed.

"That would do it."

Jax walked out, Chakrams in hand. "hide in the schoolhouse. I got this." she smirked. The ponies did just that and ran into the schoolhouse.

Jax smirked as her Chakrams lit on fire.

End Song.

The crowd applauded once again as Requiem's second song ended.

"thank you. Thank you." she humbly said. "are they any requests you would like me to follow up on?" she kindly asked.

Begin Song: .com/watch?v=BzFykKvUNyQ Kingdom Hearts 3D OST - UNTAMABLE

The Changelings flew over the schoolhouse and headed for town. Jax jumped up and sliced one of them in half.

Jax landed on top of the school's bell tower as the changelings turned their attention to her.

"why don't you pick on someone your own size?" she egged on. Her chakrams started to hover around her wrists and spin. Fire appeared in Requiem's hands as she smirked evilly.

Requiem sang her third song well but was being constantly interrupted by strange noises like explosions and screaming. And it wasn't just her, everyone could hear it. They dismissed it as something natural, like distant fireworks, and returned to the concert.

Jax spun though midair, flames following her every move as she spun, twirled, and flipped around the Changelings, hitting and engulfing them in fire.

The ponies watched from inside, mesmerized by the surprising beauty of the battle.

Jax landed on the ground and panted._ "there's just too many. There's gotta be a easier way_." she thought to herself.

She quickly came up with a idea that could work. She jumped back up onto the bell tower and started concentrating on a single spell.

"oh, unbreakable force that consumes all of the worlds, that binds us to our native lands…"

The wind started to pick up as it started to swirl all around her. The wind could be felt all the way back at Ponyville but they all dismissed it as a intense breeze. Thunder clapped all around Jax as the spell powered up.

"…I call upon thee to help me in this desperate hour so that we may continue to live by your mighty example and continue to thrive on our native soils."

The spell reached it's apex and Jax opened her eyes. "GRAVITY'S VOID!" she yelled out.

A large purple sphere appeared above the school and started sucking up all of the Changelings into it.

Once she was certain they were all in, she jumped down and performed another spell. "AIR THRUST!" a blast of wind came out of the chakrams, combined into one, and sent the sphere flying high and high into the sky, right into the atmosphere.

Jax landed on the ground and snapped her fingers. The sphere exploded like a firework, though nobody in Ponyville took notice.

End Song.

Jax panted heavily as she looked up at where the sphere was. She fell onto the ground and continued to pant.

"that… was surprisingly tough." the ponies ran out and towards her.

"you okay?" Cheeralie asked.

"yeah. I'm good. Kinda tired, though. Think I'm gonna catch a few Z's." cheers came from Ponyville as Requiem's third song ended. "and I missed Req's little concert. Oh, she's been planning that for you guys and we missed it. Oh well."

Dinky chuckled and hugged her. "Thanks for saving me." she smiled.

"Hey hey hey. I don't do hugs. Especially from horses."

"Ponies." they all exclaimed.

"whatever, I'm going to bed." Jax yawned and closed her eyes. The ponies looked at each other and giggled like a couple of idiots.

A lone man, dressed in a green tux, watched the spectacle from afar and smiled.

"She's defiantly the one Lady Kyra is looking for." he smirked evilly.

A tornado came out of nowhere and engulfed him. Within several seconds, he vanished.


	8. History Lesson

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 7

History Lesson

Young Derpy backed up in fear as a giant monster rose out of the lake where she and eTu`nes have been using as a camp for the past week.  
The monster, in truth, was a Leviathan, a massive sea serpent with a tendency to cause tidal waves and sink ships.  
The monster roared into the air, not even noticing the duo beneath it. It roared again and shook it's snout. It happened to look down and notice the pony and dragon. He chuckled as he saw who the dragon was.  
"Well, well, well. Look who it is. Little eTu`nes." the Leviathan(Michael Clarke Duncan) chuckled. He bent down to the dragon and pony. "last I checked, you were forsaken by your clan by being the weakest Dragon ever born and beaten within a inch of your life. By all statistics, you should be dead by now."  
"I got better." eTu`nes snarled.  
"so I heard." the Leviathan turned his attention to the pony. "heard stories from birds and other animals that a pony nursed you back to health. Goes to show that you are nothing but a weakling. You were a weakling before, and you're a weakling now."  
"Shut up." eTu`nes sternly replied.  
"Hahaha. Oh, this is rich. The weakling, acting all tough. Hahahahahaha. Hohohoho. Brings a tear to my eye. Hahaha!"  
"shut up!" eTu`nes exclaimed.  
"or what, weakling? You can't do anything right. Not only are you weak, but also a burden to everyone around you. No doubt your pony friend can tell you the same thing."  
"now that's not fair. Talking down to eTu`nes like that. He's more kind then the rest of your kind. And how can you tell that he's a Weakling? He's just a baby." Derpy retorted.  
The Leviathan laughed again. "a baby? In your age numbers, he's around, oh I don't know, 17. That's as big as the runt is ever going to get. And he'll never prove anything for himself. everyone would be better off if he had never been born."  
Rage built up inside eTu`nes, eventually reaching a boiling point. "SHUT UP!" eTu`nes yelled at the top of his lungs. He took a deep breath and fired a laser-like breath out at the Leviathan. The beam hit the Leviathan in the head. It roared in pain as it fell back into the water.  
eTu`nes panted in fear, seeing what he had done. Derpy was in shock as well, surprised that eTu`nes was able to that. The dragon looked back at her with fear in his eyes.  
The Leviathan burst out of the water, roaring as loud as he can. "you're gonna pay for that, you mistake!" he yelled. The serpents reply was his own breath attack, similar to what eTu`nes pulled off.  
The blast hit the ground, unfortunately hitting Derpy, or at least near her. Derpy was sent flying to a tree, knocking her out.  
"DERPY!" eTu`nes yelled. She didn't respond or even move. eTu`nes angry reached a new high as he started to glow dark red. The Leviathan chuckled at the sight. What was the runt going to do? eTu`nes roared and jumped at the Leviathan.

20 years later…

Jax groaned in pain as she opened her eyes. She was back on her room at Derpy's house. She sat up but winced as her head hurt like it was going to split in half.  
"dang migraines." she groaned, holding her head. "What happened? Last thing I remember is…" last thing she remembered was fighting the Changelings. "…that's right. I was fighting those mutant insect-ponies. Then I cast Gravity's Void and… and then I blacked out. Always forget that that high-level spells leave me dirt tired. But when I get caught up in the moment…"  
She sighed as she got out of her bed. She held her head in pain and leaned on the wall a bit. "damn. This is a bad one. Hope they have Tylenol here." she groaned as she headed for the door.  
She opened it up to see… nopony home. They were all gone. "finally, a good morning." she groaned happily. She walked over to the kitchen and fumbled around for any painkillers.  
"let's see… Cinnamon… Cilantro… Blueberries…. AH! Here we go. Painkillers." she said as she reached up onto a shelf and grabbed a bottle of painkillers. Jax opened the bottle and popped a couple in. she swallowed them and put the bottle back where she found it.  
Jax walked out of the kitchen, still suffering from a migraine, and noticed a note on the table. She walked over and picked it up.

'Jax,  
Not long after you blacked out, Dinky, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Applebloom, as well as Big Max and Cheeralie, carried you back into town. They explained that you fought off a swarm of Changelings by yourself. Needless to say, we were all impressed. Your sister, Sora, and that Ash guy put you to bed. She said that whenever you do high-level spells, you have a tendency to black out…'  
"Boy, ain't that true." Jax snickered.  
'…and that they usually last for a few hours. So, you should get this the next morning. Princess Luna was pretty curious about you and what you can do…'  
"Princess Luna?" Jax wondered. She shrugged and continued reading the letter.  
'… we told her how you have a bit of a hatred for us Ponies as well as being a powerful magic user. Well, probably fourth best on Equestria…'  
"Arrogant much?" Jax sneered. "and how am I 4th best?"  
'… but needless to say, she was curious about all you humans. She must've been thinking hard about it cause she left for Canterlot the second the sun rose. Clearly, Luna is being her old self again. Oh, listen to me. I'm starting to pander on. My bad. Anyways, when you get this note, please head on over to my house for a orientation of life on Equestria. If all of you are going to be stuck here, you may as well learn of our history, culture, mannerisms. I got Spike and the others ready to help me on that. And we can learn about you humans as well. Some ponies who were interested in you humans are also joining us, such as Lyra, The Mayor, Octavia, Vinyl, Berry Punch, Colgate, Derpy and her cousin Doctor Whooves, Carrot Top, and Sparkler. Hurry, though, we won't wait for you.

Sincerely,  
Twilight Sparkle'

Jax put the letter down and sighed as she leaned on the table. "a class? A history class? That was my least favorite subject in school, now I have to go though it again? She groaned and lowered her head. "well, guess I better go, or else Sora will bean me."  
Jax walked out the door and headed for Twilight's house.

"and not long after that, we…" Requiem began to explain. She was explaining what happened to her and her friends when Jax opened the door, getting her attention.  
She clamored in as tons on ponies tried to talk to her. She slammed the door behind her and fell to the floor, tired. "the whole town is out there. Guess they're very interested with us." Jax panted. She felt something underneath her. She reached down and pulled out a microphone. "What, are they listening on us?" Jax tapped the microphone. "Don't you people have anything better to do?" she asked into the mike.  
"NOPE!" everyone outside responded.  
Jax tossed the mike to the side, causing a loud feedback outside.  
She looked up and saw the humans and ponies inside looking at her. "do I have the right address? I thought I was supposed to be at 343 Baker Street." she joked. She started to duck back out the door.  
"Get in here!" her friends yelled. Jax gave a wheezy snicker as she entered. She sat in the chair in the farthest back. Unfortunately for her, Derpy was also in the back but she didn't notice till the last second.  
"So… where are we on this fun-filled trip though time?" Jax joked, not really caring.  
"oh, nowhere in particular. We finished up both our cultures and are starting to get started on our histories. For us, it's up to the part where we saved the Universe from my brother, is all." Requiem smirked.  
"oh. Well, then by all means. Continue on." Jax joked, gesturing Req to continue.  
"un, ahem. Yes, well, my brother was going to use the power of the stars to try and destroy the Universe, as well as the afterlife and everyone in it. Basically, wipe out all, and I mean ALL, existence."  
"*impressed whistle* dang. that's one bad brother, Req." Rainbow whistled.  
"Yeah, well, fat lot it did him. We beat him and saved the universe. However, during our final bout, he said something to me, something deeply disturbing." Everypony leaned in, including Req's friends. "that there's more like him out there, that the 'little' war between Heaven and Hell we ended on Earth would be nothing compared to what's out in the stars."  
"Yeesh. Well, did you find any?" Colgate asked.  
"well, not what we would call worse…" Ash said, leaning on a wall in the very back. "… but they gave us quite a challenge."  
"like those things on the projector last night during Req's concert?" Octavia asked.  
"Well, they weren't our foes on those worlds. They were our allies and the bad guys were actually their foes. We just helped beat them." Aura said.  
"how so?" Applejack asked, very curious know.  
"well, on the first world we visited, which was actually a solar system called Lylat, we teamed up with a merc group called Star Fox and helped beat a mad scientist called Andross from conquering said system." Satoshi said. "Fox McCloud, Star Fox's leader, delivered the final blow as I kept Andross at bay."  
"and I thought Nightmare Moon was a pain." Rarity joked.

"That ain't nothing." Sora reprimanded. "next world we visited, which was called Sylvarant AND Tethe'alla, I teamed up with the heroes to help take out revived clones of their old foe, Mithos Yggdrasill, which messed up their world in a bad way. Almost lost too."  
"hey, ain't your last name Yggdrasill?" Doctor Whooves asked, feeling a wee bit suspicious.  
"there's no connection. It was merely coincidence." Jax explained. "of course, Lloyd didn't think so at first. Hell, none of them did tell we saved their hides from a giant shark."  
Whooves retracted his comment and sat down, little bit embarrassed.

"The next world we visited was actually a massive heart-shaped nebula in the middle of a bout between Light and Darkness." Ash proceeded. "the heroes, who wield special weapons called Keyblades, were fighting a mean group called Organization XIII, whose leader, Xemnas, was trying to obtain Kingdom Hearts, a powerful entity which is the heart of all their worlds. Needless to say, Xemnas was defeated and their little universe was saved."  
"We also met another Sora, but that's for another day." Sora chuckled.

"Next on the list was Berk, a world inhabited by Dragons and Vikings." Aura went on. "they had just finished a 300-year long war when Romans came and started attacking. Me and their heroes Hiccup and Toothless beat them back, but not before taking out half of their fleet."  
"un… Hiccup and Toothless?" Rarity asked.  
"their custom. Very strange names. Stranger then yours."  
"And what's wrong with Berry Punch?" B.P. asked.

Requiem gave a groaned sigh as she rolled her eyes and held her head. "anyway, if we can move on, I think the next world we visited was one Bahamut had a big impact on."  
"oh, yeah. Next was Warfang, another Dragon inhabited world where they are the dominant species, like you all." Bahamut gestured to the ponies. They all looked at each other. "anyways, I teamed up with their heroes, Spyro and Cynder, to help defeat their revived foe, Malefor. Before, they had him sealed in a massive crystal at the center of the world. With me, we were able to take away his powers and turn him… slightly good again."  
"Slightly good? How's that possible?" Twilight asked.  
"I dunno. But it worked. PLUS, I met the future Ms. Bahamut there." Bahamut snickered, raising his eyebrows up and down like a playa. "Ah, Sapphyre, how I miss ye, let me count the ways." he went on, forgetting that everyone was still there.

"Oooookay, moving on, we visited the last world before we came here. They didn't have a proper name for it so we just called it L-Sama." Requiem continued. "I teamed up with a group who earned the nickname 'the Slayers'."  
"why'd they earn that nickname?" Spike asked.  
"cause they saved the world more times then our combined efforts on other worlds. And most of the time, they went up against powerful Monsters. I helped Lina Inverse, their worlds best sorceress, prevent her old foe Shabranigdo from destroying her hometown. We combined our most powerful spells to take him down; for Lina, it was a signature spell called the Dragon Slave. For me, it was a spell called the Judgment Ray. We combined them both and sent them at ol' Ruby Eyes. He ain't sitting high and mighty now, let me tell you that." Req chuckled. Nobody else did so she gave up before it got embarrassing. "ah… then, not long after that, we ended up here and, well, you know the rest."  
"yeah, yeah. Giant monster strands you here. We know the story." a bored Colgate said.  
"not much of a people person, is she?" Bahamut jokingly asked Carrot Top.  
"here we go again." Requiem muttered. "ANYWAY, with our history and culture out of the way, can we move on to your history?" she asked Twilight.  
"okay. Might take a while."  
"We just did ours in 15 minutes flat. think you can barrel though it." Requiem said as she sat down.  
"well, ahem… where do I begin?"  
"how's about the founding of this place? This kingdom?" Ash asked.  
"I think you mean princess-dom, Ash." Sora joked. Not even a chuckle from anyone. "oh, you guys don't know funny."  
"un…. Ahem. Well, Equestria was founded 2000 years ago. Before then, the 3 kinds of ponies lived apart, deep with resentment for the other races for, well, being different." Twilight started.  
"that sounds familiar." Satoshi whispered to Ash. Ash nodded in agreement.  
"however, it was due to a deadly blizzard brought on by Windigoes; winter spirits that feed off of hatred and anger, that Everypony was able to except each other and live in harmony, and brought about the Elements of Harmony. We remember it as Hearth's Warming Eve."  
Whooves began whistling non-chillingly as he slowly headed for the exit. "what's with the whistling, Whooves?" a suspicious Twilight asked.  
Whooves quickly stopped and turned around, laughing nervously. "un… nothing. Nothing at all. Just un… just un…"  
"oh, no. Cous…" Derpy groaned.  
"I didn't do anything. Honest. I had nothing to do with Windigoes and Hearth's Warming Eve." Whooves chuckled nervously. Derpy face-hoofed herself.

(here you go. Explanation for the nervous breakdown: .com/watch?v=fBC06cWuUNs )

Everyone looked at him suspiciously. "what are you talking about?" A.J. asked.  
"un… da…pa…wa…be….ahe *nonsense sputtering*. N-N-N-N-Nothing. Nothing at all." Whooves chuckled nervously. "just going crazy, is all." he chuckled nervously. He sat down on the floor. Everyone looked at each other, not really convinced.  
"okie dokie loki…" Pinkie Pie droned, not really convinced like the rest.  
"ANYWAAAAY…" Twilight interrupted. "…getting back to history… 50 years after that, the first Alicorns, Celestia and Luna, were born to the first ruler of the newly founded Equestria. Unlike other ponies, Alicorns can live forever and have the most powerful magic around. Even I can't overpower them."  
"well, course they would be powerful. They can raise the sun and the moon." Aura muttered.  
"after the first ruler died 30 years later, Celestia and Luna ruled over us with gentleness and kindness. Least that's how it was for the first 999 or so years."  
"huh?" Sora asked, taking a bite out of a bagel.  
Twi pulled down a picture, showing off… "Discord, the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. He appeared and nearly sent the world into chaos. Thanks to Celestia and Luna, he was sealed away in stone, but not before Discord was able to plant seeds of doubt in Luna. Eventually, though Discord's tricks, Luna became Nightmare Moon and almost pledged the world into Eternal Darkness. With no choice, Celestia used the Elements to banish Nightmare Moon into the moon itself. The celebration following her banishment was the first Summer Sun Celebration."  
Jax tossed several chips into her mouth as Twilight then went on the explain what happened in the show in a whole, such as Nightmare Moon's and Discord's return, the various troubles the Mane 6 all went though, eventually ending with the Changeling attack during her brother's wedding.  
"…then 3 months after that, you guys and that giant monster showed up and… we're now here."  
"that's it? And in…. 11 minutes time. Shorter then me. Congrats." Req joked. Twi accepted it regardless.


	9. Mirror's Edge

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 8

Mirror's Edge

Young Derpy woke up to find herself staring at blackness.

"What? What's going on? Where am I? eTu`nes? eTu`nes, you there?" she called out in fear.

"I'm right here." eTu`nes exclaimed, holding his ears. "You don't need to yell."

"What happened with the Leviathan? Where are we?" she worriedly asked.

"We're still at the lake and the Leviathan…" eTu`nes looked to the water, or rather a specific red spot. "… has been taken care of."

"okay, but why can't I see anything?"

eTu`nes sighed deeply. He really didn't want to explain this. "after the battle, I looked you over. You were badly injured, especially in the eye area. Had to bandage them. Not sure if they'll end up okay or not. You seeing darkness is not really a good sign."

Derpy looked around. A faint red glow entered her vision. "did you start a fire, cause I'm seeing a red glow."

eTu`nes looked between her and the fire. "well, that's a good sign. Guess you're not going to be completely blind."

"Thank goodness for that." Derpy chuckled. She laid down in what she's hoping is grass and laid her head on her hooves. eTu`nes rested his head on his forepaws and closed his eyes.

"eTu`nes? What did that Leviathan mean by you being forsaken?" Derpy asked.

eTu`nes sighed. He didn't want to talk about it. "it was nothing, okay? Let's just leave it at that." he grudgingly sighed.

"okay." Derpy somberly replied. "Then answer me this: why did you lie to me? Why didn't you tell me you knew a way out all along instead of leading me around in circles?"

eTu`nes didn't want to answer that either but he had to give her something. "because… because you were the first… THING to ever care about me. The first one to help me. The first one to care for me. The first one to… to even care."

"what about your parents?"

"Pbbt. They don't care. They never cared. They treated me worse then the others. That beaten state you found me in? that was done by my parents." Derpy gasped in fear, bringing one of her hooves to her mouth. "what kind of parent does that to their child? Why?" he asked himself, not fully understanding why this would happen to him.

"I don't know." Derpy responded. She wasn't sure how to comfort him with this. Using where she heard his voice and the position of the fire's glow in her bandaged eyes, she was able to find him and curl up beside him, causing eTu`nes to blush a little. "but… I know that you aren't a bad guy. You're just misunderstood."

"Thanks Derpy." eTu`nes smiled. Derpy laid down and fell asleep beside him. eTu`nes waited till he was sure she was asleep before saying… "and… there's also another reason why I lied to you." he somberly said. He knew she couldn't hear him but he didn't care. For once, his life was looking up. He fell asleep and let the night roll over them both.

20 years later…

Something groaned in pain in the bushes near the cave where Jax and the Changelings fought. It moved around for a moment but stopped afterwards.

Ash walked though town, heading for Fluttershy's place while looking though a book titled '101 ways to please your special someone.' he just ignored all the ones that weren't human related and changed the word Pony to Human.

Spike noticed him while carrying some scrolls and headed on over. "hey Ash. What'cha reading?" he asked.

Ash flipped back to the cover. "101 ways to please your special someone."

"101 ways to… you have a special someone in your little group?" Spike asked, a little confused.

"yeah. Sora. She and me have been going steady for awhile but we're keeping it a secret. Don't want anyone else to know."

"why?"

Ash closed the book and scratched the back of his head. "Well… it's mostly because of Jax. She has this crush for me and we figured that if she found out… well… it won't end well."

"well, I can agree with her on that. Crush's are harsh." Spike agreed.

"how so?" Ash asked with curiosity.

"you know the pony you're staying with? Rarity?"

"The Fashionista?"

"Yeah. I kinda have a crush on her."

"oh."

"but I don't think it would work out. I mean, she's a Pony. And I'm a Dragon. And a baby at that. How am I supposed to tell her I have a crush for her?"

Ash thought for a moment. "well, you could just tell her."

"Pbbt. Yeah right. Tried that once and it didn't really work out well." Spike said, thinking back to him going ballistic with the greed and growing to Godzilla size.

"huh?"

"it's nothing. It's nothing. But… I'm worried how she'll take it if I told her. Will she except it or just run me over?"

"Well, you're never know till you try, right?" Ash asked, patting the dragon on the back. Spike partially nodded in agreement. "listen, I'll even help you out. What do you say?"

"Really? How?"

Ash showed off the book's title. "with 101 ways."

"okay. Follow me to your new home, my sweets." Fluttershy said. She walked backward though a forest, leading a mother duck and her ducklings to their new home with Bahamut flying escort.

"So… let me see if I got this straight…" Bahamut said, flying upside-down and trying to piece together the fine elements of the world. "…the animals are completely dependant on Ponies? They don't do anything for themselves?" he asked with his fine british accent.

"well, they do some things for themselves but other times, like being sick or injured or finding a new place to live, they need out help." Fluttershy explained, not taking her eye off the ducks.

"Ah. Right. Well, that would explain it, I suppose." he droned, looking at the audience. "but I still find it confusing. I mean, why are they dependant on you? Why do your kind look after them?"

"I don't know. It was just the world I was born into. You should asked Twilight or Princess Luna about that. They know everything there is to know about our world."

Bahamut flipped around and flew right-side up. "Yeah, but Luna didn't seem to be in a pleasant mood when we met her. Think someone skimped on her cake or something." FS chuckled at the joke. Bahamut scratched the back of his head. "stop it. You're gonna make me blush."

"sorry."

"Ah, it's okay. Everyone deserves a good laugh now and again." Bahamut gasped in fear. "oh dear lord, I sound like Pinkie."

"Least you don't act like Pinkie."

"good point. Whew." Bahamut pretended to wipe sweat from his brow.

"okay, take it up." Satoshi told a couple of Pegasi as they took a piece of the rigging up to the top of the 1st mast. "over to the right." he said to the duo. They moved the rigging to the right of the mast. "little bit more." they moved more to the right. "Little bit more…. Teeny bit more…." now they were getting annoyed. "And there. Perfect." the Pegasi tied the rigging to that part of the mast and flew off to another part of the vessel.

"way this is going, we'll probably be done in half the time." Satoshi said, walking up this blueprints which Rainbow was also looking at. He pulled up a stool and looked it over. "but… we matter until we get that part." he muttered as he took a sip of his drink though a straw.

"What part?" Dash asked, taking a drink out of her juice.

Satoshi spit the straw out of his mouth. "this part." he said, pointing to a engine like component. "it's what we use to go from world to world. Even it _Orion _get's working again, we won't leave this world without that engine. And before you ask, that giant monster took it when we first arrived here. Devious little bugger. And smart, I'll give him that."

"can't you just make another one?"

"not possible. That engine was created by Gabriëlle and his kind using methods no one can replicate. Best chance we have is getting it back."

"And not knowing where that monster is could be a problem, right?" R.D. asked.

"yep. We're screwed." Satoshi somberly said. He took out the straw and took a drink of with his lips.

The being in the bushes groaned as it started to move again. The bushes shook as the creature left the bush and headed for Ponyville, clearly unaware of his heading. It was leaving green blood behind it.

"This way, little ducklings. This way to the water." Fluttershy said as the group neared a river. Bahamut yawned in boredom as he hung upside-down from a branch.

Fluttershy moved to the side, allowing the ducks to get to the water and swim away. "Good luck. And don't forget me." she called out in her own meek way.

"They're ducks. They don't remember anything past 2 minutes." Bahamut said, passing it off. Fluttershy stared at him angrily. Bahamut squeaked in fear as his tail uncurled around the branch and fell into a bush. He heard stories about Fluttershy's stare and is not one to be on the receiving end.

"oh. Oh dear. I'm so sorry, Bahamut." Fluttershy apologized.

"ow. That hurt." Bahamut groaned, rubbing his head as he walked out on three legs. What he didn't notice was the green blood on the paw he was rubbing his head with.

"Oh my. Bahamut, you're injured." Fluttershy said in alarm.

"What? I feel fine." he said. He put the paw on the ground, where he felt something weird. He looked down and saw that he stepped in green blood.

"see? You're badly hurt. Now let me bandage that wound up and…"

"This isn't my blood." Bahamut abruptly said, interrupting F.S. she stopped and looked at him curiously. "my blood is white." Bahamut pricked his paw and let some of his blood seep out. "See?" he said, holding it up.

"then that means there's another animal out there, badly wounded." Fluttershy meekly whined.

Bahamut hovered above where he landed in the bush. "and he's losing a lot of it. There's spots heading back to town."

"We should help him before he does something foolish. Come on." Fluttershy said with confidence, running in the direction of the blood trail.

"Wait up!" a peeved Bahamut exclaimed. He quickly dove into the water, washing any blood off of him, and flew after Fluttershy.

The creature limped towards Ponyville, nearing falling over in the process. His vision started to blur to dangerous levels.

"no… not now. I don't want to die." it groaned as it tried to stay awake. He coughed up blood and fell on his front legs. He shook as he tried to get up. "please…. Don't let me die here." he pleaded to whatever god or goddess there was.

He struggled to get up and headed again for town.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders were playing a game of soccer with their schoolmates in the woods. Dinky kicked the ball hard into Tiara's and Spoon's goalpost.

"Yeah. Good going, Dink's." Applebloom cheered as she and the other crusaders dog-piled on her.

"lucky shot, that's all." Tiara grumblingly said.

"What's wrong, Tiara? Sore loser?" Sweetie Belle joked. She and the others laughed. Tiara pouted and crossed her hoofs.

"where'd our ball go?" Dinky asked.

"Over there." Scootaloo said, pointing towards the soccer ball, right next to a tree far from them. "I got it." she said, being the one on top. She jumped off and headed for the ball.

The other 2 Crusaders got off Dinky and helped her up.

Scootaloo got to the ball and grabbed it. She started back when she heard a groaning sound coming from the other side of the tree. It left for a few seconds, then came again. Curious, Scootaloo walked around to the other side and saw what was making that noise.

"Ahh!" she yelped, getting the attention of the kids. Scootaloo leaned in for a closer look. "What is that?" she wondered, looking at the black insect-like pony.

The kids gathered around it. It was badly beaten and bloody all over. It wheezed and shivered with every breath and it was barely able to keep it's eyes open. It barely opened it's eyes to see the kids gathering around him. It closed it's eyes and lowered it's head as exhaustion overtook him and slipped him into unconsciousness.

"hey. Hey!" Scootaloo called out to the unknown thing. No response. "Help!" she called out. "we need help. Someone's badly hurt here! Someone, Help!"

Bahamut and Fluttershy followed the trail of blood to town. "the fact it came this far having lost all that blood is nothing short of commendable." Bahamut pointed out.

The 2 arrived just as Scootaloo found the badly beaten creature and her friends started gathering around it. "…hurt here! Someone, Help!" Scootaloo called out.

Bahamut and Fluttershy ran up to the girls. Bahamut panted heavily as he stopped flying and comically fell into a bush. "What happened?" Fluttershy asked.

"we don't know. We were just playing a game of soccer when Scootaloo found this guy badly injured." Applebloom explained.

Bahamut poked his head out of the bush and shook any leaves off of his horns. "So, what is that thing?"

"It's a Changeling." Fluttershy gasped.

Twilight and Spike walked though the markets, heading back to the library. Spike was carrying some boxes in his arms while Twilight carried bags of groceries with her magic.

"Again, sorry I was late, Twi. Ash had me distracted with something." Spike apologized yet again for the umpteenth time.

"and I said I already forgave you, Spike. Besides, I needed to ask Big Mac something so the delay was quite welcome." Twilight said.

"what did you need to ask Big Mac? Just out of curiosity, you know."

"needed some help moving that bookcase in the basement. Remember?"

"oh right. The steel one. Still don't know why that's in the library."

"neither do I, but I figure that with his strength and my magic, we should finally be able to move it." she said with authority and her eyes closed. Not seeing where she was going, she walked into somepony and fell on her butt. "sorry. I was…" she looked up and saw the stallion she ran into at the Summer Sun celebration.

"hey. Look who it is? Small world after all." the ice-blue stallion with black hair joked.

"Halo. Surprise, surprise." Twi chuckled.

"un… who is this?" Spike asked, looking from behind the boxes.

Halo was surprised by the appearance of the dragon. "What's this? A dragon?" he asked with his calm british accent.

"yeah. Spike. I raised him since he was just a egg. We've been like brother and sister ever since." she explained as Halo began looking Spike over.

"un….. Twi, who's this kook?" Spike angrily asked.

"Spike!" Twi exclaimed in anger. "This is Halo's Light. I bumped into him at the Summer Sun Celebration."

"okay, but who IS he?"

Twi was going to answer but stopped before she could mutter a word. "huh. Guess I didn't really ask that."

Halo didn't listen but instead continued to look Spike over. "amazing. A Dragon raised by a pony and capable of basic speech. Fascinating."

Spike rolled his eyes in anger. "listen, bub. Think you can stop doing this? Feeling really uncomfortable here."

"Oh. Sorry. My bad. The name is Halo's Light. I am a researcher for the Royal Academy of Science at Canterlot. I came to Ponyville to examine the mysterious Everfree Forest."

"The wha…" Twi shook her head. She couldn't believe her ears. "the Royal Academy of Science?" she gleamed. "you work for the Royal Academy of Science?" she squealed.

"un…. Yeah?" Halo replied, not sure how this will go over.

"oh. Ahem. Sorry about that." Twilight chuckled nervously. "just wanted to visit that place for oh so long."

"Well, what kept ya?" Halo asked.

"my study's with Princess Celestia. You may have heard of me? Twilight Sparkle?"

"Twili… oh, Hahaha. I didn't know I made the acquaintance of Celestia's star pupil and the Element of Magic." Halo chuckled. Twi chuckled back and Spike rolled his eyes again.

"Twi. We're busy with something!" Spike growled as he walked off.

"oh, right. Sorry, Halo but I'm busy with something? Maybe we can get together sometime." Twi said as she turned to leave.

"sure. Know this place called Sugarcube Corner? I'll be there tonight at 6. Maybe we can talk more there?"

"Sure. No prob." Twi replied. The 2 went their separate ways. Twi looked back at Halo and moaned. "man, Halo is so dreamy. His eyes… OH, they send shivers down my spine…" Spike rolled his eyes in distress. This was going to be a looooooong day. "… and that voice. *purrs* momma like." Spike looked at her with a freaked out look in his eyes. "What? Oh, it's like your crush on Rarity. Don't give me that look." she retorted as she walked away faster.

"but I never purred at someone." Spike muttered as he tried to catch up.

The Changeling rested in Fluttershy's bed, sleeping soundly. He was bandaged and healed thanks to Fluttershy. He was still unconscious but he could tell his wounds were taken care of. Fluttershy smiled and headed downstairs to meet with Bahamut and the fillies who were there.

"You know, we should really tell someone about that Changeling." Bahamut said, breaking the silence. "he could get better help and…"

"not a good idea, B." Scootaloo said. "these things aren't exactly popular with the grown-ups. If people learn that a Changeling's in town, they would want him gone."

"Really? They're that bad?"

"from what we saw after the wedding, not very." Applebloom said. "still, we should probably tell Applejack and the others about this."

"no. I don't want anyone knowing about him till he's better. If Everypony learned about him now, they would throw him in the dungeon no matter how he is. Or worse, we could get thrown into a dungeon." Fluttershy explained. "so, please, let's keep this a secret."

"So what? You want us to keep a deadly monster a secret? Fat chance! We're taking this to the authorities." Tiara exclaimed. She and Spoon headed for the door but were blocked by Fluttershy.

"uh-oh. Everyone duck and cover." Sweetie Belle exclaimed. Bahamut was confused but was pulled down behind a couch by the Crusaders.

"Ow! What was that for?" Bahamut exclaimed.

"Trust me. You don't want to see this." Sweetie Belle said, leaving Bahamut confused with no explanation.

"I asked nicely to keep the wounded Changeling upstairs a secret from the town and you're gonna go and tell Everypony anyway?"

"and why should we keep this a secret?" Spoon retorted.

"cause I'll tell both your mothers that you've been treating poor Dinky Hooves very badly at school for her mother having weird eyes." Fluttershy exclaimed, giving the 2 her trademark Stare. Tiara and Spoon gulped. They heard of the Stare before and how it turned a Dragon and a Cockatrice into sissies.. "So, I'm asking nicely once again. Don't tell anyone that there's a Changeling here! Got it!"

Tiara and Spoon nodded while whimpering like a couple of cowardly dogs.

"Wait? That was it?" Bahamut exclaimed in confusion. "These 4 had me believing that the Stare was something dangerous."

"well, you weren't on the receiving end." Scootaloo said.

Fluttershy scoffed and headed back upstairs. "wait wait wait. Quick question, FS." Bahamut said, coming from behind the couch. "if the Changelings are as bad as everyone is making them out to be, why are you taking care of one upstairs?"

Fluttershy didn't have to think hard for a answer. "why not? Just because someone is different doesn't mean they shouldn't get help." she responded in her soft voice as she headed upstairs.

Bahamut grudgingly nodded in agreement. "makes sense." he muttered. "but why are people so afraid of these Changelings, anyways?"

"guess it's mostly due to the Backstory, I suppose." Sweetie Belle said as she jumped over the couch. "they take the form of somepony you love and feed of the other's love for the one you replaced. They really didn't gain any popularity points when their queen tried to take control of Equestria during Twilight's Brother's Wedding."

"That would do it." Bahamut said.

Fluttershy returned to her room to see the Changeling moving violently in his sleep, groaning in fear as he dreamed a bad dream.

"oh dear." Fluttershy meekly said as she flew over to the Changeling. "it's okay. It's okay. You're safe now." she softly said as she calmed him down.

The Changeling calmed down and was able to crack open his eyes. He saw the most beautiful mare he ever saw looking down on him as the light hit her though a open window. "oh. Thank goodness. You're awake." she sighed with relieve. What's your name?" she softly asked.

The Changeling barely had any energy to move, much less talk. But, though some stroke of luck, he was able to mutter something. "M-mirr…"

"Myrrh?" a confused Fluttershy asked.

"Mirror's… Edge…." he weakly said. He slipped back into unconsciousness as Fluttershy looked at him lovingly, like a mother to her child.

"Mirror's Edge? That's a unique name." Fluttershy said. She flew over to her bathroom sink and soaked a washcloth. She went over to Edge and placed the washcloth over his forehead. "don't worry, Mr. Mirror's Edge. I'll keep you safe." Fluttershy calmly and lovingly said.


	10. Newcomers

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 9

Newcomers

the 5th day after the incident with the Leviathan, most of Derpy's body was healed but her eyes were still gonna take a few more days. eTu`nes has been helping her out as well as he could but there's only so much one tiny dragon can do. so, he came up with a idea. One that may work.

"what are you doing, eTu`nes?" Derpy called out as the winged lizard lead her though the forest.

"I think I know someone who may be able to help with your eyes. I met her just a few days before We ran into each other." he said.

"oh?"

"She'll be able to help. I'm sure of it. If anything, she'll give us some salve or potion that should speed up the healing process."

"I sure hope so. I hate being blind." Derpy responded.

eTu`nes lead Derpy to a familiar hollowed out tree. There were some bags outside and the sounds of grunting inside. "where the heck are we?" Derpy asked.

"a Zebra's tree house. From what she told me, she just moved here from a distant land. She was a Shaman so she may have some nature made concoction that will help you out." the Dragon explained.

"Zebra?" a confused Derpy asked. "What's a Zebra?" eTu`nes just shrugged.

eTu`nes walked up to the makeshift door and knocked on it. "hello? Z?" he asked.

The makeshift door opened and a young Zecora stood over the duo. "ah, eTu`nes. Just the Dragon I wanted to see."

"I am?" eTu`nes asked, not really sure what she meant.

"Yes, yes. I had a feeling you were coming…" she looked behind eTu`nes and noticed Derpy walking around, trying to find out where she is. "…and who is this I see fumbling?"

"oh, this is… Ditzy. Ditzy Doo." eTu`nes lied. "she lost her eyesight a few days ago thanks to a Leviathan's beam. You got anything that would work?"

Zecora thought for a moment then got a light bulb over her head. "just a moment, young dragon. I'm sure I still have a Flagon." she said as she walked over to her bags.

Derpy felt her way to eTu`nes, made sure it was him, and hit him upside the head. "Ditzy? You told her my name was Ditzy?" she angrily whispered.

"Well, what did you want me to do? I barely know her. All I know is that she's nice and might help us out." he whispered back.

"I hope so. But the fake name?"

"well, I wanted an excuse to use it."

"eTu`nes!" Derpy growled though her teeth.

"Aha. Here is the Salve you need…" Zecora said as she pulled out a potion bottle. "…in order to give Ditzy back her eye's glean."

Zecora handed the bottle to eTu`nes. "Thanks, Z." eTu`nes said.

"Yeah. Thanks." 'Ditzy' added. She suddenly started squirming. "un… you happen to have a bathroom, by any chance? I've been holding it in since this morning." she asked.

Zecora lead her around back and left to give Derpy some privacy.

"Thanks again, Zecora. You're a life-saver."

"it's was a pleasure, young Drake. I hope the potion will give her back her eyes for her Sake."

"I hope so too." eTu`nes muttered.

Zecora saw it in his eyes. "you don't want the Pony to go. Am I guessing that that is so?"

"yeah. She was the first true friend I had. And if she gets her sight back, she may leave. I don't wanna be alone." eTu`nes depressing muttered.

Zecora nodded her head in understanding. "I see, I see. Love is such a fickle thing."

"I'm not in love with her." eTu`nes retorted. "she's just a friend. Besides, a DragonxPony relationship don't work. I know, I heard. I've seen one fall flat."

"Well, be it friend or lover, it shouldn't really matter. For even if distance keeps you are apart, you'll always be connected in the heart." Zecora poetically put. eTu`nes sighed. She's right but… he didn't want to hear it.

Derpy groaned pleasurably as she walked away from the tree she used as a toilet. "AH! Much better." she sighed. "now, where are you guys?"

eTu`nes flew over to the grey Pegasus and landed beside her. "right here, Ditzy. Let's go."

"okay!" Derpy cheerfully replied. "Thanks again, miss Shaman Woman."

"you're welcome, miss Ditzy." Zecora responded.

"you know, you should come by Ponyville sometime. I'll show you around, no charge needed." Derpy said.

Zecora chuckled. "I would like that, Ms. Ditzy. But maybe not now, for you see. I still need to finish hollowing this tree."

"well, the offer will still stand in 20 years or so. If you come by then, I'll give you the grand tour." Derpy waved.

eTu`nes depressingly looked to the ground and shook his head. No time to think about the future now. He patted Derps on the back and turned her in the direction of their camp.

20 Years Later…

Fluttershy soundly slept on her couch while the Changeling upstairs occupied her bed. Bahamut hung upside-down from a beam and was a soft snorer. Fenrir and Cobalt slept in a corner in the kitchen, not as loud as Bahamut.

The Changeling struggled to open his eyes. He was still deathly weak from yesterday. He looked around and saw that he was in a pony's house.

"darn…" it weakly groaned. "… it wasn't a dream."

He moved the covers and struggled to get up, which he did. Barely.

Bahamut snored loudly, which covered the Changeling's tumble to the ground floor. It winced in pain as it reached the floor.

"Damn, that hurt." it groaned though it's teeth. It struggled to it's feet and slowly made it's way to the door. It was close enough to touch the doorknob when it started coughing. Hard. He coughed up blood as he held his mouth.

The coughing woke our favorite animal lover up. She yawned, opened her eyes, and saw the shape-shifter standing at the door, coughing up blood.

"oh, Dear!" she exclaimed, the sight snapping her awake. She quickly flew over to the injured Changeling. "you shouldn't be moving!"

"I'm fine!" the Changeling snapped. It collapsed and panted.

"you are far from fine, Mirror's Edge. You're still too injured to move!" Fluttershy kindly said.

Edge was surprised that the pony knew his name. "you know my name?" he asked, not really sure how she knew.

"you told me yesterday. You were probably too tired to have been thinking properly." she draped her wing over him. "come on, let's get you back to bed. You're still badly injured."

F.S. lead the Changeling back up the stairs to F.S.'s room. Edge was still confused that a Pony would helping one of his kind. "Why are you helping me? I'm a Changeling and you're a Pony, so why…"

"I believe that everyone deserves a little kindness, regardless of who they are." Fluttershy proclaimed. That saying surprised Edge a bit. So those that mean she'd help creatures more dangerous then him, like Manticores and Dragons? He didn't get a chance to ask as he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Applejack manned the stall in town with Applebloom, trying to sell some fine apple products to the town.

"how come no one's buyin'?" a bored Applebloom asked.

"Think they still 'member what happened last time you helped with the stall. Celestia knows Whooves, Bonbon, and Berry sure do." A.J. explained. A.B. blushed embarrassingly, remembering that day well.

"Well, it's been a full year. Surely they still aren't that angry with me." she pointed out. Yeah… no. they're still angry as they walked by the stall on separate occasions, noticed Applebloom, and trotted off before there could be a repeat of last time.

Applebloom fell to a slump as she pushed her head into the dirt. A.J. shook her head in amusement.

a black stallion walked up, browsed the selection, and took a normal green apple. He tossed a couple of bits onto the stall and took a bite. "wow. This is excellent. Best apple I tasted." he said with a british accent.

'Jack and 'Bloom took notice of the guy when he spoke. "well, gosh they should be. Sweet Apple Acres grows some of the best apples in all of Equestria." A.J. proudly proclaimed.

"I'm not arguing." the Black Earth Pony with Ice-Blue hair and a binocular shaped Cutie Mark said. "I've been to a lot of cities in my time but I can honestly say that these are the best apples ever."

"Well, glad you like them, Mr…" A.J. droned. The stallion took a moment before he knew what to do.

"oh. Name's Zilver. Zilver's Light." he reciprocated. (it's pronounced Silver. Z is just for show.)

"Zilver's Light, huh? Name's Applejack, and this is my sister Applebloom." A.J. introduced. "I don't believe I've seen you in town before. You just come here?"

"yesterday, actually. My brother, Halo, told me to meet him here. The thing is is that I can't seem to find him."

"Halo? As in Halo's Light?" Applebloom asked.

"yeah."

"Twilight was going on about him after the Summer Sun Celebration, right?" 'Bloom asked A.J.

"yeah. She mentioned him. But other then that, I don't know. Try asking Twilight. She should be at the library. Just look for the big hollowed out tree, you can't miss it."

"un… where?" Silver embarrassingly asked. "I get lost faster then you can say 'bob's your uncle'."

A.J. rolled her eyes. She walked over to Zilver but slipped on a Banana peel. Silver quickly caught her.

"thanks." A.J. said. She moved her hat out of her face and found herself looking into Silver's eyes.

"no prob." Zilver softly said.

Applebloom looked between the 2 and got a sinister idea. So sinister, she got the Grinch face.

A.J. quickly got out of his hooves and brushed herself off. "well, as I was saying, you see that big tree over yonder?" she said, pointing to the tree that rose over the buildings to their right. "That's the Library. Just go straight down this path and take a right. Can't miss it."

"Thanks." Zilver said. He grabbed a few more apples, tossed some bits on the stall, and headed for the Library.

"And make sure to come by Sweet Apple Acres someday. Place is always open to the public." A.J. called out.

"I may do that." Zilver called out from a distance.

A.J. smiled as she turned around and started gathering up the bits Zil' left behind. Applebloom leaned in and smiled. A.J. noticed and got really confused really quick. "what?"

"you know what." Applebloom said with a chuckle. "you like Zilver."

"What? I do not." A.J. proclaimed. She looked away and started blushing. "besides, we just met."

"yeah, but I saw what happened after you slipped. You both looked into each other's eyes with affection." Applebloom egged on.

"We were both surprised I fell, that's it. Still meant nothing."

"if you say so." A.P. said. She wasn't gonna give up, though. When she get's something in her head, she goes for broke.

Rainbow Dash snored in a tree as she took her nap. Satoshi didn't feel well, to the point that he threw up his breakfast, so everyone was given the day off.

"INCOMING!" someone yelled out, waking Dash from her nap. She flew up into the sky to see where the yelling was coming from.

"hello!" she called out. No answer. "HELLO!" she called out again. She crossed her front hooves angrily. "if this is someone's idea of a practical joke, I-" something rammed into. Both dash and the thing crashed into the ground.

Something broke apart when it hit the ground as parts were strung all over the place. It was in too many pieces to tell what it was. Smoke and fire filled the area, obscuring anything more then 10 feet away.

Rainbow sat up, holding her head as stars circled her head. She shook it and the stars went away. "What hit me?" she groaned.

Scootaloo rolled up in her scooter. She saw the crash site and noticed Dash. "Dash! Hey, Dash!" she called out. She ran down to her as Dash looked back to see her. "Dash, what happened?"

"no clue. I was just taking a nap when this thing came out of the sky. I think birds are flying around me. Are birds flying around me?" Dash dizzily asked.

"no." Scoots said, looking and seeing nothing.

"Oh. Then it's just me." Dash chuckled loosely as she fell back. Scoots caught her but Dash's weight caused her to fall on Scoots.

"Good Grief!" Scoots moaned.

Something clanged as it fell nearby. Dash sat up to take notice, as well as letting Scootaloo out from under her head.

"you weigh a ton, you know that?" Scoots groaned.

Dash shushed her. Another clanging sound came, frightening the 2.

"Oh. Oh, _me gusta_, that hurt." someone groaned. Dash and Scoots looked around for where it came from.

Somepony used magic to blast a piece of sheet metal off of him. He got up and held his head as he groaned. "Ayiyi, that hurt." he groaned with a Spanish accent. He looked around and saw the smoke. _"Ai Basura. _Not again." he groaned, this time in distress.

His horn glowed and the smoke instantly disappeared, revealing the wreck and the mystery pony. The Crimson Unicorn with Silver hair and goggles both on his head and as a Cutie Mark noticed Dash and Scoots.

"_Hola, Chickas_. Sorry for the mess." he cheerfully said. "guess I didn't watch where I was flying, _ya_?"

"Ya? This is a mess!" Rainbow yelled.

"I know, I know. And I'll get to it. Just gotta check my blueprints for a second, 'kay?" the Unicorn said. His horn glowed and the blueprints to his contraption appeared and unfurled in midair.

Rainbow and Scoots leaned in to see that the vehicle was a small car-like device modeled after a Hot Rod. Safe to say that it wasn't a good design.

"un… what's this for?" Scootaloo asked.

"_Qué?"_ he asked as he looked back at the 2 Pegasi. "oh, this? This is a vehicle I'm making. It'll allow earth Ponies and Unicorns to fly the skies like Pegasi. Unfortunately…" something exploded in the wreck, surprising Dash and Scoots but not the Unicorn. "…experiment 33 did not go well."

"33? You did this 33 times?" Dash asked, a bit surprised that the non-flyer was able to get that far.

"yep. Each one ended in failure, _meha_. Thought I had it down with that design but, low and behold, it crashed and burned."

"Rrrrrriiiight." Dash droned. "the guys a nutso." she whispered to Scootaloo. Scoots chuckled. "well, you aren't gonna get anything down out here. Right not head into town. Think of what to do while having a cupcake at Sugarcube Corner."

"Sugarcube what-now?"

Dash and Scoots looked at each other and nodded. They walked behind the Unicorn and started pushing him to town, much to his surprise.

He got up and rolled away from the 2. "I can walk, _meha_. no need to push me." he grumbled as he walked on towards town. "oh, by the way, name's Storm. Storm Shadow."

Rainbow opened her mouth, about to speak, when guess who should interrupt. "my name is Scootaloo. And this here is Rainbow Dash, the coolest, fastest, most awesomest pony around."

Dash started blushing. "well, I don't like to toot my own horn but yeah, I am."

"Fastest, eh? Guess we'll see about then when I get my newest invention done." Storm proclaimed. "Considering it doesn't blow up this time." he said with a smile.

"oh!" Pinkie groaned. She was waiting at the Train Station with Rarity, Spike, and Peewee for the 1 o'clock to roll in. "what's keeping it?"

"I'm sure it'll be here soon, Pinkie. Just be patient." Rarity said.

"patient? Pinkie? Rarity, it's like asking a Dragon not to horde gold or diamonds." Spike said with a half-closed eye.

"guess that is true." Rarity muttered. "so, who are we waiting for again?" she asked.

"says here that…" Spike pulled up his hand, but with nothing in it. He noticed and saw that Peewee was munching on it. He quickly pulled it out and wiped off anything wet. "… says here that we're waiting for Marble Cake, Mr. and Mrs. Cakes Pegasus nephew. Says here we'll know him as he'll have a white body with black hair…"

"sounds true to his name." Rarity joked.

Spike gave a not-amused look to Rarity. She chuckled and gestured him to continue. "… as well as having a cake server for his Cutie Mark. And according to the Cakes, he's basically a male version of Pinkie."

"2 Pinkies? The world must be coming to an end." Rarity joked. Spike chuckled, as well as Peewee.

"Yeah. Apparently, his parents think that living in Ponyville will do something for him. I don't know, maybe they wanted to give him a free trip or something."

"here it comes, here it comes!" Pinkie excitedly exclaimed, looking down the tracks to see the train coming into station. Spike and Rarity poked their heads in and saw that it was coming in.

The train pulled in and stopped. Steam hissed out of the engine as the doors to the cars opened and the passengers disembarked.

Pinkie groaned like she had to go to the bathroom as she peered over the heads to try and find Marble.

The passengers left and… no Marble.

"maybe he missed his train." Spike suggested.

"no no no. he's here. I can sense him." Pinkie proclaimed, moving around, trying to find him.

"Can't argue with Pinkie Sense." both dragon and unicorn said in unison.

Pinkie sniffed the ground like a dog, trying to pick up his scent. Spike and Rarity couldn't help but chuckle.

Pinkie sniffed near the benches when she ran into somepony. She looked up and… found herself looking at a pony wearing black clothes, black sunglasses, and has his mane hanging over his right eye. "Sorry. Didn't see you there. I'm looking for this Pegasus called Marble Cake."

The pony lowered his glasses, revealing his eyes. "and I take it you're Pinkie? The hyper-pink pony Unc warned me about?"

"Wait? You're Marble?" Spike asked. "funny, the note didn't say you went… dark." he exclaimed in surprise.

"who's the Dragon and why does he have a Phoenix?" Marble asked.

"oh. Un, he's Spike. The Phoenix is Peewee and the Unicorn is Rarity. And I'm Pinkie, Ponyville's Premium Party Planner!" she exclaimed. A couple of party cannons came out of nowhere and fired right in Marble's face. He was not amused. "and since your new to Ponyville, I'm gonna throw you the biggest party you probably saw. They'll be balloons, cake, punch, everyone from Ponyville, Cupcakes…" Pinkie rambled on.

Marble moved his head to the side and turned his attention to the Dragon and Unicorn. "is she always this Hyper?" he asked. The duo nodded in unison. Marble smiled nervously. "Right!…" he exclaimed, shutting Pinkie up in the process. "… well, as much fun as that sounds, I'm gonna hafta decline. Not really a party pony."

Pinkie's mouth fell, same with Spike and Rarity. The Dragon and Unicorn looked at the note again. Ain't Marble supposed to be a male version of Pinkie?

Marble walked by Pinkie and the shocked duo, heading for the exit.

"That…" Rare shook her head, getting rid of the shock. "…was unexpected." she ended.

"I know. It's like he's the Anti-Pinkie: Depressing Party Pooper."

"Wonder what happened?" Rare asked.

"probably going though a phase. I remember when Twilight and Armor went though theirs." Spike shivered at the thought. "scary stuff."

Spike turned to go back to the Library. Rarity cleared her throat and turned his attention to Pinkie.

Pinkie sat on her bottom, mouth wide open in shock, just like when she was when Spike went Godzilla. Spike grabbed Pinkie's tail and pulled while Rarity pushed. They dragged her off the platform where Marble was waiting for them.

Halo looked though the shelves in the library, trying to find any info on the Everfree Forest before going in.

"let's see…" he muttered. "…where's _Supernaturals_? Need to know what curses I might get going in."

Twilight came down from her bedroom and noticed Halo. "Halo?"

He looked behind him and noticed our favorite magic user. "oh, hey Twilight. Don't mind me, just looking for any and all books and maps on the Everfree Forest. I won't be long… considering I can find them." he chuckled.

Twi got a amused look. Her horn glowed and everything related to Everfree came flying off the shelves from all over and hovered in front of her. "Halo?"

Halo turned around yet again and saw all the books and maps. "Wha… how… man, times like this make me wish I was that skilled." he groaned as he started grabbing the books.

"you mean you can't?"

"I can't even do a simple light spell, lady." he sighed depressingly. "some Unicorn I am."

"you didn't have anyone to help you?"

"Nope. First Unicorn in 10 generations to be born into a family of Earth Ponies. So no one had any idea on what to do when I came along."

"oh, that's so sad." Twi said with a somber expression. An idea entered her head. "hey, how about I help you?"

"with what, magic?"

"Yeah, yeah. I can help you out with it. And I'm sure Rarity, Lyra, or Comet can help as well."

"hmm…" Halo thought for a moment. "…well, If you think it's a good idea."

"it is. Plus, magic might help you out in Everfree, what with all the monsters."

"True. Okay. I'll take you up on your offer."

Twi clapped her hooves together in excitement. "this is gonna work!" she told herself.

"Beg pardon?" Halo asked, not hearing what Twi said.

"nothing!" Twi blurted. "nothing at all." Twilight's stomach growled. She blushed embarrassingly. "un… I'm starting to feel a bit peckish. You hungry?"

"Famished. I haven't eaten a thing all day."

"come on. Let's head to Sugarcube Corner. They should have some fresh crepes today." she said as they walked out the room they were in.

"oh, crepes." Halo groaned with hunger, smacking his lips just at the mere mention of the French goodies. "oh. Forgot my saddlebag. Be right back." Halo went back to the room he and Twi were in.

Twi opened the door only to see Zilver standing in the doorway, about to knock. "Can I help you?" she asked.

"Yeah. Looking for a Unicorn. Goes by the name Halo. You seen him?" he asked.

"Halo!" Twi exclaimed with surprise.

"yeah?" Halo replied, walking out of the room with his saddlebag. He noticed Zilver. "Zil! About time you got here." he happily exclaimed as he ran over.

"Sorry, but your letter was cryptic, as usual."

"again, sorry. Read one too many Marelock Holmes." Halo chuckled nervously. Zilver rolled his eyes in duress.

"un… ahem." she cleared her throat, getting both of their attentions. "Do you two know each other." Twi asked in confusing.

"oh. Twilight. This is my brother, Zilver. Zil, this is Twilight Sparkle."

"hello." Twilight waved nervously with a slight blush. If she had a turn-on, we can safely say that british accents is it cause she's blushing like a school-girl. "So… you two are brothers?"

"Twins, actually. We even have the same cutie mark." Zil said. He showed off his, same with Halo. Both had the pair of binoculars as a Cutie Mark.

Twi giggled nervously when her stomach growled again, snapping her back to reality. "Think we can go get something to eat?"

"yeah, I'm feeling hungry as well." Zil said. "Halo?"

"yep. We were heading to this place called Sugarcube Corner when you arrived. Wanna come?"

"Sure. To Sugarcube Corner!" Zil exclaimed. He walked out ahead. Twi started to follow but Halo stopped him. He mouthed '3...2...1.' Zil came back, scratching the back of his neck nervously. "un… which way to Sugarcube Corner cause I have no idea."

"Follow me." Twi chuckled, walking past him. She lead them to the sweet shop, hoping to get something sweet herself, and it ain't a pastry.

"ACHHOOO!"

Satoshi sneezed loudly into a tissue in the hospital, in his own examination room. He snorted as his eyes drooped and snot hung out of his nose.

"at least wipe that booger off his nose." Sora gagged.

"sorry if my illness is too much of a burden to you, Sora!" Satoshi angrily replied, sounding stuffed up.

Outside in the hall, the rest of the group was talking to the nurse assigned to Satoshi. "I may not know much of human physiology…" Nurse Redheart said as she looked at Satoshi's chart. "…but I think your friend has a cold."

"I told you!" Aura exclaimed with a smug look while Jax and Ash groaned.

"this is a new world and Sat was the first one to get sick. Can't blame us for being sure." Jax groaned.

"they thought it was a new kind of illness like maybe he'll turn into a frog." Aura told Redheart. "what's with them?" he asked himself as he shrugged.

"Un… right. Well, if Human colds work like Pony colds, it should be gone in a couple of days if he gets plenty of rest and fluids."

"Done and Done." Req said, pretending to take notes. Redheart gave her a mean stare. "What? We've dealt with colds before. We know what to do. But with this world, we're gonna have trouble trying to find chicken soup."

"ARHG!" Sora walked out from Satoshi's room and groaned loudly.

"What happened?" Bahamut asked.

"he was getting on my nerves. I couldn't take it anymore!" Sora groaned.

"He's sick!" everyone exclaimed.

"I know. That's why I gave him some of those blue pills. Should shut him up."

"hold it. Hold it, hold it. You gave him BLUE pills?" Redheart asked.

"yeah. You said too, right?" Sora asked.

"NO! I didn't ask you to give him any pills!"

Sora stood still for a moment before uttering: "eep."

They all ran into Satoshi's room to see…. That he's all looped out. "heeeeeeeeeeey…" he drunkenly said.

Everyone stared at Sora angirly. "I could've sworn she said give him pills." she retorted. Req and Jax groaned. "Speaking of which, what did I give him?"

"you said Blue Pills?" Redheart asked. Sora nodded. "yeah, you gave him knockout drugs; Happy pills. We give them to the violent patients who won't listen to reason. He'll be like high for a few days." she said, looking at Satoshi who was staring too intently at his pointer finger.

"you ever wonder how many cells make up just one little finger?" he asked like a stoner.

Aura palmed himself in the face while Sora sank into the floor. "least when he gets out of it, his cold will be gone."

"well, whatever the case, your friend is good to leave. Just un… keep him from anything shiny." Redheart joked.

"Funny." Jax rolled her eyes as Redheart left.

"Satoshi?" Req asked. He was still loopy. "Satoshi?"

Sat turned his attention to Req with red eyes. "hey, Req. you ever look at the stars and just…" he stopped halfway though and blurted out laughing.

"okay, he's gone. Now what?" Ash asked.

"Well, I don't know about you guys… but I'm in the mood for something sweet." Jax said. Everyone looked at each other while Satoshi looked out at the readers.

"y-yeah. I could go from some crumb cake." Sora agreed.

"Sugarcube Corner, then?" Aura asked, knowing full well the coming answer.

"Sugarcube Corner!" everyone replied. Jax's was less then enthusiastic.

"Satoshi?" Sora asked. He turned his head to her. "you want some Donuts?"

"Donuts! That's a odd word. Donuts…" Sat droned on, still as high as a kite.

"I think he's good on it." Bahamut said.

"Come on, stoner." Ash grunted as he lifted him up and put him on his back.

"…it's such a odd word…" Satoshi loosely went on as the gang started walking out. "at first… it sounds like dough… then they add nuts…. But they don't have nuts at all….. What's up with that?"

"your room is upstairs, right across from mine!" Pinkie exclaimed with joy as she bounced inside Sugarcube Corner. Not long after departing from the train station, Pinkie went back to her usual self, which was of no surprise to everyone. "Oh, this'll be great. We'll be able to share stories, stay up late, watch scary movies…"

"just you being around is scary enough." Marble coldly said as he headed upstairs. Pinkie bounced on behind.

"already starting to hate him." Spike said.

"I'll say. He never even once said thank you." Rarity added.

"oh, hey Rarity!" Twilight called. She, Halo and Zilver were sitting at a table and noticed the group walk in. "who was the pony that just went upstairs?"

"Marble Cake, Mr. and Mrs. Cakes' nephew." Rarity explained as she and Spike sat with them. "and he is quite rude."

"We saw. He is quite mean." Halo said as he took a sip of his cream soda.

"who's he?" Rare asked.

"Oh, Rarity. This is Halo and his Twin brother Zilver. I bumped into Halo at the Summer Sun Celebration and Zilver just arrived today."

"Halo?" Rarity exclaimed, remembering what Twi told her and everyone else the night after. "Is that the pony you told me about, about him having a cute b…." Twi interrupted her with nonsense jabbering and nervous giggling, shutting Rarity up and making everyone else nervous.

"So, who the heck is Zilver?" Spike asked in confusion.

"that would be me." Zil said. "and what is a Dragon with a Phoenix doing here?"

"It's a long story." everyone except Halo said.

The bell jingled as the door opened and Applejack, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, and Storm Shadow walked in, telling a funny story. "…then the _Idiota _decided to drink the spiked punch. Next thing we know, the whole town started to sing 'Oye Como Va' with the _Tonto _singing it with the lyrics wrong." everyone laughed, despite not knowing what it was about.

"oh, hey Twi!" Dash called out.

"Hey, Rainbow! Who's he?" Twilight asked.

"oh, this is Storm Shadow. He's a inventor from Maredrid who's trying to make a contraption that will allow Unicorn's and Earth Ponies to fly. So far, no dice."

"_Hola_!" Shadow replied in his Spanish accent. "Wait. Don't tell me. You're Twilight Sparkle, you're Rarity…" Shadow moved to Spike and got nothing. "nothing. I got nothing. I got nothing for the _Dragon_."

"it's Spike." he told Shadow.

"Spike. Right. Just a few more seconds and I would've gotten it."

"Right. Sure."

Shadow turned his attention to Halo and Zilver and, like with Spike, got nothing. "eh… who are these _Chico's_?" he asked Dash.

"my name's Halo and this is my brother Zilver. We're explorers and…"

"…and we're put up balloons and bake tons of goodies from Everypony in Ponyville can come and celebrate…" Pinkie rambled on as she and Marble started back down the stairs, getting everyone's attention.

Marble was on his last nerves and about to crack. "OH, shut up!" Marble exclaimed. He jumped down to the bottom of the stairs and slammed his way into a nearby bathroom.

"Well, that was rather rude!" Dash exclaimed.

"he's been that way." Rarity said, shaking her head back and forth in failure. "the Cake's said he was supposed to be a male version of Pinkie. Can only wonder what changed him."

"Well, some Ponies do change character a lot. Remember all of us and our mental breakdowns?" Twi asked.

"We're trying not too!" everyone other then the CMC and the new guys exclaimed.

Pinkie sighed and turned in the direction of the group and only saw one, well 3 things off. "NEW PONIES!" She exclaimed.

"uh-oh." A.J. muttered. "you all might wanna stand back."

"Why?" Shadow asked.

"HI! I'm Pinkie Pie!" she excitedly exclaimed in her hyper matter. Shadow yelled and fell back into the table. "I've never seen you 3 before so you all must be new! If you didn't here me, I'll say it again. My name is Pinkie Pie and I am Ponyville's Premier Party Planner. Andsinceyou'renewintown,I'llthrowyoua'welcometoPonyville'partywithstreamers,cupcakes,…"

She just rambled on and on. "Does she ever stop? Zil asked A.J.

"nope." she responded. "oh, hey. You're the Pony who asked directions to the Library. What are you doing here? You find your brother?"

"yep. Over there." he said, pointing back at him.

"…andmaybewecan… OH! I forgot to throw a party for the Humans when they came. Maybe this will be there's as well!"

Marble poked his head out of the bathroom. "The whatnow?" he asked.

The Humans arrived at Sugarcube Corner, with everyone now carrying Satoshi. Jax had the legs, Ash and Aura had the sides, and Req and Sora had the back. Bahamut did nothing. He just stepped back and watched.

"Ugh." Req groaned. "next time, we'll give you the loony pills, Sora!"

"I believe I apologized for this on more then one occasion." Sora groaned though her teeth.

"bye blue sky…." Satoshi droned like a idiot. He suddenly fell asleep. The humans looked at each other, nodded, and just let him go, letting him fall onto the floor.

"un… did we miss something?" Applejack asked.

"oh, hey A.J." Aura said. "no, not much. Except we went to your hospital cause we didn't know if colds are the same on this world; turns out they are. And while we were there, Sora just had to give him happy pills."

"Happy pills?" Twi asked, a bit confused.

"turned Satoshi into a hopped-up stoner for a few days. Again, blame Sora." Req said, pinching the bridge between her eyes.

"Again, my mistake. Now can we please drop it?" Sora asked, a little bit agitated.

Ash groaned as he turned towards the counter. That's when he, and everyone else, noticed the new ponies. "Who are they?" Ash asked.

"_Demonio_!" Shadow exclaimed. He and the new ponies ducked behind the main counter. Shadow hissed like a cat while Halo did the cross sign with his hooves. They all grabbed pies, ready to throw them.

"Un… what's with them?" Aura asked.

"And did that red one just call us Demons?" Jax asked.

"What kind of creatures are these?" Halo demanded, ready to throw pies.

"Whoa, now." A.J. intervened, stepping between the newcomers and the humans. "Now put those down before you put someone's eye out. They're our friends. They're nice. They won't hurt ya."

"Pbbt. And why should we believe that?" Marble asked.

"Cause I'm one of the most honest ponies you'll ever meet." A.J. said. "now trust me: they won't hurt you."

The new ponies looked at each other and begrudgingly put the pies down. "if you say so." they all said.

"good. Whew." she wiped her forehead. "That was close. Now then, how's about we introduce ya'll?" A.J. suggested.

Before long, they started to get along quite well. The humans told how they got here and how they're stuck while the new ponies explained what they're doing now. Only Marble and Jax weren't as enthusiastic as the others.

Now, I'm gonna give you guys what I think the new ponies sound like. Their V.A.s, if you will.

Halo's Light

Simon Pegg

Zilver's Light

(pronounced Silver. The Z is just for show, like Y in most names)

Nick Frost

Marble Cake

Seth Green

Storm Shadow

George Lopez

Mirror's Edge

Sam Riegel

Young eTu`nes  
Veronica Taylor

Teenage eTu`nes (who comes FAR down the road)  
Antony Del Rio


	11. Suspicion's

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 10

Suspicion's

Young Derpy and eTu`nes returned to their campsite after visiting a young Zecora to find a way to cure Derpy's eyes. She gave them a potion that could work.

"Let's see here…" eTu`nes said as he looked at the back of the vial of potion, looking for instructions. He found them. "have the inflicted person drink the healing salve for 3 gulps first, then apply the rest to the afflicted area. If the afflicted area is inside the person, like the lungs or the heart, rub it above the area where it is supposed to be."

"I drink it?" Derpy asked.

"For 3 gulps, then I rub the rest on your eyes." eTu`nes pulled the top off and took a sniff. "mmm. Smells like grape."

"oh, grape." Derpy exclaimed excitedly. "I love grape soda."

"I don't think this is soda." eTu`nes laughed.

He walked over to Derpy and looked at the instructions again. "now, open wide. Time to take your medicine." he stuck the vial in her mouth and she drunk it for 3 gulps. After that, eTu`nes pulled it out. Not much was left, just ¼. "now I gotta rub the rest of this on your eyes. Guess that means I hafta remove your bandages."

"well, be careful please. I want to see again, not get glass eyes."

"if that was a joke, It was a bad one." he muttered. eTu`nes put the vial on the ground and proceeded to take off the bandages wrapped around her head.

Once fully off, eTu'nes gagged a bit. Derpy's eyes were completely crusted over. "how do they look?" Derpy asked.

He couldn't tell her the truth. "better then, then last time." he grabbed the vial and poured the rest of the potion over her eyes. They immediately seeped in and eTu`nes put the bandage back on.

"so, how long do I have to wait?" Derpy asked, hoping for a short time.

The dragon looked on the back of the bottle again. There was nothing. He flipped it and saw writing on the other side, where only after the drink was gulped. "says here it should take 12 hours."

"12 Hours!" Derps exclaimed.

"it'll be done by the time we wake up."

"Oh."

"says here that side-effects include pain to the inflicted area…"

"oh, goodie." Derpy sarcastically groaned.

"…as well as vomiting and dizziness."

"well, I can deal with the last two but not with the pain."

"it's just for 12 hours, you don't have to worry much. Besides, you'll be asleep for 9."

Derpy was gonna protest but she didn't. she knew he was right. "what time is it?"

eTu`nes looked at the sun, which was far from setting. "at least 2, 2 and a half hours before the sun sets. Maybe."

Derpy sighed as she fell backwards to the ground. "what kills a couple of hours?"

eTu`nes thought for a moment. "Well… you could tell me about you and your life?"

"what?"

"Well, I told you mine! It only seems fair."

Derpy chuckled. He had her there. She laid down in the grass. "west Fillydelphia, born and raised…" she started. eTu`nes laid down next to her. "And on the playground is where I spent most of my days." eTu`nes waited to see if she would burst into song. She did not.

"me and my parents moved to Ponyville a few years ago. It's been tough making new friends but I'm managing to make a few. I met a couple of Pegasi like me not long ago; a shy thing named Fluttershy and a speed demon named Rainbow Dash. We 3 were to take place in a race at Summer Flight Camp.

"a strange rainbow shockwave appeared out of nowhere and sent me off course. I crash-landed in Everfree Forest and started looking for a way out when I bumped into you."

"I think I remember something like that. A sonic boom with a rainbow color. Even we were mesmerized. But… then they went back to beating me up when it was gone."

"sorry." a depressed Derpy said. She hated hearing that part.

"it wasn't your fault. Heck, you saved me. I'm grateful for that." Derpy lifted her head in his direction and smiled. "Anyway, what of your parents or your friends? Surely, they must be looking for you."

"I hope." she shakingly responded. "it's been a long time, eTu`nes. They probably think I'm dead by now. They probably gave up long ago." she started crying.

eTu`nes couldn't bare to look at her at that moment. He knew it. He could hear them calling for her when he goes out hunting at night. "w-well, maybe they are or maybe they aren't. you aren't gonna find out tonight, not with your eyes like that."

Derps sighed. "I know. But still…"

eTu`nes started getting nervous. "so, un… what's Ponyville like?"

Derpy explained well into the night what Ponyville is all about. So long into the night that they both fell asleep halfway though it.

"AAAAAHHHHH!"

eTu`nes woke up in the middle of the night to the sounds of screaming. It was coming from Derpy, who held her eyes as she rolled on the ground in pain.

"Derpy!" he exclaimed as he ran over.

"My eyes! They hurt!" she exclaimed in pain.

"Well, we knew it was coming. Said so right on the bottle."

"but I didn't know it was gonna be this baAHHHHHHH!"

eTu`nes bit his right pointer claw. "oh man. I don't know what to do."

The pain hit again, this time strong enough to make her shed tears. "e-eTu'nes…" she painfully asked. "what do I do?" she cried.

eTu`nes stood there. He didn't know what to do. "I don't know. Guess we're gonna have to ride out the storm."

"What? Do you know how much this hurts!" she exclaimed.

eTu`nes thought back to his beating. "I can." he walked over and sat down beside her. "but I'm gonna support you every step of the way."

Derpy smiled up at him. "thanks." she whispered. eTu`nes smiled back and even blushed a little.

Derps yelled out in pain again as the potion went to work. eTu`nes held her close, comforting her as the pain consumed her.

20 years later…

Not long after declaring to throw a party for Halo and Zilver Light, Marble Cake, Storm Shadow, and the humans that are staying at Ponyville, Pinkie immediately went to work getting a 'welcome to Ponyville' party ready.

Satoshi, still in his stoned out state, laying beneath a table while the Humans and the Mane 6, minus Fluttershy and Pinkie, were getting Sugarcube corner ready.

"Explain to me again why we're doing this if the party's for us?" Jax asked, hanging up a banner that said 'welcome to Ponyville'.

"Cause Pinkie had to go and tell Fluttershy, that's why." Ash said, putting up the other end..

A.J. stopped baking some apple-based goodies for a moment. "speaking of Shy, anypony else notice that she's been cooped up in her house for the past few days and hasn't come out since?"

"I did notice that. Bahamut's acting the same way as well, being cooped up in her house." Aura mentioned, stringing popcorn.

A very naughty thought entered Twilight's mind, who was looking a checklist over. "you don't think… that Fluttershy and Bahamut are…"

"are what?" Dash asked.

"un…. You know…" Twi insinuated.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at each other with confusion, then looked back at Twi. "no, we don't know Twi. Mind filling us in?" Req asked.

"mmm… *clears throat* you don't think that Bahamut and Fluttershy are… having romantic relations… do you?" Twi asked.

Everyone looked at each other and broke out laughing. Req and Jax fell to the floor and rolled in pain.

"What?" Twi exclaimed.

Sora laughed but slowed it down and gasped as she spoke. "Twi. Twi. Twi. There's no way that those 2 are doing the horizontal tango."

"and what makes you say that? All the evidence points to it." Twi exclaimed.

"I can think of 2 reasons." Sora snorted. She stopped and took a deep breath. "one, I don't think a Pony and Dragon relationship will work."

Spike was a little bit surprised by that. "wh-What makes you say that?"

"it's 2 different species falling in love." Satoshi laughed half stoned. "Not once have a inter-species relationship ever worked. We know, we checked. They always end in failure." he swung his arms in the last explanation and fell forward, where he instantly fell asleep as soon as his head hit the floor.

"the stoner just proved my point." Sora said. Spike sadly looked to the ground. "which brings me to reason number 2: there is no way Bahamut would ever, ever, EVER cheat on Sapphyre."

"how so?" Rarity asked.

"too much in love. He's Romeo to her Juliet." Ash said with a smile.

"who-meo and juli-who?" Dash asked.

"VERY famous romance couple from back home. Don't matter much now. Can we get back to getting the party ready before I blow my mind?" Jax angrily asked as she went back to work.

Everyone and Everypony were caught by surprise by the severity of that.

Pinkie bounced on down the path to Fluttershy's cottage, eager to tell her and Bahamut about the party.

She reached it and prepared to knock when she heard groaning coming from within. "Fluttershy? You okay?" she asked. No response. "hey, B-boy?" she asked, hoping Bahamut would answer. Again, nothing.

Worried, she opened the door. "hello?" Pinkie asked. "you guys in here?" she entered the cottage and looked around. Everything was okay. The animals were doing soundly, same with Fenrir and Cobalt.

The groaning came from up the stairs. Now curious as to what was causing it, Pinkie went upstairs. "if this is a practical joke, why are you bothering to pull it on the master?"

Pinkie poked her head up and turned it like a periscope. Nothing out of the ordinary, except something was in Fluttershy's bed and groaning. The rest of her body cranked up and she trotted over. "If Behe is sick, why didn't you tell me? Laughter is always the best medicine." she said.

She walked over and pulled back the covers. What she saw made her comically gasp.

Fluttershy and Bahamut flew on back to the cottage, taking in the vista.

"thanks for helping me pick those flowers, Bahamut. When Edge wakes up, I'm sure he'll enjoy it." Fluttershy cheerfully said.

"Considering Changelings like flowers." Bahamut said, holding a entire bushel.

"I'm sure they do. They're half insect and insects like flowers, right?"

"I guess."

They approached the cottage as Pinkie ran out like the Roadrunner, freaking out by what she saw.

"uh-oh." Bahamut said. He dropped the flowers and went after Pinkie.

Pinkie ran as fast as her hooves could carry her back to Ponyville. "Changeling! Changeling! Cha-" Bahamut slammed into her, shutting her up.

The 2 rolled like a wheel right into a tree. Pinkie fell first, giving Bahamut time to pin her to the ground.

Fluttershy ran up to them both as Pinkie continued to freak out. "Changeling! There's a Changeling in your house! There's a…"

Bahamut shoved a branch into her mouth, shutting her mouth. "What are you doing?" Fluttershy exclaimed.

"stopping her from blabbing to the entire town." Bahamut grunted as he kept her from running. "grab her hind legs. We'll carry her back and sort out this whole mess."

A book was tossed aside and another was magically grabbed and pulled towards Luna. She had grabbed any and every book relating to Humans from the royal archives and scanned though them, searching for some reference to her suspicions.

"I thought I would find you in here." Celestia said as she walked in unannounced.

"hello, Tia. Sorry, but I'm busy." Luna said, not pulling away from the book.

"busy? Busy doing what?"

"I trust you heard by now, about Humans being in Ponyville."

"yes, I did hear the rumors that there are. And Twilight recently wrote to me about them." though some magic, a scroll appeared in front of Celestia. Luna glanced up.

'_Dear Princess Celestia,_

_I'm sure you will have heard of it by now but if case you didn't, I'll tell you. There are humans, HUMANS, living among us. I wouldn't have believe it myself if I didn't see it. I thought they only existed in old fairy tails. Who knew they would be real?_

'_anyway, the humans are from another world and they came to ours by, by their worlds, a fluke in order to get supplies. And without us knowing, too. Not sure how that would've worked but it apparently didn't as a giant monster draped in shadow heavily damaged their vessel and has stranded them on Equestria._

'_we got to know each other quite well. In fact, until their ship is repaired, we offered to let them stay with us. Turns out they visited loads of worlds before ours and helped take out a deadly threat. Except for that monster, I think their trend is broken._

'_sorry I couldn't go into more detail right now but I gotta go to a party Pinkie's throwing for some new ponies that just arrived in town, as well as for the humans. And one of them, one of the ponies that is, is quite hot. Sincerely_

_Twilight Sparkle.'_

"well, it's good to see that Twilight found something interesting other then books." Celestia snickered.

"there's something I don't trust about those humans." Luna said.

Celestia rolled her eyes. "you said the same thing about Discord 2100 years ago."

"And look what happened with him!" Luna pointed out. Celestia remembered and didn't say anything else. "Trust me, Tia. Something's not right here. I can feel it in my gut."

"you're probably just hungry. Get something to eat before you turn into skin and bones." Celestia said just before she left.

Luna scowled as she got up. No use trying to figure out a mystery on a empty stomach. But she knew her feeling was right. She was never wrong when her gut said something was wrong with someone, and Requiem and her crew are no different.

Bahamut slammed the door to the cottage and locked it. Pinkie continued to blather on like a idiot.

"Changeling! Changeling! There's a…" Bahamut slammed Pinkie into a chair and covered her mouth as a frightened Fluttershy watched from her room.

"Yes, there is a Changeling up there but let us explain before you go and blather everything to the entire town. Okay?" Pinkie nodded. Bahamut removed his paw. "to make a long story short, me, Fluttershy, and the CMC found him near death. We brought him here and Fluttershy is doing as best she can to save him. And due to them not being really popular with the crowd at the moment, we're keeping him a secret."

"a secret? Oh, I love secrets." Pinkie said, back to her usual self.

Bahamut went slack-jawed and looked at Fluttershy, not really sure what just happened. "So, you'll keep Edge a secret?" Fluttershy asked.

"Edge?"

"Mirror's Edge. That's the Changelings name. all he said before he lost consciousness." Bahamut said. "but the question stands; will you keep him a secret?"

"I Pinkie Promise." Pinkie said.

"Pinkie Promise?"

"you break the unbreakable promise, you must suffer the consequences." Pinkie said in a scary voice.

Bahamut wasn't scared but pretended to be for Pinkie's sake. "Ahh. Okay. Pinkie Promise. But… why the sudden change of heart? 5 seconds ago, you were gonna blab it to everyone."

"easy. Fluttershy's one of my best friends and it's very rare that she herself tells someone to keep something like this a secret. So when she says to keep a secret…" Pinkie literally zipped her mouth shut.

Bahamut rolled his eyes and unzipped her mouth. "that easy?"

"That easy? Besides, I never had a Changeling friend before!" Pinkie squealed as she bounced.

"well, we don't know if he is friendly or not. Other then a attempt to leave while still badly wounded, he never said anything other then his name." Fluttershy said.

"Well, guess we'll find out soon. OH! I should throw a party for him when he wakes up!" Pinkie squealed.

"un…. Okay." Bahamut said, not really sure what happened.

"oh, that reminds me. I came here to tell you guys that I'm throwing a party for the new ponies in town, as well as you and your friends, Bahamut."

"you are?" Bahamut asked in surprise. He never had a party for him before. "wait wait wait. You said your throwing a party for us… and you will throw one for Edge when he wakes up. Right?"

"Right."

"so… why not wait till Edge is all better?"

"well, it does sound like a good idea…"

"but…?"

"but nothing! It's a good idea! I'll go and tell everyone to hold the party!" Pinkie said as she bounced to the door.

"Wait!" Fluttershy exclaimed, much to Pinkie's surprise. "What do we tell everyone?"

"already got that figured out." Bahamut said.

Jax groaned is she sat down in a chair. "my feet hurt." she groaned. "give me some ice."

"Get in line!" Sora exclaimed, her feet already in it.

"how does Pinkie do this in a few minutes?" Applejack groaned.

"she's Pinkie. Trying to explain her is like trying to explain quantum physics." Twilight said.

Speaking of Pinkie… she, Bahamut, and Fluttershy walked in to see everyone on the floor. The gun-slinger looked up and saw them. "there she is and she brought the others!" Ash exclaimed.

"What are you all doing?" Bahamut asked.

"taking a break! This is harder then it looks." Requiem said.

Bahamut lowered a eyebrow and looked to his right. "Satoshi doesn't seem to be tired." Aura was about to say something but Bahamut stopped him "forgot. Sora gave him loony pills."

"It was an Accident!" Sora exclaimed.

Aura shook his head 'no'. "So, what have Fluttershy and Bahamut been doing? Twilight suggested it was something… well, not gonna go into detail but let's just say…" Aura made a bed-squeaking noise.

"Ew! No! I'd never cheat on Sapphyre." Bahamut countermanded.

"What does he mean by that?" Fluttershy asked.

"you don't wanna know." Bahamut said.

"I'm gonna go ahead and get straight to the point; the party is canceled." Pinkie said.

The ponies looked up at her like a tradition has just been broken. "come again?" Rarity asked.

"Canceled? You never cancel a party." Rainbow said.

"True true true. But this is an exception. See, the reason Fluttershy and Bahamut were cooped up in their house was because they're nursing a poor pony."

"nursing?" Aura asked.

"healing." Req explained.

"it's true. We found the poor little guy near death. We took him back to the cottage and are busy making sure he lives."

"why not take him to the hospital?" Spike asked, carrying a box of streamers.

Bahamut quickly thought of a lie. "he's…. one of those ponies that doesn't believe in modern medicine. He insisted on traditional methods… just before he lost consciousness."

"okay… what else did he say?" Twi asked.

"he said his name was Mirror's Edge before he lost consciousness. Guess that means he makes mirror's or something." Fluttershy guessed.

"and you're gonna wait till he's back from certain death before throwing a party, I get it. Sort of a 'welcome back to the land of the living party for him as well." Ash said, putting 2 and 2 together.

"yep. But when is the question of the week." Bahamut muttered.

*author's notes*

Sorry for the abrupt ending but I got a lot to do, which is also cause for the delay, so this is where this chapter ends. Also, I am aware that there is another Fanfic out there with a Changeling named Mirror Edge. To be honest, I named my character after because I liked the game. It was pure coincidence.


	12. Game Night

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 11

Game Night

The morning sun rose, illuminating Young Derpy and eTu`nes. The pain from the potion had stopped 4 hours prior, allowing the 2 to finally go to sleep.

eTu`nes was the first to wake up when the sun's rays hit his eyes. He sat up and loudly yawned. "what a night." he smacked his lips and rubbed his eyes.

He looked to his left and stared at Derpy. She went thought a rough night. "think I'll let her sleep in." he said as he got up and headed for the river.

He splashed some water on his face and sighed. "what am I gonna tell her?" he muttered to himself.

Derpy groaned as she woke up. Almost instantly, she could see the yellow of the sun behind the cloth of her bandage. That color made her ecstatic. "eTu`nes. I'm seeing yellow, I'm seeing yellow!" she said with increasing giddiness. She immediately went for her bandages.

"whoa whoa whoa whoa. Hold on there, little missy." eTu`nes exclaimed as he ran over. "can't just rip them off. Didn't they mention that in school?" he said as started to take off the bandage.

"must've been asleep at the time. Besides, I'm only 7."

"right. Well, this is a slow and delicate process. Can't be rushed." eTu`nes said. Derpy's lips pouted. "wait, did you say you were 7?"

"yep. Why? How old are you?"

"7 as well. Guess we're twins from different species."

Derpy chuckled. "I guess." eTu`nes chuckled back. "by the way, how do you know how things like… this work?" she asked, pointing up to the bandages.

"well… let's just say that studying pony life-style is frowned upon and if you're caught… well…."

"oh."

It didn't take long for eTu`nes to take off the last of the bandages. Derpy's eyelids were closed but unscathed. "potion looked like it worked. Eyelids look all healed."

"thanks goodness for that. I was worried all that pain was for nothing." Derpy nervously chuckled, thinking back to last night.

"okay. Now, open them slowly so the eyes can get used to the light again."

Derpy nodded and did just that. She slowly opened her eyes up. Her eyes adjusted to seeing light and color for the first time in a week but she was able to see everything again; eTu`nes, the trees, the river, everything.

Derpy gasped in excitement. "YES! I can see! I can see again! It WORKED!" she cheered. She ran around and jumped around, overjoyed that it worked. She ran over and suddenly hugged eTu`nes. "it worked, it worked!" she cheered. In the heat of the moment, she leaned in and kissed him on the lips.

Both eTu`nes and Derpy were caught off guard. She immediately broke the kiss and blushed. "s-sorry. Just excited that I got my sight back."

"Don't mention it." eTu`nes shakingly replied. As he looked away, he noticed something off with her eyes. "un… Derpy… did your eyes always look like that?"

"look like what?" she nervously asked.

eTu`nes couldn't bring himself to say it himself. "un… better look at the reflection in the water."

A bit scared, Derpy walked over to the water and looked at it. She saw her reflection and gasped by what she saw; her eyes are wall-eyed.

"oh. Oh no." she gasped. She backed away from the water, not able to bear looking at her reflection anymore.

"guess that was one side-effect we didn't see coming." eTu`nes said as he walked over. He picked up the bottle that held the potion and looked at the label again.

"I… I can't go back." she gasped in sadness.

"beg pardon?" eTu`nes asked.

"I can't go back home looking like this." she cried. "everyone will think I'm a freak."

"un… ba…. W-well, I'm sure they'll understand if you told them the whole story."

"you haven't seen who lives at Ponyville. Okay. I was constantly bullied by these 2 mean foals that made fun of my clumsiness and how I acted; I hated them so much, I ran away from home and... If they see me as I am now…"

eTu`nes nodded in agreement. "I can believe that. Guess we have more in common then we realized; we were both bullied to where we sot refuge here in Everfree."

"I can not go back. Not like this." Derpy emphasized.

"but what about your parents, or the ponies who really care for you?"

Derpy couldn't think of anything to counter with. "I… I…" Derpy groaned as she fell to the ground. "just… just let me think…"

eTu`nes sighed. He didn't like it but he didn't say anything. He knows what Derpy went though first-hand and knows why she would have trouble going back to those who bullied her.

20 Years Later…

Twilight put some drinks on a table as she prepared for tonight. On the table were some cupcakes, muffins, napkins, cups, and… batteries?

"sorry I'm late, Twi." Req announced as she walked in. "Aura got me caught up with…" she noticed the table of treats and was confused. "un… Twi? What's all this?"

"oh, Requiem. Sorry, but I'm busy preparing for Game Night."

"Game Night?" Req asked. She was intrigued. "What's Game Night?"

"every 2 weeks, we hold a game night here at my house and, well, play some games. Speaking of which, Spike!" Twi called out. "you find the Gbox yet?"

"not yet." Spike called from the basement. "we have a bunch of crap down here."

"So who's coming?"

"oh, the girls and something tells me your friends as well, thought I'm not sure about Fluttershy, what with her taking care of that pony. What was his name again?"

"Mirror's Edge, I think it was." Requiem muttered, trying to remember it herself.

"Found it!" Spike yelled. He climbed back up from the basement, carrying a Gbox and several controllers.

"OH! Video Games. I love Video Games." Req squealed.

"you have games on your planet?" Twi asked as she helped Spike set it up.

"well, not this kind… not anymore, at least. But still, I love. Love 'em, love 'em, love 'em."

"Love 'em, huh? Well, can't wait to see how you fair at Pony Cart." a intrigued Twilight said. She used her magic to roll a TV over.

Luna scoffed as she threw the last book she could find on Humans away. "nothing." she sighed. She placed her head on a hoof and sighed again. "I swear, I'm missing something." She looked up at the night sky and sighed. "what am I missing?"

"I believe…" Celestia intervened, standing at the door with a pair of controllers. "… you're missing Game Night."

"oh, right. Game Night. Almost forgot about that." Luna shot up and magically grabbed her controller. "I feel it, Tia. That MagicSage112 is going down." Luna chortled as she ran off to the game room.

"right right." Celestia chuckled. "just remember to wait for me to sign in this time."

Before long, the rest of the Mane 6 and Req's friends came over. Rainbow dragged the still drugged out Satoshi in by his shirt collar.

"how much longer is he gonna be out?" Aura asked.

"I don't know. Ask the enabler." Dash replied, glancing at Sora.

"it… was… an… ACCIDENT!" she yelled. "Besides, I think the doc said today was the last day."

"Good. This guy's drooling all over." Dash muttered.

The TV pinged as some players across the way signed in. "who's NightQueen616?" Jax asked.

"don't know who she is in real life but she always kicks our butts. but tonight…" Twi took her controller and chortled. "…she's going down!"

"She that good?"

"That good? Night always kicks our butts. Whoever he or she is, she or he is one of the best players we've ever seen." Rarity explained.

"okay. Then I'll stay clear of Twi, then."

Bahamut flew in and landed near the table. "hey, Bahamut." Spike said. He looked and noticed a yellow Pegasus ain't here. "where's Fluttershy?"

"Staying back at her place, taking care of Edge."

"too bad. She was one of our best players." Applejack said.

"well, everyone's here. Break out the Halo. NightQueen is going down this time." Twi grinned as Spike put the game, Pony Kart 7, in.

"un… Twi.. We still need a 4th." A.J. said.

"oh, right." Twi turned around to the group. "who here is a good gamer?"

The humans looked at each other, then turned their attention to Requiem. "she is." they all said in unison.

Req just shrugged as she walked over and grabbed the 4th controller. "is it okay if I create my own account?"

"go ahead." Rarity said as she took her controller.

The intro to Pony Kart(  watch?v=ENVl497dPWw

) played as Requiem made her own temporary account. "hmm…. I think… I'll go with…. GoddessofL1ght."

"now that sounds like a good name." A.J. said, sitting back with the rest of the non-players.

"so what's the game type?" Req asked.

"150 CC." Twilight smirked.

At the matchmaking screen, Twi was the leader of the group and put on 'Free-For-All.' everyone saw the contestants but were confused who's behind them.

"Who's… HarpestHand10?" Ash asked.

Lyra cleared her throat and used her magic to grab her controller. Bonbon sat beside her and grabbed hers, logging in.

"scratch that? Who's Candymach1ne?" Bahamut asked.

"who knows? Besides, everyone chooses weird names. Like look at this one…" Sora directed them to one such name. "who's Tempest00000 and Cello121212?"

Vinyl and Octavia sat on their couch, sharing a Big Gulp with 2 straws as they signed in.

The TV beeped as NightQueen616 signed in, along with…

"LightQueen216?" Req muttered. "Do you know who any of these ponies are?"

"Nope!" R.D. said as she took her controller and signed in under the name 'Son1cSpeed.' Rarity signed in under 'RubyHunter3' and Twilight under 'MagicSage112.'

Requiem decided to look though the other profiles, see who the other 3 were. "I'm gonna guess that…. FarmH3nd is A.J…"

"yep."

Req couldn't believe this next one. "…Pinkie is PartyPar1yParty…"

"bingo!"

"…so that leaves Fluttershy as… Ramification?"

"that was my idea." Dash chuckled.

"Ramification?" Bahamut asked.

"well, you get her angry, you're gonna suffer the ramifications. Trust me."

"I ain't gonna argue." Bahamut replied. "I've seen her angry."

More dings popped as more people joined their party, which included Bolt222(Soarin'), Fire2thestars(Spitfire), SpeedDem0n(Gilda), and some new players they added to their friends list such as FinalFl1ght(Storm Shadow), Glintofthenight(Halo's Light), Glintoftheday(Zilver Light), Degrade123(Marble Cake), and…

"MuffinMail68?" everyone asked in surprise. Seems this player wanted everyone to know who this was. "Derpy." everyone said.

With all the players online, it was the leaders turn, which though a die in the game turned out to be Halo, to pick the track.

"please not Boo's Mansion." Dash prayed. "That track sucks."

"you hoping for Star Road?" Twi asked.

"Yep. Longest track in the game with lots of twists and turns." Sure enough, Halo went with Star Road. "thank you, Celestia." Rainbow exclaimed.

True to it being a mirror of Earth, Pony Cart's character's are pony version's of Mario characters, though Bowser and D.K. are the same.

Twi went to work out the math. "let's see, there's 4 of us, plus 12 others online… and there's 22 character's total…"

"I think we're good, Twi, now pick your character so we can get this on." Req exclaimed.

"okay, okay. Mmm…. I think I'll go with Mareio."

"what a surprise." Rarity sarcastically said.

Luna sat down on a pillow and pulled up to the TV. Celestia looked at her with half-closed eyes.

"sorry. So, everyone here?"

"yes and with a few newcomers." Tia said, highlighting the new names.

"hehe. New victims." Luna smirked. Tia got a little frightened. "oh, come on. I'm just having a little fun."

"yeah… just hope it goes better then when we tried that game Portal." (  watch?v=L0cY2NWlddU )

"pardon me for having a off day. Mare's go though that once in awhile." Tia rolled her eyes and chuckled. Luna scoffed. "Figures. Sage went with Mareio. All right, guess I'm going with Bowser." Luna clicked the button, going with the Koopa King."

"hey, Twi. Looks like NightQueen went with your 'archrival.'" Dash joked.

"of course she'd go with Bowser." Twi sighed. "well, no matter, she's going down." she said as she gripped her controller tightly.

Req ignored her and asked Rarity a question. "So, how does this work? Elimination?"

"yeah. Last 8 to finish get booted, then the last 4, then the last 2..."

"okay, okay, okay. I get it. Roster divides by 2 every time a race is over." Req glanced over to Twi. "and what of her obsession with this 'NightQueen?'"

"the 2 seem to have a friendly rivalry going on but we're starting to get worried." A.J. joined. "Twi has 19 wins and NightQueen has 19 wins."

"and regardless if they get in the final race or not, this'll break the tie." Req muttered.

"bingo!" Rare and A.J. exclaimed. "and hopefully the end of this little rivalry." A.J. finished.

Fluttershy wringed a washcloth, squeezing excess water out of it before placing it on Edge's forehead. The Changeling groaned in his sleep as a worried Fluttershy looked on.

Edge slowly opened his eyes. His vision was a little blurry but it eventually cleared. He saw the yellow Pegasus watching over him. She noticed the opened eyes. "Oh. Thank goodness you're all right."

Edge groaned as he sat up. "where…. Where am I?" he groaned.

"you're in my house at Ponyville." F.S. explained. "you were badly injured when me and Bahamut found you."

"badly injured?" Edge painfully asked. He looked over his entire body. Sure enough, he was beaten and bruised all over. "how did…" Edge remembered back to last week. "oh right. Me and my brothers and sisters were fighting some… demon sorcerer."

"Demon Sorcerer? Sounds bad."

"worse. That… thing wiped out everyone. Not sure how I survived but… I somehow did."

"well, I guess you should consider yourself lucky." Fluttershy flew over to a nearby desk and grabbed some bandages.

Edge was feeling indifferent about this situation. He was being cared for by a pony; something he had tried to attack 4 months ago. "why… why are you helping me?"

"didn't I mention why before?" F.S. asked.

"yeah, but I need a better reason other then 'sometimes everyone needs to be shown a little kindness' for a actual answer."

"oh. Well…" Fluttershy flew back over and started un-bandaging Edge's back right leg. "…I was raised to offer help to whoever needs it, regardless of who they are or what their background is."

Edge was taken a little aback by her explanation. "so… you'd help murderers and robbers?"

"oh, no no no."

"That's what I thought." Edge muttered. "but… why help me, a Changeling? I tried to overthrow all of you not that long ago."

"well, I'm willing to overlook that for someone in need." Fluttershy said as she finished wrapping a new bandage around the leg.

Edge rolled his eyes and looked out the nearest window to see birds chirping and flying. He wasn't gonna be out for a long while so he might as well get used to this.

F.S. hummed a little song as she flew back to her bathroom to get more medical supplies for Edge.

Edge snorted as he looked away. He tried but found himself attracted to Fluttershy's song. It was beautiful, more then the annoying buzzing of the hive. He also felt something weird in his chest but dismissed it. It was probably some cracked ribs or something.

"GO! GO! GO!" Twilight's friends cheered on as she directed her avatar down the race track.

2 hours have passed since the little Tourney began. Everyone had been eliminated by the order A.J. and Rarity went over with Req earlier. By the end, it was down to Twilight and Luna and they are on the toughest course in the game: Bowser's Castle.

"no way that NightQueen's gonna beat me tonight." Twi snickered.

"no way you're gonna win, MagicSage." Luna grunted as she directed her pixilated avatar around Twi's character.

Celestia looked away from her desk, munching on a muffin.

"not tonight!" Twi exclaimed as her avatar hit against Luna's, sending it spinning.

Luna stopped her character from spinning into lava and sped on after Twi's.

The 2 avatars raced neck and neck, nearing the finish line.

"if you spent as much time on this as you claimed you have, you would've used the Archive Shortcut at the beginning of the race." Celestia mentioned.

Luna concentrated until Celestia mentioned one little word. "Archives… THAT'S IT!" she exclaimed.

Luna's distraction sent Bowser into the lava and allowing Mareio to win.

"YES!" Twi cheered. Everyone else cheered with her. "I am… the greatest. Twilight, 30. NightQueen, 29! Bu-bye. Queenie. I win." Twi gloated

"The Archives! Why didn't I think about it before!" Luna exclaimed, scaring Celestia a bit.

"you okay, Luna?"

"Better then okay. You just gave me a big clue as to where to find information on Humans." Luna cheerfully exclaimed as she skipped out.

Tia poked her head out. "where?"

"back at our old castle in the Everfree Forest." Luna said as she skipped back to her room.

"that old place…?" Tia muttered. "there's nothing left but rubble." she sat down back at her desk. "does Lulu know something I don't about that place?" Tia just shrugged it off and went back to reading Twilight's letter from last week. "humans, huh? Think I should meet them in person."

She looked up at the calendar. "well, next week is the Grand Galloping Gala. Then would be a good time to meet them, see what Luna's prattling on about."


	13. Luncheon with the Princess

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 12

Luncheon with the Princess

Young Derpy moved her hoof though the river, making ripples that extended out into the water.

She looked down at her reflection and stared at her eyes, her new walled eyes. The potion that gave her her eyesight back did it's job, but made her eyes all… how do I say, warped. She couldn't bare to look at them anymore so she hit the reflection with a rock. But no matter how hard she would try, the eyes were still there and aren't going away.

eTu`nes just watched. He had no idea what to do when someone had a emotional crisis. He never saw it happen before to anyone, least in his species. He had to do something to comfort her.

"Say, Derpy…" he finally said. A depressed Derpy looked back with tears welling up in her eyes. eTu`nes stammered a bit, not sure what to say. "un… sure you don't want to just go back home? You have your sight back."

"I told you. I can't." she looked back down at the water. "not with my eyes like this."

"And why not?"

Derps sighed as a tear fell. "remember when I told you that 2 foals were making fun of me for my clumsiness?" eTu`nes nodded, remembering what she had said earlier. "well… they didn't stop there. They went after every other aspect of my life; the way I sound, the way I eat… even my family. They were the most…." she choked up, not wanting to go any further into the story.

The dragon knew how she felt. He had been in the same situation before.

"… and if I go back… with my eyes like this… they'd use it to torture me. I could barely survive them before. I just… I just can't…" she tearfully said.

eTu`nes scratched the nape of his neck. This was some mess they were both in; they were both ridiculed by their own kind and tortured to the point they both ran away. The dragon looked away from Derps, not sure what to say, and spotted something that could probably help.

He walked over and kneeled down to pick it up. "Say, Derpy…" Derps sniffled and looked in his direction again. "think of your life like this Shasta Lily. You start out as a ugly bulb trying to survive against the elements of nature so you can bloom into a beautiful flower." Derpy was confused by where he was going with this. "what I'm trying to say is that maybe, someday, you'll find someone who likes you for you, who maybe likes your eyes.' eTu`nes looked at her and winked. "Someone who cares about ya."

Derpy looked away and sighed. "I guess. But… but I still don't wanna go back. Not now, at least."

eTu`nes sighed as he pinched the bridge between his eyes. Guess that was as good as he was gonna get.

20 Years Later…

Satoshi groaned as he sat in his temporary bed in Rainbow's house. "why do I feel like hell?"

"un… well…" Dash grumbled, trying to put together a good way to explain it.

"well, basically, Sora accidentally give you a pill that made you, well, loopy." Bahamut explained, able to stand in Dash's house without falling out. "Good News is that your cold is gone completely."

"well, don't I feel better?" Satoshi sarcastically groaned. He fell backwards and fell asleep. Bahamut and Dash chuckled.

Halo looked over the maps of Equestria in the library with his brother Zilver, as well as Twilight and Requiem. Halo grumbled as these were all maps of Equestria, but not of the Everfree Forest.

"blast. Nothing on Everfree in the maps." Halo exclaimed.

"Sorry, but those are all the maps we have in town." Twi said, ashamed that she wasn't able to get Halo happy.

"Darn." Halo sat on his plot, thinking of something else that could work. "What about books? You have books on the forest?"

"Plenty!" Twi excitedly exclaimed, startling Req. "Come on, Requiem. Gonna need your help carrying them." Twi grabbed Req's arm using her magic and pulled her upstairs to her room. Twi walked up but Req, being dragged, hit each step as she pounded up, exclaiming 'Ow' with each hit.

Celestia sat down at her desk and started to write a letter to send to Twilight. Maybe Twi could answer why Luna's obsessed with Equestria's new guests. Maybe this would be a good time to meet one of them herself.

Requiem rubbed her sore butt as Twilight rummaged though her room, looking for books on the Everfree. "I've only known you for 3 weeks but even I know this is scary." Req said.

"Sorry, but I'm just trying hard to impress him." Twi scrambled as she looked though her collection.

"Impress him?" Req looked down the stairs and got a wicked sneer. "Oh! I get ya." Twi, while using her magic to grab a book, looked in her direction. "you like Halo!"

"What!" Twi exclaimed. She started to blush a very heavy red. "I-I do not." she said with a fluster.

"really? Then what's with the blushing? The awkward movements?" Req paused for a moment. "and the rapid heartbeat?"

"y-y-you can hear my heartbeat?"

"When you're a Demi-Goddess, you can get abilities nobody else can. In this case, powerful hearing. So powerful, it's painful at times. And trust me, I know crushes when I see it."

Twi looked away in embarrassment and blushed a deeper color then before. "R-really?"

Halo looked though a book he found downstairs on the forest and read though it. Zilver sighed and rolled his eyes. "Come on, Halo. Put that book down. You've been obsessed with this for a long while now. Think it can wait for a few more months."

"Pbbt. And why would I wait for a few months?" Halo asked.

"hmm, I don't know. Um… relax, take a walk around town, maybe find a marefriend…"

Halo blurted out laughing. He laughed for a few seconds before calming down. "Me? A Marefriend? Oh, you're off your rocker, Zil."

"No, I'm being serious."

"*Scoff* what kind of mare would go for a researcher who's obsessed with a forest which operates on it's own merit?"

"well… I can think of one." Halo chuckled at the assumption and Zil sighed as he trotted over. "oh, come on." Zil exclaimed. "who's your fantasy mare? Think she might be in town."

"you wanna know my fantasy mare?" Halo asked with suspicion.

Zilver shrugged. "do Pegasi fly?"

Halo rolled his eyes and sighed. "well, if she was cute, attractive, has a sparkle in her eyes, has a cute bow, and doesn't mind my fascination with the paranormal and mysterious, then I'd take you up on your offer of finding me a marefriend. But I doubt you'll find one."

"well, I know there's a filly who wears a bow but I think she's too young for ya, unless your into pedophilia." Zil chuckled. Halo groaned and face-hoofed.

"r-really?" a flushed Twilight asked.

"really!" Req exclaimed. Req overheard the conversation Halo and Zilver had and smirked. In fact, you happen to have a bow?"

"a bow?" a confused Twi asked.

Rarity worked on a dress for a customer in Appaloosa with Spike assisting. "Thanks for helping me out, Spike. Ash made up some excuse for not helping."

"Anything for you, Rarity." Spike dreamily said, watching his crush work while holding a box of needles.

Rare hummed as she sewed on some feathers onto a hat.

Spike gagged and held his mouth. "Oh, man. *Gag* Not now." Spike burped up a letter from Celestia. Rarity heard the gagging and looked his way. The fire from the letter's arrival caused her to duck and the fire to hit the dress.

"oh, no no no!" Rarity exclaimed. She ran over and tried to blow it out but the fire quickly burned though the dress. "AH! Spike!" Rarity exclaimed with deep anger.

"Sorry. I don't control when they come. Take that up with Celestia." Spike groaned. He picked up the letter and furled it open.

"ugh. She better have a good reason for making you destroy my dress." Rarity mumbled as she used her magic to pick up the ashes. Thankfully, the requester asked Rare to take her time with this one.

"says here that the Princess wants to talk to Twilight about our new guests."

"She mean the humans?"

"yeah. Guess word finally got to her. She's asking her to come immediately and is sending a carriage for her that should arrive in the hour."

"asking about the newcomers to Equestria. Sure that's gonna go well." Rare said as she used her magic to get everything set up again.

"it gets better." Spike sarcastically said. "says she wants Twilight to bring one of the newcomers to meet her."

"Well, now that's gonna be a problem. Everyone's busy with something at the moment."

"hope Celestia can deal with pictures."

Halo and Zilver chatted amongst themselves as Requiem and Twilight came back down from upstairs, carrying all the books they could.

"here you go." Req grunted, placing 2 stacks of books on the table. "every book we can find on the Everfree Forest."

"thanks." Halo said as he took one and opened it up.

Req looked back to Twi, who was hiding behind a stack. "come on, Req. I look ridiculous." she whispered.

"no you don't. trust me, he'll love it." Req whispered back. She walked on back and pushed Twi out from behind.

"un… hi Halo." Twi nervously said. Halo looked up and saw Twilight blushing like a schoolgirl, wearing a big ribbon in her mane.

"Ms. Sparkle." he acknowledged. "What's with the ribbon?" Zil looked at Twi with a confused expression then up to Req.

"oh, nothing. Just felt like wearing it is all. Does it look cute?" she asked, hopeful at his response.

Halo looked it over and shrugged. "it's cute-ish."

"c-cute-ish?" a defeated Twi said.

Req face-palmed. "oh, so close." she grunted. Now Zilver was getting really suspicious.

The bell above the door rang as Spike walked in, carrying the letter. "hey Twi, you got a letter from-" he noticed the bow in her hair. He tried to hold back laughing but couldn't resist. He burst out laughing as he fell to the floor, holding his sides as he cracked up.

A embarrassed Twilight quickly took the bow off and tossed it away. Req got angry. She walked over and picked him up by the nape of his neck. "nice work, dragon-boy." a peeved Requiem said.

"that was… that was just too funny." Spike laughed as the laugher started to die off. "oh, that was rich."

"t-there are a reason you're back, Spike?" a highly embarrassed Twilight asked.

"oh, yeah. The Princess sent you a letter." Spike wiggled free from Req's grasp and fell to the floor. He unfurled the letter and cleared his throat.

"my faithful student,

When you told me that humans have arrived on Equestria, I was intrigued. Humans haven't been seen on Equestria in 3000 years; the fact that there are some here, now, is quite mesmerizing. I myself have wanted to learn more about the humans but the closest I could get was old fairy-tails and storybooks. I heard your friend Lyra has a fascination with the subject matter as well…"

"and she does. I saw her making googly eyes at Sora." Req said. "Lyra's the green one, right?"

"aquamarine but yeah." Twi quickly said. Spike cleared his throat, waiting for the 2 to quiet down. They zipped their lips and Spike went on reading.

"…oh, listen to me, prattling on. Anyway, the reason I'm sending this letter is that I wish to talk to you about these humans and what you able to find out about them, we'll make a Luncheon out of it.. If possible, try to bring one of them with you, if you can. I have sent a carriage for you; it should arrive within the hour you receive this letter.

Sincerely,

Princess Celestia."

"The Princess is asking me about you guys? I barely know anything. Like what you guys said, I barely scratched the surface." Twi said.

"just tell her what you can, Sure she'll understand." Req said.

Twi sat down and thought who was able to go. " 'bring one of them if you can?' easier said then done- you all have things to do today. Aura's helping down at Applejack's, Sora and Ash are out with Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and Dinky, Satoshi's still out of it, Bahamut's helping Fluttershy with that Mirror's Edge pony, and I asked you to look after the library…"

"What about that Jax character?" Halo asked.

"she ain't exactly a big fan of equines." Requiem explained.

"equines?" Zilver asked.

"it's what we called ponies and other hoofed animals back home. Anyways, Jax was almost trampled by a herd when she was young. Hasn't been keen around them since. Being stuck on Equestria is practically hell for her."

"that would explain the attitude." Zil muttered.

"when did you get this, Spike?" Twilight asked.

"about 5 minutes ago at Rarity's."

"Which means I got 55 minutes till the carriage comes to pick me up. I better get ready." Twi said. She walked on back to the kitchen.

"I'll help. Never knew anypony who knows the princess on this level." Halo said as he walked with her into the kitchen. The 2 talked while they went in.

"where'd she get the idea for the bow? It was pretty funny." Spike chuckled, thinking back to the image.

"it was supposed to be cute." Req said.

"cute?" Zil asked.

"well, Twilight… may have a school-girl crush on Halo."

"oh. OH!"

"there you go."

"So that was…"

"An attempt to get them together, but it looked like it failed before it even began."

"really? You want those two together?" Spike asked. "they seem so… off."

"Really?" they both asked, surprised to hear that from Spike.

Derpy yawned as she neared the library. It was a long day and she had to wake up early due to a big package that took 3 ponies to deliver.

She yawned, closing her eyes long enough to not notice the carriage fly by her, going towards Canterlot. The force sent her spinning though mid-air. She stopped after a few seconds, her eyes spinning from it.

"man. Could've at least said 'excuse me." Derpy angrily exclaimed as she watched the carriage fly towards the capital. "wonder who that was for, anyway?" she wondered as she flew towards Ponyville.

She spotted a familiar rainbow streak and flew on over.

Rainbow Dash position a cloud just right over a path leading from Ponyville to Trottingham. The path was expected to have light showers and that's what she was plannin' on doin'.

"HEY THERE, RAINBOW DASH!" Derpy called out as she flew on over. The surprise of hearing the klutz's voice sent Dash flying back into the cloud, prematurely starting a light drizzle that hit a couple of travelers.

"un… Derpy. Un… hehe. What are you doing here?" Dash nervously asked as the klutz flew over.

"Well, for starters, I got a couple of letters for you." Derpy said as she reached into her saddle-bags and pulled out a couple of letters. She handed them to Dash and she just swiped them out of Derps hooves.

"Thanks, Derp. See ya." Dash quickly said, hoping to get far away from the walking time-bomb as fast as possible.

"Wait!" Derpy called out. Dash screeched to a halt and looked back. "Do you know where I can find Halo's Light? I got a letter for him as well."

"Halo? I think he's at the library."

Derpy flew off to Ponyville. Dash breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the sweat from her brow, and took off.

Celestia, Twilight, and Spike walked though the Canterlot gardens, passing by the statues. "thanks for meeting me on such short notice, Twilight. Though… I was hoping to have one of the humans here with you."

"sorry about that, they were busy helping out around town. Aura's working with Applejack, I asked Req to look after the library…"

"Req?"

"it's a nickname of hers."

"I see." Celestia muttered. "you know, ever since Luna came back from the Summer Sun Celebration, she's been quite obsessed with your new friends."

"how so?" Spike asked.

"she's basically turned into Twilight; having her head buried in books."

Spike shivered at the thought. "and we don't need another one of those."

Twi gave Spike a scowl. He zipped his lips and shut up. "Princess. You said in your letter that humans haven't been seen in 3000 years. Were they on Equestria before?"

"yes. Long before me and Luna came into being. I don't know all the details myself; All I know is that they disappeared."

"disappeared?" Twi asked as they passed a certain statue. "how?"

Celestia glared up at the statue. "I'll give you one Draconequus guess."

Twi got confused and looked in the direction she was. She and Spike looked up at the statue and shivered, remembering what he pulled before. "Discord?"

Celestia nodded. "Actually, Discord is one of many possibilities of how the humans disappeared. They could've left on their own accord, maybe they died out, maybe they're hiding beneath the surface. There's a number of possibilities, but Discord… that's the theory I'm going and sticking with."

Celestia walked off. Twi continued to stare up at Discord. She shivered and ran after the Princess.

"So, where's this Luncheon you mentioned?" Spike asked. "I'm so hungry, I could eat a horse. No offense. It's a saying the humans use."

"They eat horses?" a surprised Celestia asked.

"it's just a saying." Twi said. "Means they're really, really, really hungry. They say other animals they don't eat to show how hungry they are, like Buffalo, Bull Elephants, a Whale…"

"and I think Sora mentioned a house once." Spike finished.

Celestia was caught off guard by those sayings. "Really? The humans have some pretty interesting phrases."

"And that's just the tip of the iceberg." Twi groaned as she shook her head 'no'.

Halo continued to look though the books for any info on the Everfree Forest while Zilver took a nap. Req is reading a Daring Do book, using Zil as a pillow.

Something crashed outside, getting Halo to look up, Req to close her book, and Zil to wake up.

"Ow." Derpy said. "think I broke your flowers, Twilight." she called from outside. Req chuckled as she put the book down and walked to the door, opening it. Derpy looked up with a flower on her head. "Hey, Requiem. Is Twilight home?"

Req chuckled as she picked the flower off Derps head. "nope. She just left on business." Req threw the flower away.

"well, then do you know where I can find…" Derps took out the letter and looked at the name. "…Halo's Light? Rainbow Dash said he should be here."

"that would be me." Halo said, appearing from behind Req.

"Then this is for you." Derpy handed him the letter. Halo used his magic to take it and open it up. He took out the contents and began reading it.

"Who's it from?" Zilver lazily asked.

"it's from Sis." Halo said, all excited. "Says she's coming to Ponyville."

"Really? Sis?" Zil took the letter and began reading it himself.

"you 2 have a sister?" Req asked.

"youngest, but yeah. She left to become a performer." Halo explained.

"Says here she'll arrive around dusk." Zil chuckled. "That's always been her style, showing up at the last minute."

"I can bet." Req said. "thanks, Derpy."

"Anyt-" Derpy was interrupted when a pink blur shot in, sending her and Req spinning though the air.

"Did I hear that correctly? A new ponies coming to town?" a excited Pinkie asked.

"Un… yes?" a frightened Halo replied, not sure what's going on here.

"Alright! … who is it, who is it?" Pinkie asked. Halo handed her the letter and she quickly read it. Req and Derpy landed on the floor on their backs. Once she saw who it was from, however, her attitude quickly changed. she gave a deep dramatic gasp and bolted on out of the library.

"what was that all about?" Requiem asked as she sat up and rubbed her head.

Twilight snorted as she laughed at the story she was telling Celestia and Luna at their luncheon in the gardens. "and then… and then… Lyra started following Aura everywhere, asking what it's like walking on two legs, what it's like to have hands, and how exactly they operate. She even tried to mimic him, with bad results." Twi laughed again. Celestia and Luna weren't sure what to say.

"you had to be there to see it but it was pretty funny." Spike said. Twi snorted as she pounded her right hoof onto the table. "but not that funny."

Twi took a few deep breaths and calmed down. "hoo. Hoo. Sorry. Just… It was just too hilarious."

"I bet it was." Luna said as she continued reading a book she found in the archives.

"anyway, it was a real shame none of the humans could come. I was looking forward to meeting one of them." Celestia said.

"OH! That reminds me." Twi exclaimed. She used her magic to make a picture appear. "Req gave me this just before I left."

Celestia's magic overlapped over Twi's and the picture hovered to the princess. "the girl in the middle is Requiem. The one leaning on the lance is Aura. Sora's the one who's brushing her hair back. Satoshi's the one with the squinted eyes. Ash is the one that looks like someone from Appaloosa or Dodge Junction. And Jax is the one giving what they call the 'peace-sign'."

"nice looking bunch." Celestia muttered. "who's the dragon?"

"Bahamut. He's sort-of like Requiem's adopted son; She raised him since he was an egg, like me with Spike. The Wolf, Fenrir, and the Eagle, Cobalt, belong to Ash."

"Ah." Celestia gave the photo back. "And they came here… how exactly?"

"on this giant flying ship called Orion." Spike exclaimed. "it's really huge, twice as big as the library and it's really cool… or at least it was."

"was? Oh, right. That giant monster you mentioned."

"yeah. Thing basically smashed it up. They're stuck here until they repair it. And even then, they have to get back a component stolen by the beasty."

"and it was that component that allowed them to get here in the first place. Without it, even if they get Orion working again, they can't leave without it."

"I see." Celestia sat there in silence for a moment. Twilight and Spike looked at each other with suspicion. Even Luna looked up. "well, I will do whatever I can to help them."

"you will?" the remaining 3 exclaimed.

Celestia winked and held that wink. "any friend of yours is a friend of mine."

"well, I'm sure they'll appreciate the help, Princess." Twi said. Luna rolled her eyes and continued reading.

"it's no problem." Twi smiled. She used her magic to bring a tea cup up to her mouth. She then proceeded to take a sip of it's contents. "so… I read that you met a pony who's quite hot." Celestia snickered.

Twi gagged and spit up her tea. The contents hit Luna, who just sat there with the liquid dripping from her hair. Twilight coughed as she gathered herself. "w-what?" *Cough*. W-when-when-when did I say that?"

Celestia used her magic to make the letter appear out of nowhere. "eep." Twi hit Spike on the head. "I thought I told you to erase that last part."

"I left it in because I thought it would be funny." Spike snickered. "and it is."

Twi looked back with embarrassment. "un… I un… I… wha… ba. Hehehehehehehehehe. Un… yeah. I met someone."

"Really?" Luna said, even intrigued by this. "I didn't know this when I was down there for the Summer Sun Celebration."

"Well, I met him at the celebration. His name is Halo's Light and he is SUPER HOT!" Twi guffawed.

"Here we go." Spike groaned, taking a bite out of his gem-filled mini cake.

"he is like SUPER gorgeous. He's got the prettiest eyes I ever saw, and nice legs. And that Accent! OH, I never knew I had a thing for british accents till I met him. Makes me melt every time i hear it."

"sounds like more then just a crush." Celestia said. "I think she's in full-time love."

"It's like she's in High School again." Spike said. "just before we came, she tried to impress him by dressing up in a big bow."

"SPIKE!" Twi exclaimed.

"Well, it's true. Plus, when we met him after the celebration, didn't you say, and I quote, 'and that accent. *Purr* momma want?'"

Twi sat there with her mouth open, not believing what she had heard. She looked at the Princess's, who stared at her with surprise. "I… un… oh, man. I've never been so embarrassed." she groaned.

Spike got nervous. "think I went a bit too far."

"you think?" Twi snapped. She got up and dusted herself off, blushing like a schoolgirl. "thanks for the luncheon, princess, but I really must be going." she walked away in embarrassment.

"I could send a carriage to take you back." Celestia mentioned.

"I'll take the train!" Twi called out as she walked away faster.

Spike chuckled as he jumped down off his seat. "Thanks for the eats." he said as he ran after Twi.

Luna and Celestia looked at each other and chuckled.

"No. no no no. there's no way she's your sister. You're the exact polar opposite." Dash said as she and the rest of the Mane 6, + humans, gathered out front of the library.

"did sis really leave that much of a impression on the town when she was last here?" Zil asked.

"un….. You could say that."

"she was such a meanie-head." Fluttershy said. "she was always boasting on and on how she was better then everyone else…"

"truth be told, she was annoying." Applejack intervened.

The humans just sat back and let them talk.

"you have any idea what they're talking about?" Ash asked.

"nope." Jax said, taking a bite out of some popcorn.

The sound of wheels rolling caught there attention as a familiar carriage rolled up. "where are my darling brothers!" a very familiar voice called out.

"uh-oh." the Mane 6, minus Twi, all said.

The train rolled into Ponyville station and hissed as it stopped.

"I can't believe you embarrassed me like that." Twilight said as she and Spike walked off.

"she was gonna find out sooner or later. Why not sooner?"

"that part, I could've handled. But you had to go on with it, what with th-" Twi got interrupted by a rainbow blur that smacked into her. "Ow. What is it with this day?" Twilight groaned. She looked to see Dash laying on top of her, dazed by the crash. "Rainbow? What are you doing here?"

Rainbow groaned as she woke up. "man. I need to watch where I'm flying today." she looked down and saw the lavender mare. "Here you are! I've been looking all over Ponyville for ya."

"why? And you mind getting off, please?"

"Sorry." Dash used her wings to get off Twi, who got up on her own.

"What's the rush, Dash?"

"well, I didn't wanna believe it at first but… SHE's back in town!"

Twilight was, within a doubt, confused by what she meant by that. "she? Who, exactly, are you talking about?"

"just come to the library and see." Dash took off without saying another word.

"what was that all about?" Spike asked.

"I… honestly have no clue." Twi sighed. "Come on. We better go see what has Dash all wiled up." the 2 left the station and headed for the library.

Twilight and Spike walked though a alleyway shortcut to the Library when small fireworks started popping over it.

"Fireworks?" Spike muttered. "those… seem familiar."

The gears in both of their heads turned for a moment before reaching the same conclusion. "HER!" they both exclaimed.

They both ran out of the alley to the library to see the very familiar caravan parked out front.

"it's wonderful to see you, Sis." Halo said, hugging his sister.

"The feelings mutual." she replied.

"I honestly can't believe it." Rarity said, mesmerized by the weird-ness. "that your sister is…"

"TRIXIE?" Twilight exclaimed with surprise.

The Azure coat pony with the Pale Cornflower Blue mane smiled. She looked back, her cape flowing in the wind. "Well, it's been a while, Twilight Sparkle. And it's the Great and Powerful Trixie!"


	14. Trixie's Unexpected & Unfortunate Return

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Of Ponies and Humans

Chapter 1

Trixie's Unexpected and Unfortunate Return

Previously on My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic…

The train rolled into Ponyville station and hissed as it stopped.

"I can't believe you embarrassed me like that." Twilight said as she and Spike walked off.

"she was gonna find out sooner or later. Why not sooner?"

"that part, I could've handled. But you had to go on with it, what with th-" Twi got interrupted by a rainbow blur that smacked into her. "Ow. What is it with this day?" Twilight groaned. She looked to see Dash laying on top of her, dazed by the crash. "Rainbow? What are you doing here?"

Rainbow groaned as she woke up. "man. I need to watch where I'm flying today." she looked down and saw the lavender mare. "Here you are! I've been looking all over Ponyville for ya."

"why? And you mind getting off, please?"

"Sorry." Dash used her wings to get off Twi, who got up on her own.

"What's the rush, Dash?"

"well, I didn't wanna believe it at first but… SHE's back in town!"

Twilight was, within a doubt, confused by what she meant by that. "she? Who, exactly, are you talking about?"

"just come to the library and see." Dash took off without saying another word.

"what was that all about?" Spike asked.

"I… honestly have no clue." Twi sighed. "Come on. We better go see what has Dash all wiled up." the 2 left the station and headed for the library.

Twilight and Spike walked though a alleyway shortcut to the Library when small fireworks started popping over it.

"Fireworks?" Spike muttered. "those… seem familiar."

The gears in both of their heads turned for a moment before reaching the same conclusion. "HER!" they both exclaimed.

They both ran out of the alley to the library to see the very familiar caravan parked out front.

"it's wonderful to see you, Sis." Halo said, hugging his sister.

"The feelings mutual." she replied.

"I honestly can't believe it." Rarity said, mesmerized by the weird-ness. "that your sister is…"

"TRIXIE?" Twilight exclaimed with surprise.

The Azure coat pony with the Pale Cornflower Blue mane smiled. She looked back, her cape flowing in the wind. "Well, it's been a while, Twilight Sparkle. And it's the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

Begin:  watch?v=McgpE9a5JG4 My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic extended intro - Sizzle Reel version

"TRIXIE!" Twilight exclaimed in surprise.

The Azure coat pony with the Pale Cornflower Blue mane smiled. She looked back, her cape flowing in the wind. "Well, it's been a while, Twilight Sparkle. And it's the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

The Mane 6 and the new ponies looked between the 2, unsure what to do. The humans themselves were also confused.

"un… who's Trixie and how does she know Twi?" Aura asked.

Pinkie giraffed in and handed them a tablet. "read this synopsis on the MLP:FIM Wiki and you should do fine." she pulled herself back out, leaving a bunch of confused people behind.

"wh… ho… what are you doing here, Trixie?" Twilight asked.

"why, Twilight. I'm hurt." Trix jumped down from the stage and landed between Halo and Zilver Light. "A girl can't come and visit her brothers?" she said, putting her hoofs around them.

"Brothers!"

"what, we didn't tell you? Trix here is our flesh-and-blood sister." Zilver said. He grabbed hold of her and proceeded to give her a noogie.

"but that can't be. She has the last name Lulamoon. Your last names are Light."

"Ponies can change their name, Twilight Sparkle..." Trixie groaned as she pulled herself out of Zil's grip. "…It's as simple as 1-2-3. But… that's beside the point."

"what are you talking about, Trixie?" Twilight asked.

"there was another reason I came back to Ponyville other then to visit my brothers." Twilight wasn't sure where she was going with it. "I wanna apologize… for what I did last time I was here."

Twi wasn't buying it and neither was anyone else. "Apologize? Really? *Scoff* you honestly expect us to buy that?"

Trixie was stunned by Twilight's response. She wasn't like this the last time she was here. "this isn't a trick, Twilight. I really have come back to make peace. I learned my lesson and-"

"This is so a trick! The best part everyone remembers about you are your lies! This is likely a more in-depth lie."

"Twil-"

"look, I already had a rough day thanks to a certain purple drake…" Spike chuckled and backed out of view. "…what I don't need is some stuck-up snobbish magician pretending she's turned over a new leave!"

Trixie looked away in pain as Halo intervened. "Twi, this is my sister your-"

"Tell it to the tail cause I ain't gonna hear it!" Twilight exclaimed as she walked in anger back to the library.

Everyone, including the humans, were caught off guard by Twilight's sudden personality change. "wow. She's really angry." Requiem said.

"she wasn't this angry at Discord or her brother." Rarity gasped. "what exactly did you do, Spike? She mentioned that you had something to do with this."

"un… I'd rather not say."

Trixie, however, is not done yet. She tossed her hat aside and un-clipped her cape as she ran after her. "Twilight. Please, listen. I'm not the same pony I was 2 years ago. I did change!"

"Still. Not. Buying. It!" Twi gritted though her teeth.

Dash flew on over. "Come on, Twilight. At least listen to what she has to say. We listened and it's quite heart-breaking what she had to go though to change herself."

Twilight scoffed at R.D. "I can't believe you, Rainbow. Why are you siding with her?"

"Who said I was siding with anyone? I'm just saying, listen to her."

"I agree." Requiem intervened. "I may not know her but even I can tell she's changed by the stories Dash and the others told us." Twilight glared up at her. "I'm a excellent judge of character."

"Good for you!" Twilight snapped.

"Whoa! What was that for?" Twilight slammed open the door with her hoof. "don't you think you're being a little bit unreasonable?"

Twilight scoffed. "I'M being unreasonable!"

"I can think of a better word to describe you right now but this is a kid's show." Jax said.

"come on, Twi. Just look at Trixie. She changed and she's trying to show you." Twilight scoffed at Fluttershy's assumption. "just give her a chance. We all did."

Twilight looked down at Trixie who's eyes started getting misty. She looked up at the group and chuckled. "I'll give her a chance…" everyone breathed a sigh of relief. "…I'll give her 30 seconds to run before I use my magic to do something I won't regret!"

Aura groaned as he held his head. "what? Twilight, com-"

"Shut up!" Twi snapped. Aura, along with everyone else, did just that. "I have had the worst day of my life and I don't need little miss. Obnoxious here to come back and make it even more worse!"

Trixie started to cry. "Twilight…"

"I'll make this as simple as I can, Trixie: LEAVE! You coming back officially made this day the worst day of my life and I don't need it! If I could, I would go back in time and stop you from coming to Ponyville in the first place; or better yet, prevent you from being born!" Twilight slammed the door shut as hard as she could.

Requiem mouthed 'wow' as a defeated Trixie just stood there at the door.

Rain clouds magically appeared over the library and began pouring out their contents onto a defeated Trixie. She looked back at the group with such a sad look, it would make even the most hardest of people to cry.

She picked herself up and very slowly walked on back to her stage, each step a pain.

"what do we say?" Sora whispered to Req. she whispered back to Sora and the entire human group whispered on what to say.

"listen, Sis…" Halo walked on over and put his hoof around her.

"oh, guess Halo's doing it."

"…just give Twilight some time. I'm sure she'll forgive you." Trixie just stood there, not saying a word. She felt so defeated and heart-broken. She just picked up her hat and cape and walked back to her caravan.

The group just stood there and looked at each other, not sure what to do.

Twilight reached her room and fell onto her bed. She grabbed her pillow and screamed into it. "UGH! WHY, why now did she have to come back? And why did she have to be his brother!" she yelled into the pillow. She flipped over and stared up at the ceiling. "I had a plan. A way to hopefully get Halo to like me. But with Trixie!" she used her magic to toss the pillow to the door, which hit and closed it before Requiem and Spike could enter to talk to her. She used her magic to lock it.

"she's good." Req said as she started back down. "we didn't even call her name." she headed back down to the lobby. Spike still stood there for a moment before following her.

Trixie's caravan rested off the path linking Ponyville to Sweet Apple Acres.

Trix laid in her bed, depressed by what had transpired, some tears silently falling down her face. "…Still don't understand why Twi would yell at Trixie like that…" she heard Halo's voice from outside. She wiped her eyes, got up, and walked over to the only door. She opened up the window and looked outside.

"I have never seen Twilight this mad." a nervous Fluttershy said.

"I don't think anyone has seen Twilight this mad, least not enough to make her say that 'not born' line." Pinkie said. "but what could've made her snap like that?"

"Could be a number of things. She did say she was having a stressful day, even before Trixie came." Jax said, hanging upside-down from a tree. "she really that bad a pony last time she was here?"

"well, she was boasting a lot and being a bit of a snob but nothing to bring out that kind of response." Rarity explained.

"so much for a pleasant family reunion." Zil muttered. "we haven't seen each other in 10 years and this is what happens?"

"well…" Trixie spoke from her carriage. "…I don't exactly blame her for this."

"Trixie…"

"I didn't exactly leave here on the best of terms with her. Plus, I may or may not have sent some letters to her after that, claiming I will return!"

"well, that explains 20% of the anger but not the other 90%, _Chicka_." Shadow said. Satoshi thought the numbers added wrong and counted them up. Shadow looked at the camera with his eyes half closed. "she was giving 110% in the yelling, _Gringo_."

"but what caused the yelling? That's the million-dollar question." Aura muttered.

"I don't know…" Trixie opened the door, clad again in her hat and cape. "…but I plan to find out."


	15. Trying to make nice

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Of Ponies and Humans

Chapter 2

Trying to make nice

If there's one thing you don't want to do, it's to go to bed angry. Unfortunately, that's exactly what Twilight did. She fell asleep while still angry for Trixie being back in town and it carried over in the next day, as well as giving her one bad backache and headache combo. (I know from experience. Trust me, this is what I, the writer, got when I went to bed angry.)

Twilight got up and groaned. "this is not going to be a pleasant week. I just know it." she jumped out of bed and over to her mirror. She used her magic to pick up the brush and brush her hair. "why'd she have to come back? Yesterday was bad but her coming back was without a doubt the worst thing that happened."

Twilight groaned as she set the brush down. "Trixie…" she groaned. She looked back up at the mirror and saw said pony in the mirror. Twilight looked back and confirmed that it wasn't a trick of the eyes.

"Twilight, please. I just want to talk." Trixie pleaded. Twilight got angry as her horn glowed.

Ash and Applejack sat outside, talking about this predicament.

"hope this all goes well. I just wish Twilight would listen." Applejack said as she took a bite of a apple.

Ash nodded as he sat with his arms crossed. "you know… I've been looking back on last night, to figure out what Twilight snapped the way she did."

"and?"

"well, I think If she'd listen to Trixie's story, she might calm down enough to forgive her like you and the others did, maybe enough to forgive why she snapped."

"and that would be…."

"I think… Twilight is angry because-"

A window shattered as Trixie was sent flying out. She crashed into Ash and Applejack. They groaned as they got up, Ash's leg twitching.

"And I'll do worse if you break in again!" Twilight yelled. She used her magic to repair the window and brought up a protective barrier.

"I'm guessing that could've gone better." Applejack groaned.

Trixie scoffed as she got up. "what was I thinking?" she said, giving up. "She's never gonna forgive me." she started to cry again. "This was a stupid idea."

A.J. got up and ran on over. "hey. Come on Sugarcube. She's bound to forgive ya. She just needs time, that's all."

Trixie looked up at her with tears in her eyes. "you're sure?"

"as positive that I'm the Element of Honesty." Applejack winked. Trixie wiped her eyes and smiled.

She quickly got a depressed look and looked back at the library. "but… why does she hate me so much?"

"well, Ash said he found out so let's ask him." she and Trixie turned to ask Ash but he was out cold by the crash. "maybe later."

Night quickly fell on the town and everyone had headed in for the night.

Trixie depressingly sighed as she looked out the window of her brother's apartment. Halo and Zilver looked at each other, each trying to figure out what to do. "listen Trixie." Halo walked over and rubber her back. "So what if Twilight hates your guts? You still got us."

"Yeah." Zil interjected. "What does the approval of one mare even matter anyway, huh?" Zilver asked.

"it… it matters to me."

"huh?"

Trixie deeply sighed as she got up and walked to the other side of the room. "I love you 2 so I'm gonna tell you why. But you have to promise not to mention this to anyone."

"mention what?" Zilver asked.

Trixie sighed. "do you know…" Trixie choked up. This was harder then she thought. Halo and Zil looked at each other for a moment then looked back at Trix. "do… you guys know what a Filly-Fooler is?"

"a Filly-Fooler? Ain't that a female pony who marries other female ponies." Halo asked Zilver.

"yeah. And I think the humans refer to that term as Lesbian. Least, I think that's what they call it, I heard it passing." both retuned their attention to Trixie. "why do you ask?"

Trixie sighed. "well…. I'm… I'm a Filly-Fooler."

Halo and Zilver were stunned by it. "YOU ARE!" they exclaimed in surprise.

"yeah. I'm… the thing mother and father despised." Trixie cringed. "I'm a freak." she cried.

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Halo quickly ran over. "you are not a freak. So what if mom and dad hate Filly-Foolers? You're our sister! That's all that matters to us."

Trixie sniffed. "you… you don't mind?"

"no. we don't. if you're into girls, you're into girls. Simple as that. Who cares what other ponies say?"

"yeah." Zilver said. Halo and Trixie looked at him with 'wtf' on their faces. "What? I couldn't come up with anything." Halo and Trixie chuckled. She had missed this aspect of her life; her nonsense brothers. "so… I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that Twilight's the one who's gotten into your heart?"

She nodded at the truthful assumption. "yep. It happened when I first saw her 2 years ago. I wanted to tell her so much but I couldn't. she was friends with 3 ponies I showed up in front of her. And then with the Ursa Minor, I… I just couldn't bare to be around her. So… I just ran. But not before putting on a show keeping up with my outward character. After then, I sent her letters hoping to apologize and make nice but… I guess I worded it wrong."

"Well…" Halo interjected, reading one of the said letters. "writing 'I WILL BE BACK!' in all caps ain't exactly a good deed sign."

"well…" Trixie scratched her chin. "I may have been overly excited to see her again. I just couldn't get her out of my head. Every time I go to sleep, I see her lavender face smiling at me and…" Trixie let out a dreamily sigh. Her eyes quickly welled up with tears. "and… with everything that's been happening the past couple of days… my heart feels like it's being…. Being broken into a million pieces."

Hal and Zilver looked at each other and nodded. "Well then. We're gonna have to make her forgive ya."

Trixie looked at them with suspicion. "really?" she asked, not exactly feeling peachy about them helping.

"Really! This ain't no joke, we're gonna help." Zilver said.

"but keep in mind, there's a 50/50 chance." Halo added.

"50/50 chance for what?"

"that she may not be a Filly-Fooler herself, Zil. Get your head in the game."

Trixie dejectedly looked away from the 2. "I… I am aware of it. And if she isn't one, at the very least I should make peace."

"right. Now… what to do…?" Halo muttered.

Trixie yawned. "can we deal with this in the morning? I'm getting sleepy." she got up and headed for the door. "I'm heading back."

Zilver suddenly bolted and blocked the door. "nu-uh. You're in no condition to be alone. You're staying here with us for the night."

"for once, I agree with Zil. Here, you can have my bed. I'll take the couch."

Trixie smiled as her eyes welled up again. Zilver suddenly hugged her. Halo ran over and hugged her as well. "Thanks you 2. You're the best brothers a girl can ask for." she hugged them back.

The night went on, the moon reaching the 3 o'clock position. Everyone in Ponyville was out for the night, some snoring up a storm.

Like the night before, Requiem and Spike slept in the lobby of the library so they can avoid the angry Unicorn on the second floor.

Trixie slept soundly as her 2 brothers snored up a storm. She was eager and hopeful that the morning will bring about a good change to her relationship with Twilight. Hopefully go farther then that. She smiled at the hopeful concept.

Elsewhere, Trixie's Carriage rested beneath a tree near Sweet Apple Acres.

A large shadow blocked the moon's light as something MASSIVE landed softly enough not to shake everything in sight.

The monster draped in shadow, the same on that stranded Requiem and Co. on Equestria, slowly walked over to the apple farm. It's foot slammed down on the ground with a big, but surprisingly soft, boom.

"I'm not sure this will work, guys." Trixie nervously said.

She was standing at the side of the road leading up to Sweet Apple Acres. They recruited Bahamut, Pinkie, and Marble to help. "Trust us. It'll work." Halo said.

"Trust you? Last time I trusted you, I ended up in a pile of garbage."

Halo and Zilver chuckled, remembering that. "oh, classic." Zil chuckled. Trixie wasn't exactly feeling confident after that statement.

"Zil…" Trix sighed. "how do you even know she'll go up this path?"

"because, every Thursday at 8, Twilight goes up to Sweet Apple Acres to get some." Pinkie explained. "You can set your clock to her schedule."

Marble chuckled. "This ain't gonna work. You can't force love."

"but you can still try to make nice with enemies, Mr. Emo." Bahamut growled. Marble rolled his eyes.

Halo groaned at those 2. He spotted Twilight leaving the library with a saddle-bag. "here she comes, Sis. Remember, don't do anything stupid."

Trixie scoffed. "Halo. Please. It's me. When was the last time I did something stupid?"

Zil cleared his throat. "well, there was the time you tired to keep a Timber Wolf as a pet; that didn't end well. You tried to use your magic to make it rain money; instead, we got frogs. Then…"

Her eye started to twitch as Zilver started going into her history. "I GET IT!" Trixie yelled. Twilight walked by, ignoring the whole scene. Bahamut and Pinkie watched her go. "you don't need to go into the entire history."

"and you missed your cue!" Bahamut exclaimed. He and Pinkie pointed to her right. Trixie looked and saw Twilight walking away. Trixie regained her posture, took a deep breath, and ran after her. She slowed down as she neared Twi.

"hey there, Twilight." Trixie said. Twi just ignored her. "I un… I got you some flowers." she used her magic to make a bouquet fly up alongside her. "listen, I want to make up for what I did 2 years ago. I ASSUME that's why you're mad at me now, right?" Twi just ignored her again.

Trixie walked out in front of her, blocking her path. "Please, Twilight. Can't we talk?" she offered Twi the flowers again.

Twilight sighed and used her magic to grab it. Trixie got a warm hopeful feeling inside her. Halo and Zilver high-hoofed as Pinkie and Bahamut snickered. Marble, however, was being as cold as ever.

Twilight's horn glowed and sent the flowers back to sender, hitting her in the face with it. "maybe you didn't get the message last time: GO AWAY!" Twilight sternly said as she walked off.

Trixie started get all teary-eyed again. "but… but Twi…"

She turned around and walked back to Trix. "Maybe I didn't make myself clear: I never want to see you again! Ever! And if you can't get that though your head, I may have to take more drastic measures to show you!"

"okay, that's it." Halo growled as he walked out. Everyone else was too dumbstruck by this.

"nobody here in Ponyville cares about you! And if you care, you will leave and never come back! Got IT!" Twilight yelled again.

Trixie choked up, not sure what to say. She just ran, ran as fast as she could away from Twi. Twilight shook her head and started off for the farm again. Next thing she knew, she was pinned up against a wall by Halo.

"WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM!" Halo yelled.

"halo…?"

"all Trixie wanted was to make peace with you for what she did and here you are, treating her like dirt!"

"but but…"

"No no no. no buts. All your friends were able to forgive her for what she did, so why can't you? What did she do that made you so angry that you just had to go and berate her like this?"

"but… but I…"

Halo sighed as he let go. "this is exactly why I don't date; Mares are so mean!" Halo angrily said as he walked off after Trixie.

Twilight collapsed to the ground, tears falling from her eyes this time. What was she doing? "you brought this on yourself, you know." Bahamut as he flew over and landed beside her.

"you were scary the last couple of days, Twi." Pinkie nervously said. "we never saw you like this before. Why do it now?"

"I just… I just couldn't… I didn't want to believe it…" a distraught Twi said.

"believe what?" Zilver asked as he walked over.

"I guess she didn't want to believe that Trixie was Halo's sister." Marble said, taking a bite out of a pomegranate.

"beg pardon?" Bahamut asked.

"didn't you notice all the idiotic things Twilight was doing around Halo? She was trying to impress him because she has a crush on him; and a very big one, by the looks of it."

"A crush?" Bahamut asked, not really sure where Marble was going with it. "Like 'love' crush? Then why go all ape-shit on Trixie?"

"well, this is just a wild hunch on my part but I think Twilight thought Trixie came to take her brothers away."

"What! That's so not true." Zil said, not believing what he is hearing.

"then tell her."

"un… guys. I hate to interrupt but the love-struck mare has disappeared." Bahamut said. He pointed back to where Twilight was. She was long gone. All that was left was a outline and a dinging bell that flashed a few times.

"uh-oh." all 4 of them said.

Trixie cried her heart out on a bench in the park, holding the flowers close to her. She painfully opened her eyes, looked at the flowers for a moment, then threw them away. She couldn't bare to look at them anymore.

A pony patted her on the back. She looked up to see Halo sitting right beside her. She held him close and just cried and cried and cried. Halo held her. Today, he was a big brother, not a explorer.

"TRIXIE!" Twilight yelled out, this time in desperation. Twi ran over the bridge and found her and Halo. "There you are!" she ran on over. "Trixie, I-"

"Don't you think you've done enough, Twilight?" a angry Halo asked.

"That's the thing. I-."

"WHAT IN TARNATION!" someone exclaimed at the top of their lungs.

Twilight heard it and recognized the voice. "was that Applejack?" Trixie used this opportunity to run back to her carriage. "wait! Trixie!" Twilight exclaimed, running after her. Halo ran after her as well.

"wow. That's a big gash." Aura said.

Aura, Applejack, and the rest of the Apple Clan stared at a big gash in the middle of the farm. A WHOLE bunch of trees are gone, with some being cut in half.

Applebloom counted out how many trees are gone, putting the half ones together. "…25, 26, 27! 27 whole trees are gone."

"wow. Something like this happen before, A.J?" Aura asked.

"well, there was a big ol' windstorm that sent every apple flying all around town but we rounded them all up. This is a first for us."

Aura whistled. "I got a good suspect who might have done this." He said as he turned around walked away. A.J. and A.B. turned and followed him.

"Who, that monster that stranded you here?" Applebloom asked.

"possible. He's big enough to make that gash."

"and we don't know where giganto is so we can't go after him." Applejack said. She looked back at the gash. "Looks like those trees are gone for good."

"but why would it want apple trees for?" 'Bloom asked.

Aura shrugged. "even monsters need to eat."

"just stay away!" Trixie cried. Trixie ran as fast as she could away from Twilight, who ran after her and who had Halo running after her.

"Trixie! Please wait!" Twilight called out.

Halo caught up to Twi, close enough to ask this: "why are you running after her? I thought you hated her but I didn't know you were angry enough to kill her."

"I'm not going to kill her. I'm going to apologize." Twi explained.

"You are? Why should i trust you?"

"Cause Zilver explained everything."

"Everything? Including what happened to her the past 2 years?"

"nnno. why I was angry. Turns out I was…"

Both Halo and Twilight ran into Trixie from behind, who had stopped in her tracks. Twi and Halo fell backwards and hit the ground.

"ow. That was a ow moment." Halo groaned.

Twilight got up and helped Halo up. They both looked to see Trixie just standing there. "Trix?" Halo muttered. He walked around to her front to see Trixie just standing there with a look of horror on her face. "Trixie?" Twilight also walked up and saw the same look. They both looked in the same direction and saw what she saw.

Trixie's trailer was totaled. The entire front section was totaled and flattened, nothing but rubble now.

"oh my stars…" Twilight gasped. "how did…?" she and Halo walked over and started rummaging though it.

"what could've caused this?" Halo wondered. He thought for a moment and looked back to Twilight.

She noticed this and immediately knew where she was going with it. "I didn't have anything to do with this, I swear!"

"you sure? Because you've been acting like a bitch these past 2 days."

Twilight didn't argue. She knew how she was acting. She wasn't gonna deny it.

Trixie, now just a hollow husk of her former self, walked by and started rummaging though it.

"sis…"

Trixie moved a beam to the side and found a picture frame. She picked it out and looked at it. Twilight leaned in and looked at the pic inside it.

It was a picture of Trixie, Halo, and Zilver as foals, posing in front of the caravan. Trix had her hat and cape on but they had bows on it.

"This… must've been her birthday or the day she left." Twilight concluded in her mind. Her heart broke a little and walked to the other end of the caravan, leaving Trixie, or what was left of her, to the picture.

Twilight tripped on something. She didn't fall but instead staggered. She looked down on what she tripped on. What she saw broke her heart even more. Trixie's hat and cape were ripped and torn.

"oh man." Halo groaned, noticing the cape and hat. "Trix cherished those. Seeing them ripped like this…"

"this is all my fault. Isn't it?" Twilight somberly asked. "If I had just forgiven her to begin with and just… just didn't act like the worst pony in existence… then…"

Twi looked back to Trixie, who just sat there, holding the picture close. Halo also looked back and nodded something to himself. "she better get some rest. These past 2 days… they've been torture to her."

"and I was the one who made it torture." Twilight said. She used her magic to carry the cape and hat. "take her back to the library and put her in my bed. I'll take these to Rarity. See if she can fix them. When I get back…"

Halo nodded and walked on back to her sister. "Trixie. Hey, Trixie. Can you hear me?" Trixie didn't reply verbally but she did a slight nod. "Come on. We're gonna put you to bed."

Twilight looked away. She did this. If she had just listened to her before, then this could've been avoided, right? If Trixie's trailer was in town, then it could've avoided being crushed, same with Trixie's heart; which is what she brought on. That's what she kept telling herself as she went to Rarity's.


	16. Storytime, Kiddies

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Of Ponies and Humans

Chapter 3

Storytime, Kiddies

Rarity hummed as she sewed sequins into the dress Spike had inadvertadly destroyed 2 days earlier. She made sure that Spike or Sweetie Belle weren't around to bug her to the point that the dress would be destroyed or maimed again.

The door opened and made the familiar jingling sound. Rarity dropped what she was doing and trotted on over. "welcome to Carousel Boutique, where everything is-" she stopped her trademark motto and gasped when she saw Twilight standing there with Trixie's torn cape and hat.

"Twilight! What…"

"Rarity, please. I have no time to explain. I just need you to fix these." Twi said, giving Rarity Trixie's accessories.

"but Tw-"

"just fix them ASAP, please?" Rarity wasn't sure what Twilight was talking about but begrudgingly nodded. "thanks." Twilight turned and ran to the door. She stopped for a moment. "I made a huge mistake." she said as she bolted on out.

Rarity just stood there with a big question mark on her face. "what 'big mistake'?" Rarity thought for a moment as she looked at the tattered clothes. "oh no. oh, Celestia she didn't. she didn't… kill Trixie, did she?"

A hollowed out Trixie laid in Twilight's bed, still stunned in horror by the last 2 days, the worst of which peaked with her trailer being destroyed. Halo used his magic to pull the blanket over his sister.

"sorry for the past couple of days, sis." Halo muttered. He leaned in and kissed her on the forehead. He walked away and headed downstairs, shutting off the light as he left.

Halo reached the bottom floor as Twilight closed the door behind her. She looked up, saw Halo, and sighed. "how is she?"

"she ain't dead. That's the good part. Usually, with that big a shock to the system, one would die."

"right…." Twilight droned. She couldn't bare to look at Halo.

Halo sighed and walked on over. "listen, Twilight. We need to talk. About-"

"about how I… was cruel to your sister for the past couple of days?"

Halo grunted in approval. He used his magic to drag two chairs over to them, which they both sat in. "so… what happened? What made you snap at her like that?"

Twi just gave a dry chuckle. "that's the thing. I keep looking back and… I just can't figure out why I did what I did. I guess… the main guess would be…" Twi just stopped right there. She didn't want to reveal her feelings for him. If she did, then Halo would berate her for acting out for a stupid reason like love.

Halo curiously looked at her. "would be what?"

"I lost it. I lost my train of thought."

Halo chuckled. "that can happen to any pony." he jumped off his chair and turned towards the kitchen. "would you like some tea? This is bound to take awhile."

Twilight nodded and just sat there as Halo went in. this was torture for her; sending her ex-future boyfriends sister into shock, treating her like dirt… her heart ached at what Halo's response would be if her told him the truth. She hoped it wouldn't come to that.

The rest of the gang gathered at Sugercube corner for a sale Pinkie was having on all pink style muffins and cupcakes and cookies.

"Hurry hurry hurry!" Pinkie proclaimed, slamming a paper fan onto the counter. "half off all pink colored goodies! Get them before they're gone!"

"getting them!" Sora said as she swiped a few cookies.

"I ever tell you how much I love sweets_, Senorita_?" Shadow asked Dash.

"This would be the first time, Storm." Dash said as she took a bite out of a muffin.

Aura and Applejack walked in, still confused by what happened before. "find out what caused that gash in the farm?" Ash asked.

"nope, but I'm sticking with the monster that stuck us here." Aura said as he took a cupcake. "unless there's another giant beasty in Equestria we should know about?" he asked A.J.

"as far as I know, the big shadow's the only thing that's as big as Canterlot."

"you know, that's not a bad nickname for the monster." Satoshi mentioned.

"Big Shadow?" everyone asked in unison.

Satoshi pouted his lips to the side and sat back. "it was just a suggestion. Gee Whiz." he took a bite out of his cookie shutting him up.

Bahamut and Zilver walked in, each plopping down on the counter. "we searched high and low for Twilight, Halo, and Trixie and we haven't found hair or hide of them. It's like they vanished."

"and who'd thought that was Twilight's jealousy that made her snap. Who knew?" Req muttered as she tossed a grape into her mouth. "I mean, I never acted like that." The rest of the humans, plus Bahamut, stopped what they were doing and stared at her with disbelief. "What?"

"the graves back home in Teria just rolled over thanks to that not true reply." Aura exclaimed.

"oh yeah. Name 1." Requiem dared.

"okay." Aura scarfed down the cookie and wiped away the crumbs. "Remember back at Lylat when me and Krystal were hanging out, exchanging battle strategies against those Aparoid creatures? You and Fox just happened to think we were seeing each other on the side so you came up with a devious plan to get at us?" Requiem just sat there with her eyes half closed, no response planned at all.

Twilight, still in the same depressed mode she was in a few minutes ago, heard hoof-steps and looked to see Halo walking on back.

"Tea should be ready in a few."

"Halo… some of the others told me that listening to Trixie's story helped change their minds about her. Exactly what story were they talking about?"

"well, before you came back from Canterlot, Trixie explained what she did the past 2 years, and… and it's pretty depressing. In fact, her whole life is depressing."

Twi got curious. "Depressing? Depressing how?"

"it's a long story. We could be here awhile."

Twi shook her head. "I don't care."

Halo sighed as he took a deep breath and sat back. "well… it all began 17 years ago, I think. On the day we found her."

"found her?"

"yeah. She wasn't born into our family, we adopted her. We found her on the side of the road, bloodied and beaten. Guess her birth parents or someone hated her to a T."

Twilight gasped. "oh my…"

Halo nodded. "well, like I said, after we found her, we took her home and patched her up. Guess she was beaten up bad enough to the point she lost her memory. She doesn't remember a day before we found her. My best guess is that she's either repressing it or truly doesn't forget it."

Twilight just glanced at the floor, not sure what to say about it.

"Well, after we patched her up, me and Zilver thought she should stay and be our sister. Our parents, who weren't exactly keen on the idea, agreed."

"why weren't they?"

"remember, I was the first Unicorn born into our family in generations. Having two wasn't exactly peachy with everyone. Some were so against it that… that some tried to kill her." Twilight gasped. Who would wanna kill a foal? "they didn't succeed, thanks to me and Zil informing the authorities but Mom and Dad weren't happy with it. They weren't exactly the nicest parents out there."

"how so?"

"Well, whenever we did something bad; either mediocre or major, they'd beat us and Trixie got the worst of it. Dad was the worst, though. When he'd get angry, he'd come at us with a knife, cutting us." Halo moved his hair to show his neck, and a pretty bad cut. "that was made during one of dad's rampages. I was only 5 at the time."

"oh my… Halo, I'm sorry."

"don't be. I learned long ago to dodge when it counted. He was trying to kill me with that swipe." Twilight got a sad expression and looked down. "in fact, I always looked though our old house, searching for ways to hide. I was fascinated to see what lied behind that place's old walls. Always found something new and cool. In fact, that's how I got this Cutie Mark." he said, showing off his binocular cutie mark. "Zilver was like me as well and got the same one."

"So that's why you 2 always work together. I knew there was something to that."

"yeah. I'm the brains, he's the brawn. Actually, Trixie was the main brain. Despite us not being related by blood, we sure behaved like brother and sister. We were inseparable, and in our house it was a good thing."

"So what happened next?"

"well thankfully, someone next door called the authorities on what was going on- not sure why took the neighbors 4 years but they did it- and arrested our mother and father. Celestia sent them to prison and was going to send us to different orphanages but Trixie insisted we stay together. Celestia agreed and sent all 3 of us to the Canterlot Home for Orphans. It was more cheerful then our original home but was under-funded so there wasn't much to do there. That's where Trixie got the idea to put on performances for the other orphans. They loved it and she loved it. She loved it so much, that's how she got her Cutie Mark"

The tea kettle suddenly started whistling, cutting their conversation short. "be right back." Halo said as he went back into the kitchen.

Twilight lowered herself in her chair and gave a depressing sigh. "I'm such a idiot. She had such a depressing childhood and I made it worse by saying I wish she was never born." she hit her head against the chair and lowered herself further.

The door rang and Rarity quickly walked in.

"hey, Rare. I was wondering when you were going to get here. I saved you the most impressive Cupcake." Pinkie said, offering it to her.

"not now, Pinkie. I just have the most dreadful news!" she exclaimed.

"Dreadful news? What would be more dreadful you in a cold sweat?" Ash chuckled. Rarity got mad and used her magic to hit him in the face with a cupcake. "I deserved that."

"jeez, Rare. Haven't seen you this tense before. What, you see a ghost or something?" Rainbow asked.

"I think I will."

"how so?" Bahamut asked.

"Well…" Rarity gulped as she used her magic to pull Trixie's torn cape and hat in. "… I think Twilight murdered Trixie."

Everyone, minus Marble and Jax, let out a collective gasp. Spike, on the other hand, just fell out of his seat laughing. "Twilight? Murder Trixie? She'd never kill someone that's not a virtual character in a game. That's not how she rolls."

"Listen. Twilight came by the Boutique earlier and said that she was sorry for what she did. And she had a real sad look on her face."

"that could mean anything." Aura said as he took another bite of his goody.

"but… last I checked, Twilight was hating Trixie with a vengeance. Why would she give Rarity the hat and cape?"

Everyone looked at each other for a moment then came to the same conclusion: "a place to hide the murder evidence!" they all exclaimed. Jax and Marble looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

Trixie looked at the tattered clothes and immediately dropped them. "ew. I am not going to be a accessory for murder."

"That does explain why we weren't able to find Trixie or Halo but there's no way Twilight would kill them." Requiem said.

"well, not Halo. She's obsessed with him." Zilver said. "Trix, on the other hand…"

Everyone looked at each other and ran for the exit and clamored at top speed for the library.

Halo offered Twilight a cup of tea, which she begrudgingly accepted. "so…" Halo grunted as he got back in his seat. "where was I?"

"you left off where Trixie found her Cutie Mark."

"oh, right right. Well, after Trixie found it, she provided the orphanage with plenty of entertainment and laughter. I'm guessing it all eventually went to her head by what your friends told us."

"She was boasting up a storm."

"Well, she eventually moved her shows out to the public and ponies started paying. We were able to make the orphanage better again over the course of just 4 years. But… as time passed, we could all sense it, even though she wouldn't tell us, that she wanted to go out and perform at other towns. So, in secrecy, Me, Zil, and the others turned a old beat-up shed out back into the caravan she used. We surprised her on her birthday with it. She got all teary-eyed and was happy for the gift. And using money we made doing odd jobs here and there, me and Zil bought that Hat and Cape combo she used to admire though store windows. Just before she left, we took a couple of photos: one with just me, Zil, and Trixie. And the other was a group shot of the entire orphanage. Before she left, one of the littler orphans suggested she use the Ursa Major story in his favorite storybook. See she took it too far."

Twilight took a sip of her tea. "what happened next?"

"Well, before long, me and Zil went out to do what we do best; explore. We found many a artifact and proved the existence of some species thought extinct or mythical. We were even on the cover for Equestrian Geographic for finding a long lost temple that foretold the end of the world… 200 years ago. But so far, with the mystery of the Everfree Forest's nature, the humans, and that giant monster you told us about, Ponyville is starting to shape up as one of our best."

"and Trixie?"

"we haven't seen each other for 10 years but we exchanged letters back and forth, explaining our escapades. she always sent 1/3 of what she earned back to the orphanage. And 2 years ago, we received a letter from her, saying she was heading to a small town outside Canterlot."

"I think I know where this is going." Twilight said, thinking back to the day Trixie came to town. "so we skip over that to get to…"

Halo sighed. "This is where things get really bad." he warned. "after the incident, word spread about her boasting and shallow tricks. Nopony were coming to her shows anymore. Then… it got worst."

"I'm not liking where this is going." Twilight groaned.

"in Manehatten, about 3 weeks ago, she… ran into Dad. He had broken out of prison when he found out what me and Trixie were doing with our lives and he didn't like it. When he met her, he said that Trixie was a curse brought upon on our family by the gods of death and said that mom died because of her. Then… he tried to kill her. In broad daylight, no less."

"oh no." Twi gasped.

"thankfully, a few helpful ponies were able to pin him before he could do anything bad to her and for the authorities to come and arrest him. Trixie said that Luna herself came a couple days after the incident and banished him out of Equestria."

"I did hear that Luna went to the south on business, to help barter trade with the Gryphon's. Guess she made a detour and dealt with that."

"mm-hmm. Then we came to Ponyville and met you guys, then we got the letter from Trixie, saying she was coming, and… and you know the rest."

Twilight sadly nodded. "I remember. I was the one that caused off of that… all of her grief and suffering for the past 2 days. If I didn't snap at her like that… then maybe Trixie wouldn't be in the state she's in right now."

"what caused that change in attitude? At first, you were ready to rip her throat out."

"Zilver, Pinkie, Bahamut, and Marble… helped explain why I snapped the way I did. It was a stupid reason, too."

"well, ponies have done stupid things and I'm sure one of the humans did a stupid thing once or twice."

"I have heard that if you get Jax mad, you'll regret it."

Halo chuckled. "She does look like she's prone to anger."

Twilight chuckled as well but that slight happiness got replaced by dread yet again. "there's gotta be… there's gotta be something I can do to make up for it."

Halo smiled, glad that Twilight was willing to do something. "I'm sure we can think of something for you. But for now, we better let Trixie rest. She's been though a lot these past few weeks." Twi nodded in agreement.

The door suddenly burst in, scaring both Twilight and Halo as the rest of the crew came charging in, crashing to the floor.

"ow." Req groaned, being on the bottom of this pony and human dog-pile

"What the heck is up with you guys?" Twilight chuckled.

Pinkie shot up, separating the dog pile in one push. "we know what you did, Twilight."

"what? What did I do?"

"we know you killed Trixie." Sora added. Pinkie nodded in agreement.

"WHAT!" both Twi and Halo exclaimed. They both looked at each other, smiled, and started laughing; Twi with a chuckle while Halo laughed out loud.

"I fail to see what's funny about killing someone." Requiem said, still on the floor.

"you dolts. Trixie ain't dead. She's upstairs, resting." Halo explained.

"upstairs? Why's she here? Twi hates her." Dash said.

Twilight scratched the back of her head. "well… thanks to Zilver, I came to my senses."

"OH! So… the cape and the hat… we thought you had killed Trixie and were passing these to Rarity so she can take the fall." Applejack chuckled.

"you honestly think I would do that?"

"the way you were acting the past couple of days, yeah." Requiem said.

Twilight got up from her chair and walked to the back door. "If you'll excuse me, I gotta go do something." she opened the door and left.

"you really change her mind, Zil?" Satoshi asked.

"well, Bahamut, Pinkie, and Marble helped. Heck, Marble's the one who pointed out why Twilight was going bonkers."

"why?"

"er… best to answer that while Halo's not around." he groaned.

Trixie depressingly looked out the window at the moon as Twilight walked on up. She stopped by Trixie's head and sighed.

"Trixie… I don't know where to begin to make this up to you… but… I hope this helps." Twilight used her magic to put the orphanage group shot on the desk across from Trix.

Twi turned around and headed for the door. "Twilight…" Twi nearly jumped at that. She thought Trixie was still asleep, just with her eyes open. "please don't go. I… don't wanna be alone tonight."

Twilight smiled. "Seems fair."

The night carried on as Twilight and Trixie laid in the same bed but looked in separate directions. Both were wide awake. Twilight was thinking of ways to make up being a bitch to Trixie while Trixie was… was thinking of what her life would be like with Twilight.

The dreams she had for them both, what she had hoped her future would be with her… all that was gone now.

Trixie flipped over and hugged Twi from behind and held her tight. She was caught by surprise by the sudden hug. Twi looked back to see Trixie silently crying. Naturally, Twi didn't resist or move her back. She just let her cry.


	17. Rekindled Friendship

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Of Ponies and Humans

Chapter 4

Rekindled Friendship

Twilight woke up to the smell of smoke. She ignored it at first as she didn't want to wake up but quickly snapped to attention. "smoke?" she exclaimed with worry as she shot out of bed. "Smoke! And where there's smoke, there's fire!" she quickly got up and ran downstairs.

She reached the bottom to see the smoke coming out of the kitchen. She readied her magic to put it out but when she opened the door, she saw the cause.

"*cough cough*. Man, how do I always mess this up?" Trixie coughed as she tried cooking up some French Toast. Spike ran in with the fire extinguisher and put it out.

"Trixie?" Twilight exclaimed with surprise.

Trix looked over and beamed. "morning, Twilight. I tried cooking you some breakfast but…" Spike sprayed the burnt toast again. "… this ain't exactly my strong point."

Twi groaned. "Trixie… why'd you do this?"

"well… I wanted to thank you for letting me stay here. And for keeping me company last night."

"oh. Well… if anyone was going to do the cooking, it should've been me." Twi said. Trixie stared at her with confusion and concern. "I mean, I was so mean to you and… and I said some things I wish I didn't and…"

Twilight was cut off by Trixie suddenly hugging her. "you did more then make up for it, Twilight." Twilight smiled and hugged her back. Suddenly, Trixie got an idea. "although…" they both broke the embrace. "…there is something you can do for me."

Twi was afraid what Trixie had in mind but nodded none the less.

A circus tent was quickly put up outside of town and all of Ponyville was gathering at it. On a nearby lamppost, a poster was hanging, saying 'behold, the Great and Powerful Trixie's return show. Thursday Night only. Witness Trixie perform feats no normal pony would do in their lifetime or any other lifetime.'

on the bottom, there was small writing that read 'and no boasting this time. I learned my lesson.'

The circus tent was as full as it was gonna get. There were some rows that weren't filled out but all of Ponyville was there.

Requiem and her friends took one of the top rows while the rest of Twilight's friends took the row beneath them.

"cool. Magic Show." Sora said as she took some popcorn and popped them in her mouth.

"but let's hope Trixie lives to her word and not boast." Spike said as she took a sip of her soda.

Spike looked around the rows, wondering why she wasn't there. "What's wrong, Spike?" Fluttershy asked.

"I don't see Twilight anywhere." Spike said, still looking.

"now that you mention it, I don't see Halo or Zilver anywhere." Bahamut added.

"speaking of not seeing anyone around, where's that Mirror's Edge guy you and Fluttershy are caring for?" Requiem asked.

"he's doing better. He's up and able to talk but he's still weak to where he can walk." Bahamut explained.

"_Que? _Usually, a pony would be all better by now." Shadow muttered. "This _muchacho _is taking his sweet time."

Bahamut and Fluttershy quickly looked at each other and tried to come up with a reason Edge is taking his sweet time healing. They didn't have to think for long.

The main lights dimmed as spotlight's started to illuminate the crowd and moving all around. _"Mares and Gentlecolts, for tonight only, witness the return of one of the greatest magicians ever to grace Equestria!" _a familiar and unseen voice announced over a megaphone.

"is that Zilver speaking?" Applejack asked, a bit eager at hearing the voice.

"is that eagerness I hear in that, A.J.?" Aura asked. Rarity and Pinkie snickered as A.J. sank in her seat in embarrassment.

A drum roll sounded. _"and here she is, for tonight only, the Great and Powerful Trixie and her assistants Halo's Light and Twilight Sparkle!" _the spotlight shone on the center, illuminating Trixie, Halo, and Twi, waving at the crowd.

Everypony and human cheered at the spectacle. Trixie bowed to the crowd. Halo and Twilight followed suit.

Trixie broke the bow and walked to the center. "Mares and Gentlecolts, I, The Great and Powerful Trixie, bring you one of my best shows to ever be conceived by Pony eyes!" Trixie announced. "May I introduce my volunteers for the evening: my brother, Halo's Light." Halo waved to the crowd and they cheered. "and a pony you all know so well, Ms. Twilight Sparkle!" Twi blushed and nervously waved. The crowd cheered yet again. "For my first trick, I am going to need a 3rd Volunteer from the audience." Trixie said. "Do I have any takers?"

The ponies murmured amongst each other. They weren't eager to be a part of a show, least one hosted by Trixie. Twilight rolled her eyes and held up a sign behind Trixie, saying that Twi will personally pay someone 20 bits for helping out. Almost instantly, Everypony was raising their hooves. Trix looked back to Twi. She quickly ducked the sign behind her and smiled a stupid grin.

Trixie looked to the ground and thought on who to use. "hmm…. I call upon…" she closed her eyes and used her magic. A simple broom hovered above her and started spinning wildly. "…this pony!" the broom stopped and shot towards the audience, stopping in front of Octavia Philharmonic.

"whoa. Go Tavi." Vinyl snickered, glad it wasn't her.

Twilight's magic glowed around Octavia as she was teleported to the floor. "What is your name, my dear Filly?" Trixie asked.

"un… Octavia?" she nervously replied.

"let us have a nice round of applause for Octavia!" Trixie yelled to the crowd. In true fashion, they did applaud her. "now, watch as I, The Great and Powerful Trixie, will use this cannon to shoot Ms. Octavia up into the sky!"

"WHAT!" Octavia exclaimed in fear. She didn't have time to protest as Halo used his magic to put a helmet on her and Twilight to put her in the cannon. Trixie lit a match the old-fashioned way as Halo played a drum line. "this isn't going to hurt, is it?" Octavia asked.

"mmm… it'll either go one of 2 ways: 1, you shoot out into the sky…." Trixie paused, not sure how to word way number 2.

Tavi started to get nervous. "and? And and and?"

"well… we have plenty of towels."

"WHAT! Okay, I changed my mind. I'm ready to get out now." Octavia start to see her life flash before her eyes. Not every interesting.

"Can I please have a countdown?" Trixie asked the crowd. "count down from 5."

5... Trixie walked to the cannon, lit match hovering beside her.

4... Halo and Twilight put on goggles and put in earplugs.

3... Vinyl bit her hooves rapidly, hoping her Marefriend won't get blasted into bits.

2... Trixie lit the fuse and watched as it sparked away.

1... Octavia held her head, fearful of what's to come.

BOOM!

Octavia was sent screaming up into the air, far far above the circus tent. Trixie's, Halo's, and Twilight's horns glowed as numerous hoops hovered above the tent, some lit on fire.

Octavia reached 500 feet, still screaming her mouth off, when she started to slow down. She stopped screaming and looked around. At least the view was nice. A duck noticed her and quacked in confusion. Tavi chuckled nervously and waved before falling back down to the tent.

Halo causally pushed a pool of water where the cannon was as Twi used her magic to ignite a hoop just above it.

Tavi yelled as she fell though the hoops, falling towards the tent. One of the flaming hoops ignited her tail on fire. She exclaimed and tried to blow it out.

Trixie turned to the crowd and bowed as Octavia fell into the pool, creating a big splash.

Halo used his magic to pull her out. Tavi was soaking wet and panting though her teeth. Twilight combined her magic with his and spun Tavi around like she was in a dryer, drying her off. She first spun to the right for a few seconds, then down for a few seconds.

When it was done, Octavia hung there, her body sparkling but her face in freak-out mode.

"how about a nice round of applause for Octavia the Cannoneer, huh?" Trixie asked the crowd. They responded with applause as Trixie teleported Octavia back to her seat.

"you okay, Tavi?" Vinyl asked. Octavia was still dazed and confused from her ordeal that she fainted.

"Thank you, thank you, ladies and gentlecoats, but we aren't done yet." Trixie smirked as her horn glowed. "for my next trick…" a box rolled out front, with a confused Twilight in it. "… I'm gonna saw one of my assistants in half."

"Aren't there supposed to be 2 boxes?" Twilight asked as she looked down.

"I don't think so." Trixie muttered as she hovered a saw near her. "this won't hurt… I think." Trix lowered the saw and started sawing.

"WAIT! Trixie!"

For the next 2 hours, Trixie, Halo, and Twilight did some things that would be considered just a teensy bit too dangerous for concerned parents such as:

playing Lion-tamer with a Manticore,

Twilight pulling a Houdini with a pool full of sharks,

The knife trick with Halo being on the spinning wheel and Trixie throwing them… with her hooves,

Twilight trying to juggle many a dangerous object like chainsaws, swords, even Bahamut of all things,

And many other things I can't think of.

The performance have been over for more then a half hour and everyone was gone, leaving the tent a empty room with just 2 ponies working on cleaning up.

Halo grunted as he pushed a broom with his magic. "May I ask why we're cleaning while sis is sitting back in her room, relaxing?"

Twi groaned as she cracked her back. "because she did most of the work. Besides, you said it yourself that, thanks to me, nobody came to her shows for 2 years. She was obviously a bit rusty."

"True."

Zilver walked in, carrying a couple bags. "man. Cleaning is harder then putting up." he complained. Halo and Twilight looked at each other and groaned. "What? Oh, Twi. Trixie was asking for you."

"all right." Twilight lowered her broom and walked off. "Take over for me, Zil." she called out as she left.

"Roger." Zil took her broom and started sweeping.

"so what did Trixie want Twilight for?" Halo asked.

"I don't know. Just asked for her."

Outside of the tent was a smaller personal tent set up for Trixie. Twilight approached it and knocked on the door.

"Enter…" a seductive voice said from inside.

Confused by that response, Twilight entered the room. The room was a deep shade of purple with curtains on the other side, blocking something. "Trixie? Are you in here?" a very confused Twilight asked.

"Behind the curtains, Twili." Trixie responded. Still confused, and surprisingly turned on, Twilight walked over and pulled the curtains apart. What she saw made her blush.

Trixie was lying on a futon, dressed in seductive clothing. She stared at Twilight with deep hunger in her eyes. "Well, took you long enough…" Trixie seductively said. Twilight just blushed as her horn started glowing in a weird way. "well, you casting magic or are you just happy to see me?"

Twilight responded with gibberish. Trixie shushed her and smiled. Twi smiled back. The 2 kissed and fell over onto the futon, partaking in something I can't in good conscious describe except with this: Bow-Chika-Bow-Wow!

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

Trixie was startled back into reality by someone knocking on her door. The room was a light shade of blue with Trixie looking in a mirror.

"Trixie? You wanted to see me?" Twilight asked from the other side.

"Un… Yeah. Come in." a displaced Trixie replied.

Twilight walked in and spotted Trix in front of the mirror. "hey, Trix. Zilver said you wanted to see me?"

"un… yeah. Just give me a moment." she shakingly said.

Twi lowered a eyebrow in confusion. "you okay?"

"y-yeah. Just had a… a crazy day-dream." Trixie lied.

"oh. Those do suck when they come at the wrong time."

Trixie gathered herself and shook her head. "the reason I asked for you, Twilight, is because I want to thank you for helping me out with my act. And… as thanks… for helping me when I needed it."

"no prob. I was kinda being mean to you so it was the least I could do, literally."

Trixie looked at her, not believing a word, "Kinda?"

"okay, a lot." Twi nervously chuckled. "So… was that it?"

"no." Trixie got up, using her magic to hover a couple of tickets in-between them. "I have a reservation at that high-class restaurant; Cavern on the Green. As a thank you, I'm taking you out to dinner."

"oh. Thanks." Twi grabbed it and looked it over. "but what of Halo and Zilver?"

"oh, don't worry about them." Trixie put her right hoof around Twi's neck. "This'll be just us 2; a girl's night out. What do ya say?"

Twilight's answer came in a instant. "I say count me in."

"Perfect. Time and date's on the ticket." Trixie explained. Twi looked at it and nodded. She turned and headed for the door. "don't be late." Trixie winked.

"I won't. I've never been to Cavern on the Green before." Twilight said as Trixie closed the door behind her.

She took a deep breath and got hopeful. "good. It's one of the most romantic spots this side of Canterlot." Trixie softly said as she walked back to her mirror, humming the MLP:FIM theme as she brushed her hair.


	18. Heartbreak Diner

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Of Ponies and Humans

Chapter 5

It's Gonna Go Bad

"oh, come on, Trix. You had good opportunity last night." Halo said as he, Trixie, and Zilver sat back n their hotel room.

Trixie groaned as she looked up from her bed. "I froze up, okay? I couldn't think of how to break the ice. I mean, what was I supposed to say? 'hey, Twilight. Listen, I'm a Filly-Fooler and I'm deeply in love with you. Please kiss me?'" she asked her brothers, hoping for some advice. She got none. "gee, you guys are helpful."

"We're thinking. We're thinking." Zilver muttered, lost in thought.

"he's gonna be gone a while." Halo muttered.

Trixie moaned as she slammed her rear legs into the bed. "this isn't helping, Halo. How I am supposed to tell her?"

Tick tick tick tick tick. DING! Zilver returned back to reality and with a idea. "you're taking her out to dinner at that Cavern on the Green place, right? As a thank you, right?"

"yes and I already know where your going with it. I hope to tell her there but… what if I freeze up again?"

"well…" Halo's horn glowed. The beds turned into tables, chairs, and candlesticks. A life-sized Twilight doll sat in one of the chairs. "…practice makes perfect."

ROAR!

The legendary King of the Monsters roared as he punched the King of Terror.

"Come on!"

Requiem and Spike pressed literally every button on their controllers as they duked it out in Godzilla: Save the Earth

"you ain't gonna beat me, Ghidorah!" Req grunted as she spammed the kick button.

"make me, Godzilla." Spike grunted.

King Ghidorah's health bar dwindled as Godzilla punched the crap out of him. The King picked up the Dragon and slammed him into the ground.

Req snickered as she held down the R1 button. "adios, King Ghidorah." Req grinned.

"oh, come on. Come on. Get up." Spike whined, pressing every button he can.

Godzilla powered up his heat beam and… the tv shut off.

"NO!" both Requiem and Spike exclaimed.

Twilight sighed as she used her magic to toss the cord aside. "you know how loud you're being?" Twilight asked, her hair wrapped in a towel.

"you realize how ridiculous you look?" Req sarcastically replied.

Twi angrily sneered at Req as she walked on back to her mirror. "So… what's with the towel?" Spike finally asked.

Twilight stopped in front of her mirror and started putting on some eye shadow. "if you must know, I'm going out to dinner with a friend."

Both dragon and human went OHH! "Twilight has a date tonight. Twilight has a date tonight." they both chanted.

"It's not a date." Twi chuckled as she started putting on a couple of earrings. "Trixie's just taking me out to dinner as a thank-you for helping out last week with her act."

"Halo and Zilver going?" Req asked.

Twi pondered which skirt to put on. "no. just us 2. It's girl's night out."

Spike and Requiem looked at each other and shook their heads. They turned back to Twi and began chanting again. "Twilight has a date tonight. Twilight has a date tonight."

Twi groaned as she face-hooved.

Rarity used her magic to pull some fabric over to a dress. "yes, this will work for her." she muttered as she started putting the finishing touches on a dress.

The bell above the door rang as Trixie walked in. "hey, Rarity. Is it almost done?"

"Almost. Just putting on the finishing touches." Rarity sewed on the last button. She stepped back and took a look at her finished product. "you like it?"

Trixie nodded in affirmation. "yes, I do. It's going to work nicely."

The highest rated restaurant in Ponyville, the Cavern on the Green was already drawing quite a crowd, and the sun just set 22 minutes ago. Built inside a natural cave formation, the establishment is best known for having a stunning view of it's cave system.

Twilight; dressed in the same outfit she wore for Shining Armor's and Cadences wedding, Requiem, and Spike waited beneath a tree near the end of the line, waiting for Trixie.

"for a dinner thanking Twilight for helping with the act, Trixie sure is taking forever getting here." Spike grumbled, sitting on the ground.

"I'm sure she has a reason for running late." Requiem said, standing underneath the tree.

Twilight groaned in worry. "I don't know about this." she said to the 2.

"about what?" Req asked.

"this whole dinner thing. I mean, what if she thinks I'm a Filly-Fooler?"

"a filly what now?" Req asked.

"it's if one mare loves another, like Lyra and Bonbon or Vinyl and Octavia." Spike explained.

"oh. So, Lesbian." Req deduced. Twi and Spike looked at her with a question forming on their lips. "it's the same term, just a different word."

"right. Well, what if Trixie thinks I am one? I'm not. I love Halo." Twilight groaned, bending over to where her head hit the ground.

"Despite not telling him?" Spike asked.

Twi opened one eye and looked at him. "I'm still working on how to word it, Spike." she groaned.

Spike sighed and shrugged. "you're impossible, Twilight."

Halo and Zilver walked with their sister up to the restaurant. They spotted Twilight, Spike, and Requiem. Trixie cowered and hid behind Halo.

"Trix?" a surprised Halo asked. "What are you doing?"

"She's right there." Trix whispered. Halo and Zilver looked at Twi.

"She is hot. Shame if she is a Filly-Fooler." Halo muttered.

Trixie peeked out from behind. Yeah, Twi was hot. And that made Trixie nervous. What is she screwed up? She always had a tendency too and this was a big moment in her life. "I-I-I-I'm starting to have second thoughts about this. I'm going back to the apartment." Trix got up and left for home but was stopped by Zil when he stepped out in front of her.

"nu-un. No way. We put a lot of effort into you getting ready to confess to the love of your life and by golly, you're gonna do it."

Trixie wasn't convinced as she shook her head. "b-b-but what if I mess up? What if she doesn't love me back. What if… what if…" Trixie started to hyperventilate.

Halo groaned as he face-hooved. He walked over and held her at the shoulders. "Trixie, look at me. Look at me." Trixie stopped freaking out for a moment to look at him. Without warning, Halo slapped her across the face, which surprised her and Zilver. "Snap out of it and focus. Trust me. You got this."

Trixie took a few deep breaths, calming herself down. The last breath was shaky as Trixie shook her head, freeing herself from any loose nerves.

Halo nodded. "you got this, sis. And even if she doesn't love you, at least you'll get closure on this." Trixie nodded and smiled. Zilver reached behind the screen and pulled out Trixie's dress.

Spike threw a ball against the cave entrance while Req flipped though a comic book and Twi still being a nervous wreck.

Halo and Zilver walked up and cleared their throats, getting the attention of the trio. "ladies… And Spike… here she is, the lovely mare from somewhere, Trixie!" They both announced.

They moved to the side to reveal Trixie in a stunning outfit only Rarity can design. Her purple dress highlighted the star on her cutie mark while the back of her mane was curled up.

Req laughed in amazement while Spike's mouth dropped.

"leave it to Rarity to design something that swank." Req chuckled.

Trixie blushed a bit. "you think it looks good?"

"if I was gay, and a pony, I'd ask you out faster then you can say 'Catalyst.'"

"she ain't lying, Trixie. You look… stunning." Twilight said. Trixie blushed even more.

They all just stood there for a moment when Zilver interrupted them. "Okay, now's the time for these girlfriends to go on their little date. Come on." he and Halo walked off. Req followed while Spike just stood there, still stunned by Trixie's beauty. Requiem reached from off screen to grab Spike and pull him away.

"hmm… well… shall we?" Trixie gestured to the restaurant. Twilight nodded and the 2 walked towards it. Twilight was worried that Trixie would take this the wrong way while Trixie was worried that this won't go according to plan.

The 4 walked on home, leaving Trixie and Twilight behind to their dinner date.

Req couldn't get her mind off of something Zilver said. "hey, Zil?"

"yeah?"

"before we left, you said 'time for these girlfriends to get on their little date?' what did you mean by that?" Zil froze and just went 'un' while Halo face-hooved. "What did I say?"

"un…..." Spike rolled his eyes and hit him on the head like a jukebox. "un. Nothing. Nothing at all." Zilver nervously chuckled.

Req didn't buy it as she stood there, sternly folding her arms across her chest. "Zil!"

"un…" Zil looked at her as Spike joined in on the party. "Oooooh." Zil gave in and blurted it out ala Pinkie. "Trixie has the hots for Twilight and this is actually a date for her to confess her feelings to her!"

Zil quickly covered his mouth as Req and Spike looked at him with dropped jaws. "WHAT!" they both exclaimed.

"nice going, Zil." Halo groaned.

"oh, this is gonna be a disaster…" Req droned as she lowered her head.

"a disaster?" Zil and Halo asked.

"yeaaaaah." Spike twirled his fingers, not sure how to put this. "un… Twilight is on this just because Trix asked her to come for that thank you. Twi's actually worried that Trix will think she's a Filly-Fooler when, in truth, she… has the hots for a stallion."

Halo and Zilver stood there for a moment as they absorbed the info. Zil loudly groaned as Halo lowered his head with a exasperated sigh. "Oh, this is gonna be a disaster." Zil groaned.

"Trixie is a Filly-Fooler and this was gonna be where she confesses to Twilight she loves her." Halo explained.

Req held her head as she responded with a familiar Home Improvement grunt. "oh, no."

"let's hope Twi puts her down easy." Spike hoped.

Despite being built into a cave system, the Cavern on the Green was quite the looker: Fancy tables, great kitchen, a fantastic orchestra, a roaring fireplace, they even have a big aquarium loaded with fish and lobsters and eels. … (I know where you want me to go with this; no, there are no Sea Ponies. Not sure what the fascination is with them.)

"wow. You know, I've lived in Ponyville for 2 years and I never visited once." Twi chuckled, taking a bite of her alfalfa steak.

Twilight and Trixie got the table nestled between the fireplace and the aquarium; in short, they got the best seat in the house. They didn't pull some 'I'm a element of harmony' or 'I'm a world famous magician' trick, they just got it because it was the last seat in the house. What luck.

"I know. I heard about this place being one of the most beautiful places anyone can see. Looks like they were right." Trixie added, looking around, eating only a salad.

Twi continued to look around. "Wish they hadn't removed the stalagmites and stalactites. They're a cool part of a cave."

Trixie lowered one eyebrow in surprise. "I don't think anyone wanted to hear 'drip drip drip drip drip' 24/7."

Twi shrugged in partial agreement. "Good point. I doubt I can survive 5 minutes with the dripping."

Trixie giggled softly as Twilight joined in for a moment.

"you know, I was surprised that you got tickets here. Normally, you'd have to be booked months in advance, right?"

"well, the tickets were from a contest I won. Easiest contest, too. Just had to guess who the Spirit of Disharmony was."

"Discord?"

"Discord."

A awkward silence fell on them. Trixie cleared her throat and looked to her left while Twi banged her hooves on the table.

"where is that waiter with our food? He sure is taking a long time." Trixie wondered, looking back.

"Tonight's a busy night. Odds are he'll be a little late."

"hehe. Right." Trix straightened out and nervously tapped the table.

Twilight rested her head on her right hoof on the table. "so… anything new with you?"

"oh. Well… I may have met that 'special someone' they always talk about in stories." Trix nervously replied.

"oh, well congrats."

"Well… I don't know if she happens to like me back. I've yet to tell him." Trixie cringed after she said it. 'he'? she meant 'she'.

"oh. Well, have you tried to tell him?"

"on multiple occasions but I could never seem to word it right. Also… I'm worried he might not love me back."

Twilight held her hoof in comfort. "you never know till you try, right?"

"right." Trixie sighed. "maybe… I should just come right out and say it, right?"

"Sometimes that's the best approach; just get them out in the open and hope he loves you back."

Trixie nodded in in slight agreement. "guess you're right. No time like the present, right?" Twilight nodded and smiled. Trixie smiled back and got down from her seat. "I'm gonna head to the little girls room. Be back in a minute."

"okay."

Trixie walked off. Twilight still sat there, using her magic to raise her wine glass and take a drink.

Trixie splashed some water into her face. She panted as she bent over the sink, sweating a cold sweat.

"okay. So far, so good. Haven't made a idiot of myself yet." she panted.

She dried off her face and started for the door again when the call of nature came. She bolted for one of the stalls and locked it.

A few seconds after she did that, Raindrops and Sparkler walked in, both dressed in waitress and waiter outfits.

"you know, I'm surprised that Twilight's on a date with Trixie. I thought she hated her." Raindrops said, washing her hands.

"well, Twilight made up. And this is a thank you dinner done by Trixie." Sparkler said, heading for a stall and locking it.

"Right, for that act a couple nights ago. Still, I'm surprised. I figured Twilight was straight and not a Filly-Fooler." Raindrops said from inside.

"She ain't. remember, she's got that HUGE crush on that Halo guy?"

"Right. I remember her first comment when she saw him in the markets." Raindrops said as she plucked her eyebrows.

"And how would you know?"

"I was there. She said, and I quote, 'Halo is so dreamy. His eyes… OH, they send shivers down my spine. And that voice. *purrs* momma like.'"

Sparkler laughed up a storm. "She actually purred? Really?"

"True story."

The toilet flushed and Sparkler walked out to the sink and washed her hooves. "hehe. Speaking of love, did Caramel ask you out yet?"

Raindrops started to blush as she scratched her cheek. "maybe…"

"Ah. You're so lucky. If only I can find a guy like that. So warm, kind, caring."

"Big Mac?"

"Cheerilie's, remember?"

"Right. Keep forgetting."

The main waiter poked his head in, covering his eyes. "You 2 mind hurrying up! There's a ornery stallion at table 7 and he's asking where his dandelion fe'lay is?"

"we're coming. We're coming." Sparkler said as she dried her hooves and walked out with Raindrops, closing the door behind them.

The middle stall slowly opened up. A defeated and depressed Trixie walked on out and to the sink, tears falling from her eyes and her heart broken. "Twilight…. Is in love… with Halo…?" Trixie sank to the floor and continued crying.

She wiped her eyes and shook her head, denying it all. "no. no, those 2 must've known I was in here and were… were pulling a mean prank. That's all." she told herself over and over to convince herself that it was just a prank.

Twilight stood in front of the aquarium, watching the fishes go about their mundane lives. She tapped the glass, which cracked where she tapped. "eee." Twilight quickly used her magic to repair it without anyone noticing. She quickly sat down in her seat, hoping no one noticed

Trixie returned, a fake smile on her face and a fake giggle as she sat back down. "Sorry I took so long. Line was terrible." Trixie lied.

"eesh. Think I'll wait." Twi chuckled. Trixie gave a feux smile but couldn't stop her expression from returning to depressed mode. "Trixie? You okay?"

"huh? Oh… yeah." Trixie sighed while Twilight looked at her with a worried expression. Something wasn't right here. Trixie sighed again, more depression in it this time, as she looked up at Twi. "listen… Twilight. There's something I have to tell you."

"Tell me?"

Trixie sighed yet again. "this isn't how I wanted you to find out." she softly told herself. Twilight didn't hear it so she perked her ears up a little. "Twilight… do you know what a Filly-Fooler is?"

"yeah. A mare who is in love with another mare, like Lyra and Bonbon, right?"

"right. Well, you know one."

"I know one?" Twilight said in surprise. It only took her 2 seconds to figure out what Trix was talking about. "Oh. Oh, you're a Filly-Fooler? So the stallion was actually…"

"…a mare. Yes."

"well, why didn't you tell me?" Twilight asked. "I could've helped you get her."

"well… that… would've been difficult." Trixie chuckled. "because… I don't know if the mare likes me back."

"well, just as her if she loves you." Twilight suggested.

"or… I could just tell her I love her and see what happens."

"now you're catching on." Twi said as she took a drink of her wine.

Trix took a deep breath. "okay." she steeled herself for what may or may not happen. "Twilight… I love you."

Twilight spit up her wine in surprise, trying to cover her mouth. "hol hol hol hol hold it. You're in love with me? W-w-when did this happen?"

"When I first came to Ponyville 2 years ago. I wanted to tell you then but… the way your friends were acting…"

"so-so-so the reason you came back was… to tell me you love me?" Twilight asked, still surprised by this.

"yeah. I also came to visit my brothers, don't forget that, but… this was the main reason."

Twilight groaned as she scratched her neck. "Trixie…" Trixie's heart hopped up. She was hoping that she could prove those 2 mares from before wrong. "…I… I don't love you."

Trixie's heart shattered into pieces but she tried her best not to show it. "I… I see…"

"Sorry, Trix, but I'm not a Filly-Fooler."

"well… can you at least tell me who… who you do love?" Trixie asked, hoping it wasn't her brother.

"well… it's not like love… more like a intense schoolgirl crush." Twilight embarrassingly said.

"still. Who?" Trixie asked, still hoping it wasn't Halo.

"Well… oh, it's a little embarrassing for me to say it. Um… it's your brother, Halo."

Trixie's heart shattered to the point that left Trixie a heartless husk. Her future with Twilight that she had pictured was now gone, replaced with Halo and Twilight together. "oh." her voice cracked when she said it.

Twilight started feeling bad. From the way Trixie is acting, she probably broke her heart. "Trixie. I'm sorry." Twilight comforted her, rubbing her back. Trixie pushed Twi's hoof away.

"just… leave me alone for now. I just need some time to myself." Trixie said. She pulled out the bits she needed to pay, put them on the table, and left, leaving Twilight behind.

Twi stood there, watching Trixie walk to the exit. "oh, man. What did I do?" Twi asked herself. She probably just shattered some dream Trixie had with them both. She quickly paid, with a reasonable tip, and ran after Trixie.

Twilight ran outside of the restaurant and called out Trixie's name. she was long gone, leaving Twilight all alone.

She sighed and scolded herself. "Nice going, Twi. You just broke a girl's heart." she quickly looked around, making sure she didn't miss Trix. "just hope this doesn't come back to haunt me."


	19. The Spell

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Of Ponies and Humans

Chapter 6

The Spell

Zilver laid back in his and Halo's motel room, reading the newest issue of 'Spider-Mare vs Venom' when the door to their apartment slammed in.

Zil bolted up and fell to the floor. "ow! That hurt! Who even…" Zil got up and looked to see a angry and sad Trixie standing in the doorway. "Trixie? What are you doing here?" Zil jumped up and walked on over. "Aren't you supposed to be at dinner with Twi?"

Trixie didn't reply but looked up at her brother with tears in her eyes. She just fell into his hooves and started crying hard. "This is… this is all his fault!" Trixie cried.

"Whose?"

"Halo's! Twilight… Twilight's in love with him, saying his eyes are dreamy and… and…!" Trixie continued crying while Halo bit his lower lip. "why? Why does everything I try to do always backfire on me?" Trixie asked, still sobbing up a storm.

"well… everyone has bad luck once in a while."

"but mine has been lasting for 2 years!" Trixie sniffled as she broke the embrace with her brother. "It's like… it's like life has given up on me."

"now don't say that." Zilver said in a comforting tone. "life hasn't given up on you. It's just throwing you a bad bone, is all. Everyone goes though it once in a while."

Trixie sniffled as she wiped her eyes. "you sure?"

"Trust me. Thing's will pick up before long. You'll see."

Trixie wanted to believe that. deep down she wanted too. But… she just couldn't. she just walked over to her bed and fell onto it's covers as she continued to cry. Zilver felt uncomfortable as he scratched the back of his neck.

"I'm… gonna go look for Halo. Will you be okay by yourself?" Zilver asked. Trixie just continued crying. Zil got really uncomfortable as he left. This was a big mess, and Halo was at the center of it.

"Dang. that's gotta be brutal for her." Req said as Twilight started putting up her dress.

Twilight had come home 30 minutes earlier and explained the whole situation to Requiem and Spike, who kept secret about knowing this.

Twilight nodded in agreement as she took the skirt off. "yeah. And now she's disappeared. I'm worried she's gonna do something stupid. Or dangerous."

"or both." Spike said, sitting on the edge of Twi's bed. "we both know Trixie isn't exactly known for clear thinking, especially in trying circumstances."

"I remember. I remember." Twilight used her magic to take off her jewelry. "still… I'm worried." Twi put her jewelry up and stood there for a moment. She nodded and headed for the door. "I better go find her. Prevent her from doing something stupid."

"we'll come with." Req said as she got up. Spike nodded and jumped off the bed.

"no. you 2 stay here in case she comes by. Besides…" Twilight paused as she reached the door. "this is my fault and I have to be the one to set it right." she opened it and ran out, heading to the exit of the library and leaving Req and Spike behind. They looked at each other with worried expressions.

Halo snored beneath a lamppost, having fallen asleep earlier. It just goes to show that you don't put off grocery shopping till late at night, especially if it is a 24/7 store. He never even got 123 feet from the apartment before falling asleep.

Halo was snapped awake when someone splashed water on him. Halo spit up water as he shook his head. "Who the buck…" Halo looked to see a irritated Zilver standing over him with a empty bucket of water. "Zilver?"

"are you happy?" a annoyed Zilver asked.

"beg pardon?"

"Trixie's dinner with Twilight was going so well till the truth came out. Now, Trixie's back in our hotel room, crying her eyes out, when she should be pummeling you."

"what are you talking about? You get into the gummy bears again or watch that Care Bears tape you can't seem to let go?"

Zil stammered and shut Halo up before anyone else could hear that last part. "ZSST! Shut it!"

"but it's-"

"just shut up and listen, okay lover boy?" Zil groaned, pinching his eyes.

"lover boy!?"

Zil gave a exasperated sigh. "Twilight isn't in love with Trixie, not as a Filly-Fooler."

"Yeah. We all know that. Spike told us she wasn't." Halo got up and shook off the rest of the water.

Zil covered his face till Halo stopped shaking. "yeah, well… turns out that Twilight is in love with… oh, Celestia, I'm gonna regret saying this. Twilight's in love with you."

Halo looked up at Zil with a shocked expression on his face. "Twilight?" a unbelieving Halo asked. "is in love with me?"

"that's what Trixie's sobbing about. And it doesn't take a expert to see that she is smitten with you. I mean, did you not notice the ribbon she wore to try and impress you the day Trixie came back?"

Halo stammered. "I-I-I thought she was just being quirky."

"she said your eyes are dreamy! That sound like someone who's quirky?"

"I-I-I-it could be just a phase." Halo stammered, not wanting to believe it.

Zilver sat down on the ground and folded his front hooves across his chest. "a phase? Are you that nervous about a relationship with a girl?"

"well… well, yeah. I don't know how a relationship goes. I don't know the complex art of trying to impress a girl…"

"didn't have that much trouble on Mare Effect." Zilver muttered. He stuttered and interrupted the rambling. "ho, ho, hold up Halo. Nobody knows what to do when they enter a relationship for the first time. It's a process, like… like Fine Wine. Remember that girl?"

Halo chortled as he sat back. "OH, do I? she had one fine flank and one tight bod."

"Right, and remember what I did that caused us to break up?"

"everyone who was around in Canterlot 7 years ago remembers it. That's why you never ask a girl if you want to 'do the deed.'"

"she didn't have to respond the way she did." Zilver muttered.

"You asked her in front of her parents!" Halo angrily groaned.

"and now I know not to do that." Zilver said with slight smugness. Halo just groaned and rolled his eyes. "and you know not to do it if you get in a relationship."

"which will be never." Halo said as he got up. "I mean, relationships are trouble. One wrong move and you'll end up sleeping with the fishes."

Zil just looked up with a fazed look. "That's the mob, genius."

"but it proves my point and it's why I'm not getting into a relationship with anypony." Halo said as he walked away. "I'm gonna go check on Trixie."

Zil groaned as he lowered his head. "What a idiot." he groaned. He started walking after him when he noticed a lavender mare run away towards the farm. "uh-oh." Zil ran after it, knowing who it was.

Trixie stared up at the ceiling, having stopped crying 10 minutes ago. Depression hit her as she just looked up, sad that her future with Twi was gone forever.

The door to the apartment opened as a distressed Halo walked in. he noticed Trixie and she noticed him. "hey, Trixie." Trixie just flip over, looking away from him. Halo groaned. "Look, Zilver told me everything and… and I know Twilight loves me. But I don't feel anything for her. Sure, she's cute but so is every other mare in this town."

"Where are you going with this, Halo?" a grumpy Trixie asked.

"I'm saying that I'm not gonna go out with her. You know how bad I am at relationships."

"but she's stricken with you, Halo. She won't get you out of her head." Trixie said, not moving from her pose.

"well, she probably will when I tell her I'm not looking for a marefriend. That'll give you a chance."

"but she's not a Filly-Fooler."

"oh. Right. Forgot." Halo droned. "well, unless there's a spell to turn you into a stallion, I don't know what to tell you."

Halo walked into the bathroom and closed the door. The main door opened as the unicorn walked out, closing the door behind her and leaving her dinner gown behind.

Requiem walked out of the bathroom, toothbrush in her mouth and just a t-shirt for her pajamas. She stood in front of a mirror and looked at her hair. "hope Twilight finds Trixie. Otherwise, we're gonna have a big problem on our hands." Req said, toothbrush still in her mouth.

"Tell me a…a… *Yawn* …bout it." Spike wiped his eyes.

"Starting to get sleepy?"

"Starting too? I already am." Spike yawned. The 2 heard the main library door open up below. "who's here this late at night?"

"maybe Rainbow coming for the latest Daring Do." Requiem said. She walked on down. Spike lazily followed.

Books flew around in the main lobby as Requiem and Spike descended from above. Req turned on the light to see Trixie quickly looking though books. She had a illumination spell going but turned it off when the library light came on.

"Trixie?"

"Trixie!" Spike angrily exclaimed. "What are you doing here? It's 11 o'clock at night. We need to get to sleep and so do you."

"I'm not going to sleep until I find it." Trixie forcefully said, looking though books as fast as a robot.

"Find what?" Req asked.

"a book of transformation."

Spike and Req looked at each other then back at Trixie. "What?"

"Halo informed me that he's not planning on going out with Twilight anytime soon and, even though he didn't tell me, he mentioned that I wouldn't go anywhere with this relationship unless I somehow turn into a stallion."

Req gave a exasperated sigh as she face-palmed. "so… you're looking for a spell to turn you into a guy?"

"if you wanna put it that way." Trixie muttered as she threw a book away and grabbed another one.

"Trixie. This is crazy." Spike said. "Twilight isn't going to-"

"this will work!" Trixie snapped, a worried and frightened expression on her face. "it has to." she went back to reading though the books.

Req and Spike looked at each other. "she must really be desperate." Req sighed. "Go and find Twilight or Halo. I'm gonna try and… do something with this predicament." Spike nodded and ran out the door. Req sighed and walked on over. "So… what do you want me to do?"

"look for any spell books regarding transformations." Trixie ordered. A worried Req complied as she grabbed the nearest book.

Twilight depressing sat beneath a tree, the same tree where Trixie's caravan got destroyed. She looked at the wreckage as she sat back on the tree. She hit her head against it, trying to get this past night out of her head.

"Some night, huh?" Zilver asked, approaching her from the front.

"yeah. I break Trixie's heart, she disappears, and I overhear Halo saying he'll never take a marefriend."

"yeah. Listen, the reason why is because he's never all that confident around girls. He puts up a brave front but, truth be told, he's as nervous as a worm at a bird party."

Twilight chuckled at that simile. "that awkward around us sexy mares?" she asked.

"are you kidding? Half the reason he got that explorers Cutie Mark was because he wanted to get away from women."

"Why?"

"well, mostly because he doesn't know how to work relationships."

"nobody does when they get into a relationship for the first time. It's all trial and error."

"I told him the same thing but he wouldn't listen. He's a stubborn mule."

Twi chuckled in agreement but stopped when she asked this: "how's Trixie doing?"

"what do you think? You broke her heart by telling her that you're in love with her brother. Now she's back in our room, crying her eyes out."

"no she's not." Halo said as he and Spike ran up the hill towards them.

"Spike? What are you still doing up?" Twi asked as she got up.

"We got a problem." Spike said as he skidded to a halt.

"Trixie's at the library, looking for a spell that can turn her into a stallion."

"What? There's no spell like that; I looked though every book in that library 3 times and they didn't mention anything about stallion-transformations."

"but are there other transformation spells in there?" Zil asked.

"tons, some written in the old language so… uh-oh. She might cast the wrong spell."

"to the library!" Zil exclaimed as he shot towards the tree, leaving behind a smoke cloud shaped like him. Everyone else followed suit.

Every single book in the place was on the floor, Req groaned on the back of a pile with a book over her eyes. "no more. No more books." she pleaded.

Trixie, however, had one last book in her hooves and snickered when she found what she was looking for. "bingo. Found it."

"thank goodness. Can I got to bed now?" Req asked.

Trixie ignored her and looked the page over and over. Most of the title was worn away but the pictures showed tell-tail signs of transformations aplenty. Req groaned as she sat up. Trixie put the book in her hands. "hold it on that page." she ordered Req as she walked to the center of the library.

Req looked down on the page. "Un… you sure this is a good idea?" Trixie didn't reply but instead concentrated on the spell featured in the book. "Trix…?"

The Unicorn glowed as wind billowed around her, picking up any loose papers. A green glyph appeared beneath her and added a glow to the sight. Req ducked behind a pile, still holding the book up for Trix.

Clouds suddenly formed and began to spin around in the sky above the Library. Twi, Halo, Zil, and Spike ran across the ground, running as fast as they could to the library.

"Crap. She's actually doing it." Twi exclaimed as she ran as fast as her hooves can carry her.

The spell reached it's apex as Twi and the others burst it.

"Trixie! Wait!" they all yelled out.

The yelling distracted Trixie from the spell casting but the spell was still completed. A beam of green light shot out of the glyph and into the air, right into the middle of the swirling clouds.

A bulge of light came back down and hit the glyph, sending out a massive explosion of light that quickly covered all of Equestria.


	20. The Aftermath

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Of Ponies and Humans

Chapter 7

The Aftermath

Zero Hour

Requiem groaned as she woke up, facedown on the floor. "oh man." she groaned. She looked up at the window to see light peeking in. "must've been out cold all night. That must've been one powerful spell Trixie cast."

Req picked herself up from the ground. The library was a complete mess with books all over the place. She was gonna see if everyone was still alive but she heard groaning so it was all good.

"wonder if that spell effected met in some way?" she wondered. She quickly found herself in front of the nearest mirror. "hair, check. Hands, check. Hot bod that would make woman fawn over me, check. Guess I'm all here."

Req scratched her forehead, wondering what happened, when she saw someone getting up in the reflection of the mirror. "pony alive, that smarts." Zilver groaned.

"tell me about it, Zi-" Req's face immediately went red when she saw Zil.

"you okay, Req?"

Req quickly looked away and covered her eyes. "un, yeah. Yeah."

"you okay?"

"I should, um… I should be asking you that question." Req asked in a fluster. Zil wondered what she was talking about but didn't have to wonder long. Req rolled the mirror over and put it in front of him. What he saw shocked him.

Zilver… was human, and buck naked at that. His Cutie Mark was located behind on his right shoulder.

"What the!?" Zilver quickly looked himself over. He had feet, hands, no tail, and something daggling off of him. "what is this? What's going on?"

"how should I know!? Req exclaimed.

Twilight was the next one up. "hit the alarm, please shiny? I don't wanna go outside today." Twilight sleepily asked. She noticed the human Zilver and screamed. She noticed the hands and screamed again.

All that screaming woke Halo and Trixie up. They noticed Twi & Zil and screamed. They looked at each other and screamed.

"What is this?"

"What's going on?"

"What happened?"

"QUIET!" Requiem yelled, shutting them up. "one thing at a time." she softly said. "now, anyone have a question?" All 4 of them started talking at once. "AHH!" Req groaned. "quiet!" they all shut up again. "1... At a time…" she teethed. "Twilight first."

"yeah. Um… what are these things hanging off of me?" she asked, pointing down at the um… un… you-know-whats. "they're all wiggly and squishy."

"yeah, and they're pushing my chest down." Trixie groaned, cracking her back. "what are these?"

"Something that would be considered men-magnets on Earth and something you should cover up right now." Req said. She grabbed a curtain, ripped it up, and tied it around Twilight's and Trixie's chest and… lower area. She winced when she got to Halo and Zilver. "un… cover yourselves up." she handed them the rest of the curtain, which they looked at in confusion.

"What the hay is going on, Requiem? Why are we… you?" Twilight asked, looking herself over again.

"I don't know. I just woke up and there you all were, letting your business hang loose. Literally." Req explained. "besides, not all of you are human." she said, tapping Twilight's horn.

Halo couldn't help but to try and think of how. "but what could've…"

At the same time, they all thought back to last night… and Trixie casting that spell. Everyone looked at Trix with intent to kill. "What?" she innocently asked.

"what spell did you use?" Twilight sternly asked.

Trix got nervous as she started sweating up a storm. "what spell? Why does it have to be a spell? It could've been-"

"What spell!" Twi asked again, raising in volume.

Req picked up the book Trixie used last night. She turned it upside down and started flipping though the book. She found the page, recognizing the up-side down pictures. "This spell." she showed the book to Twi.

She grabbed it and looked it over. Unlike Trixie, she was able to read the old language. She slammed her head into it and groaned like a dog. "you used the trans-humanation spell?"

"the what?" Everyone asked.

"it's a spell that hasn't been cast since Discord's days. It turns any pony into a human, and vice-verse. But, since we interrupted Trixie, guess it only worked at half strength seeing as how we Unicorns still have horns which leads me to assume that the Pegasi must still have their wings. And why Requiem is still human herself."

"it does what?" Trixie asked, not believe a single word. "It was supposed to turn me into a- a…" Trixie quickly shut up, trying not to explain what caused all this.

"into a Stallion? Spike explained everything to us." a angry Halo asked.

"why would you wanna turn yourself into a stallion?" Zilver asked.

Twi slammed the book shut. "so she can be with me." she angrily said, answering Zilver's question for Trix.

"beg pardon?" Req asked.

"due to me putting Trixie down, her heart-broken mind came up with the idea to try and turn herself into a Stallion so she can be with me and try to take me away from Halo."

"who you aren't dating!" Trixie interrupted. "and I know that will never happened since he is always unable to start a relationship." Halo silently sighed as he looked away. "but I thought it was the spell."

"there's no spell that can change the sex of a pony. After reading all these books multiple times, I can tell you that I ain't just saying it, it's fact." Twi scolded. Trixie got a hurtful look as Halo's and Zilver's eyes darted left and right. "Am I really that important to you?" Twilight asked. A uncomfortable silence fell on them all. Trixie looked away from Twi, not bearing to look at her "I see."

Req groaned as she pinched the bridge between her eyes. "okay. To sum up, Trixie cast a spell to turn herself into a stallion but instead turned Everypony into human?"

"yep. But we don't know how far the spell had spread. It could've just affected everyone in this library." Zilver pointed out.

Aura lightly snored in a comedic matter.

"WHAT IN TARNATION!" Applejack exclaimed at the top of her lungs. That outcry frightened Aura into falling out of bed.

"ow." he just said. He got up and rubbed his head.

Someone opened his door and she was angry. "what in tarnation happened here, Aura?" Applejack asked.

Aura looked to see a buck-naked human A.J. looking at him, anger present in her eyes.

Aura couldn't help but move his eyes down. "a-ba-da-da-dabada-ab-b-b-b-b." Aura shook his head and slapped himself in the face. "well, first, cover those things up!" he said, pointing to both extremities.

"AH!" Applebloom yelled.

"Enter victim number 2."

Applebloom walked in and like her sister, she was human and naked. This time, Aura was prepared with a blanket at the doorway.

"Aura, what the hey is going on?" A.J. asked.

"how should I know? I'm as surprised as you are." Aura exclaimed. Big Mac walked in and joined his sisters. "OH! Wow. Nobody wants to see that, Big Mac." Aura exclaimed, covering his eyes. "Though you're surprising well endowed."

Big Mac looked down in confusion as A.J. passed him a pillow, not even telling him why.

"Where's my walking stick!?" Granny Smith asked from down the hall.

Aura squealed in fear as he stiffened. He quickly grabbed a sheet. "Nobody wants to see a naked Grandma!" he exclaimed in fear as he ran down the hall, leaving A.J., A.B., and Big Mac behind in confusion.

"GYAH!" Dash yelled as she looked herself over. "WHAT IS THIS!?"

Satoshi turned away, not wanting to look for 2 reasons. 1: Because he was gay. And 2: he knew better then to look at a woman's… indecency, especially if someone has a pancake chest. He remembered what happened when you make a comment to someone's lack of… well, you know. He's still feeling the effects of Lina's Dragon Slave.

"WOW! This is so new and exciting!" Pinkie happily exclaimed, jumping up and down like she always does.

"you may need to cut back on the jumping, Pinkie." Sora said.

"Why?" Sora pointed to both extremities hanging off of her. "What? These things? They can't be that bad. I mean, they're all squishy and as everyone knows, squishy things are fun."

Sora didn't even try to comment. With Pinkie, a argument is irrelevant. "just put some clothes on." she groaned.

"I must say, this is… unexpected." Rarity said as she looked herself over.

"I'll say." Ash said, her back to her as she didn't want to see her… indecency. "you will cover yourself up, right?"

"huh? Oh, yes yes. Not sure why, though."

"it's a long story and can you just do it, please?" Ash asked.

"Fine fine." Rarity said as she walked over to her supplies. "still not sure what the big deal is, anyhow." she muttered.

"EEK!" Fluttershy shrieked from below, getting attention of Bahamut and still injured Mirror's Edge, who still looks like a Changeling.

"Fluttershy! You okay?" Bahamut called.

Footsteps came up from below up towards them. When Fluttershy reached the top, the 2 couldn't help but yelp. "Whoa!" Bahamut exclaimed in surprise.

"what happened to you?" Edge asked.

"I'm not sure." a naked human Fluttershy said, covering up the good parts. "all I know is that when I woke up, I found myself looking like Requiem or Sora. What happened?"

"I don't know. Except I know it didn't effect me." Edge said.

"And me." Bahamut added.

He broke character, pulled out a remote, and paused the story for a moment. "Quick question." he asked the audience. "in every story I've seen, why do the shy ones always get the big bazangas?" Bahamut asked. He unpaused the story and fell back into character.

"What do I do?" F.S. asked.

"well, for starters, get some clothes and cover those things up." Bahamut explained, pointing at both chest and waist. "Secondly, we should find out what the heck is going on in town. Maybe you're not the only one effected by… whatever this is."

Bahamut flew on downstairs to try and find some clothes for F.S. "wait. How does she know to walk with 2 legs?" he muttered to himself.

Jax snored up a storm while having a very pleasant dream. "oh, Ash. You do know how to make a girl happy." she happily said in her dream-like state.

Dinky ran in to try and shake her awake. "Jax! Jax, wake up!"

"oh, Ash. You're so kinky." Jax cooed.

"JAX!" Dinky yelled.

Jax forced open her eyes and growled like a lion as she got up. "what is it, you-" she immediately noticed that Dinky wasn't a pony anymore. "Dinky? What happened to you?"

"I was hoping you could tell me. I woke up looking like you."

Jax looked Dinky over. "is it just you?"

"nope. We're also affected." Dr. Whooves said, standing at the doorway with Derpy, Sparkler, and Carrot Top. Unlike Everypony else in Ponyville, these 5 all had clothes on, at Whooves persistence. "you have something to do with this, Jacqueline?"

"no. duh. What makes you think I can transform ponies into humans? If I could, I would've done it long ago."

"well, I can't go outside looking like a human. Everypony else will laugh at me." Sparkler whined.

They all heard clamoring coming from outside. Jax pulled back the shades and looked out. "I don't think you have to worry about that, Sparks." she said, gesturing everyone to the window. They all looked outside to see that every pony in Ponyville had somehow transformed into humans… and they all weren't wearing any clothes.

"think Rarity's is open?"

"…But we don't know how far the spell had spread. It could've just affected everyone in this library."

Everyone in the library heard the clamoring outside just as Zilver finished pointing out the variables. "I could sense that coming… just as I was saying it." Zil said.

"guess it affected all of Ponyville." Req muttered as she put her own clothes back on. "think the mayor will call a meeting?"

"She's gotta. I mean, nothing like this has happened before." a stunned Twilight said.

Groaning came from beneath a book pile but nobody knew which one. Req tripped on something and almost fell. She recovered and looked down to see a foot sticking out of a pile. She stepped on it and a human Spike came up like a rake.

"5 more minutes, mommy." a dazed Spike said before falling back into the pile.

Everypony- er… everyone, gathered in front of Town Hall, all demanding answers to what had happened. The original humans were walking though the crowd, covering everyone's shame with cloth, ripped curtains… anything really while Req, Twi, and Spike joined the mayor on the podium.

"Calm down, every pony. I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for all of this." the Mayor proclaimed nervously.

"for what? Us turning into… them?" Octi asked, gesturing to the nearby Ash.

"believe it or not, there is." Twilight said, taking the mayor's spot. "this was the result of a spell a VERY idiotic unicorn cast."

"which unicorn?" Everyone asked in unison.

Trixie nervously blushed and bleated sheepishly as she slowly back away from the crowd.

"I'd rather not say, lest she wishes to bring a mob down on her." Twi instead explained.

"Well, what spell was it?" Lyra asked all hopeful. Everyone turned to her, some giving a 'WTF' stare. "y-you know. So no one can use it again." she sheepishly said.

"it was a spell that hasn't been used in Equestria since Discord's days in control. Basically, it turns Ponies into humans and humans into ponies, and…"

"Well, if that's true, then why aren't Requiem and her friends affected?" Bonbon asked.

"our guess is that the spell was at half-strength when it fired, which also explains why you all still have horns or wings and probably why you can walk, despite having 2 feet."

"I knew it had something to do with that." Bahamut muttered.

"Okay, well that explains that, but was Ponyville the only place affected by this… spell?" Raindrops asked.

"We don't know. We've yet to hear back from Celestia about this whole thing and-"

Spike gagged and held his mouth. "That's different." he groaned, patting his chest. He gagged again and burped up a letter in green fire.

The letter hit Twi's head and landed right in her hands. "Guess something's never change." Twi chuckled as she opened the letter.

"What's it say?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"It's from Celestia. She says that a unknown decease has spread though Canterlot, turning Everypony, including her and Luna, into human. She also received word from other cities, all complaining about the same thing, but the Gryphon Kingdom, the Dragon Lands, and the Crystal Pony Republic only reported seeing a blinding shockwave of green light at night." Twi closed the letter. "Guess the spell effected Equestria only. Probably wasn't strong enough."

"Well, now what?" a irritated Tiara asked.

"Try to coup with it, I guess." Requiem said. "like Twi said, this spell hasn't been used in 3 Millennia. Lord knows if there's a reversal spell." Everypony in the crowd groaned and complained.

"that being said, we have to talk about this little clothing situation. You all can't walk around naked with your business hanging out. That may have worked when you were ponies but you're humans now, and we humans don't let our… eh… stuffs hang out for people to see."

"you don't? I don't see what the big problem is. They don't seem that bad." Vinyl said, looking down at her.

"just trust us on this, okay?" Req pleaded. "That being said, we have some spare clothes back in Orion that you all can borrow and I'm sure Rarity made us some spares, just in case. Am I right, Rare?"

"That you are." Rarity replied with a smile.

"and that means the rest will have to be made. Guess you're gonna be working overtime, Rarity."

"So what, we gotta wear these scraps until clothes can be made?" a irritated Filthy Rich asked.

"for now, yes." Twi said. "I'm sure Rarity will accept some help in this regard. But, for now, we better coop with this. We may be stuck this way for awhile."

The crowd grumbled as they dispersed to go along with this mess.

Twi, Spike, Req walked down from the stage only to get swarmed by the other Mane6 and Humans. "Tell us, guys. Who cast the spell?" Dash asked, flying as if nothing had happened.

"I'm not sure we should tell you." Req said.

"I am." a angry Twilight said. "I've give you one 'Great and Powerful' guess."

That hint was all they needed. "Trixie!?"

"yep. This was all her fault."

"but why would she do something like this? As a mean joke?" Pinkie asked.

"no. she… she… ugh, it's a long story and I don't wanna explain it. I'll let Req or Halo or Zilver explain it. Now, I need to find a reversal spell. Come on, Spike." Twi walked off. Spike followed not far behind.

Everyone turned their attention to Requiem. "un… Hehehe. Well… oh, how do I explain this…?"

Twi and Spike walked on back to the library, passing by several angry pony-humans along the way. "Spike. Take a letter. I want to get word to Celestia that I'm gonna look for a reversal spell and that if she, Luna, or even Cadence have any leads, they should let me know."

"un… don't have a pen and paper." Spike shrugged.

"Well, write it down when we get back. And also tell them to order the local boutiques to start making human clothes. No knowing how long this is going to take."

"I think they'll be doing it regardless." Spike muttered.


	21. insert witty chapter title here

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Of Ponies and Humans

Chapter 8

insert witty chapter title here

3 Days after Zero Hour

3 days have passed since Trixie tried to turn herself into a Stallion to be with Twilight but instead turned every pony in Equestria into Humans. Except for Lyra, not everyone is happy with this sudden transformation. To some fortunate degree, the spell only worked at half strength, every Unicorn still have their horns and every Pegasi still have their wings and they all somehow know how to walk on 2 legs.

Everyone is trying to make do to with their new forms but… well, you know the saying 'you can't teach a old dog new tricks?' well, that's true here. With all these new and different variables and rules of nature, the ponies are experiencing extreme difficulty acclimatizing to it.

When they first changed into humans, all the ponies across the land were buck-naked so their first priority was to make clothes cause no one knows how long this will last. With help from the Mane6 and the original humans, Rarity was able to make enough clothes for everyone in Ponyville. Every other boutique across Equestria are doing the same thing as well. Twilight is currently trying to find a reversal spell but, so far, no luck.

Rarity:  gallery/?q=human#/d4p4zy7

"Ug-ow!" Rarity pricked herself with a needle. she swung her bleeding new pointer finger though the air and stuck it in her mouth. "that smarts. Never hurt last time."

"well, last time, you didn't have 1-inch skin, did ya?" Ash asked, looking though a magazine.

"guess not. But still, didn't expect it to hurt that much." the bleeding stopped but Rare shook the finger again. "being human sucks." Ash looked up from the magazine. Rare got nervous. "I-I mean no offense."

"None taken." Ash said as he flipped a page.

Rarity sewed the last sequin in and bite down on the string. "there. All done." Ash looked up at a gown she had finished. "and it's the last one for Ponyville, too."

"who's that for?"

"one Ms. Derpy Hooves. She's the last one in Ponyville who needs clothes for this… little predicament."

"Speaking of which, what kind of name is Derpy? Rarity, I can understand. Twilight, I can understand. Heck, I can understand even Pinkie Pie. So why Derpy?"

"hmm… I don't really know myself. You're better off asking her for the whole story." Rarity tried to use her magic to hover it over to a rack near the door but she didn't even get it off the dummy. She grunted as she used her new fingers to take it off. "I hate using these. I wish I was a Unicorn again."

Ash parted his lips to the right and looked at Rare. "eh… I don't know. I think you look fine now."

Rarity looked back in confusion. She looked down at her new bod. She was never gonna understand human relations and customs. "you find this.. Attractive?"

"on Earth, you would be considered a Supermodel." Rare knew what Supermodels were on Equestria and blushed. "but don't tell Sora I said anything. She'd tan my hide."

"you and Sora are an item?" Rarity asked.

"you could say that." Ash chuckled like a boss as he leaned back and put his hands behind his head. "engaged, really. Asked her to marry me before we left Warfang and she said yes."

"Do your friends know?"

"no and it's imperative Jax doesn't know as well. She… has a thing for me."

"oh. Like Twilight and Halo?"

"well, a bit lighter then those 2 but, yeah. And if she found out I'm engaged to her sister, well… you can imagine what her reaction will be."

Both thought of the same thing: Jax going on a homicidal rampage and destroying everything. Their facial retractions to that was priceless. "yikes." they both said.

Twilight:  gallery/?q=human#/d4oy7u8

Twilight flipped though some books in her library, taking her time unlike Trixie. Speaking of which, guess who came in.

"hi, Twilight." a cheerful Trixie said with a skip in her step, bringing Twi some flowers. "got you these."

"now is not the time, Trixie." a peeved Twi said, not even looking up.

"oh, come on Twilight. It's a nice day out. How about we go on a picnic an-"

Twi closed the book and gave a groaning sigh. "listen, Trixie. I don't have time for your little game. I have to find the reversal spell to the spell you idiotically cast!" Twi exclaimed, grabbing another book.

"well… I just…" Trixie sighed and put the flowers in a vase. "oh, come on. You have to admit that this is a good experience for us all. In fact, I wonder what 'it' feels like as a human."

Twi screeched to a halt and stuck her tongue out in disgust. "probably not very good." Twi grabbed another book and jumped onto a nearby futon.

"you un… wanna try?" Trixie asked, seductively sitting next to her.

Twi growled as she gave Trixie the evil eye. "Listen, Trixie." Twilight got up from the couch. "We wouldn't be in this mess if you could've just accepted that I don't love you. Least not in the way your suggesting. And turning yourself into a Stallion wasn't going to help." Trixie just sat there, staring away from Twi. Twi, in turn, stared away from Trixie. "I'm sorry, Trixie, but we're just friends. And that's it."

Trixie didn't want to listen to it. She just walked out in a fuss, partially slamming the door behind her.

"if only she wasn't so stubborn." Twilight sighed as she went back to work, trying to find a Reversal Spell.

Applejack:  gallery/?q=human#/d4p3ngu

Applejack hit the tree with her leg, only to have it backfire.

"OW OW OW!" A.J. exclaimed, hopping on one foot while she held the other in pain. Big Mac watched her jump up and down. "that didn't hurt before." A.J. exclaimed in pain.

"that's because you were a horse, a genus known for strong legs." Aura said as he walked to the same tree A.J. hit.

"well, do you have a better idea, genius?" A.J. groaned with one eye open, rubbing her injured foot. Aura snorted. He reached up and plucked one off.

"the old fashioned way, for starters." Aura smugly said as he took a bite of the apple.

"but that'll take forever." Big Max said, looking at the immense orchard.

"better then doing nothing, right?" Aura said as he took another bite. He spit it out and hung his tongue out in disgust. "worm! I ate a worm. *Ptooey Ptooey Ptooey*"

Applejack couldn't contain her anger at this situation. "ARGH! I HATE BEING HUMAN!" she yelled.

Lyra:  . /tumblr_m4c8n1zMtv1roo4gno1_ 

"I LOVE BEING A HUMAN!" Lyra happily exclaimed. She used her new fingers to grabbed a couple of ice cream cones. She then skipped off with her new legs.

Bonbon:  fs71/i/2012/087/c/3/human_bon_bon_by_ 

Bonbon grumbled as she sat at a patio table, waiting for her marefriend. Speaking of which, Lyra arrived and offered Bonbon one. She took it and just stared at it.

"what, you don't like it? Come on, Bonny. It's Mint Chocolate Chip. Your fave." Lyra happily said as she licked her cookie dough ice cream.

"I just don't understand how you can be cheerful at a time like this. I mean, we look like freaks." Bonbon muttered.

"We look like humans. This has always been a dream of mine ever since I heard those fairy tails with them."

Req was walking by, carrying some sheets, when she heard that. "Wait, there are fairy tails about us here?" Requiem asked.

"quite a few. Most famous is a boogey-mare's tale about this man named Glastos the Glue Maker. He went around, killing ponies in their sleep and turning them into something called glue."

Req got grossed out and it showed on her face. "ew."

"be thankful it's just a fairy tail and not real." Bonbon said as she took another lick.

"that ain't the only myth about humans on Equestria. There's the story about the Alicorn Jeria and the Human Zax. According to legend, they both made the planet and all the life on it."

"wow. So, wait, if a human helped create this world, why aren't there any humans on Equestria?" Req asked.

"Discord happened. The Spirit of Disharmony just snapped his fingers and made them all disappear from Equestria. Every. Last. One." Bonbon said, tapping her finger on the table.

"Dang. glad this Discord guy ain't around." Req muttered as she sat back. She sat back too far and fell backwards, feet sticking up. "I'm okay."

Bonbon and Lyra looked at each other and giggled.

Fluttershy:  gallery/?q=human#/d4p50pt

"So… this thing spell turned you into a human?" Edge asked Fluttershy, still resting in her bed. Most of his bandages are gone but he was still too weak to move.

"yep. Twilight is busy looking for a reversal spell but it's likely to take awhile. According to her, this spell hasn't been used in 300000 years." Fluttershy said as she poured some tea.

"so the chances of there being a reversal spell is slim to none."

"that's what it's looking like." Fluttershy plopped some cubes of sugar into her tea. "by the way, why aren't you human?"

"well, I am a Changeling and that spell is to effect Ponies, right? Makes sense that I was spared."

"but Spike also turned into a human. How do you explain that?"

"Raised by Ponies since birth. Maybe the spell mistook him for a pony."

Fluttershy turned and gave Edge his own cup of tea. "hmm… guess that makes sense. I think."

"of course it does." Edge said as he took a sip of his tea. He spit it up and licked his lips disgustingly. "too sugary! Too sugary!" he breathlessly said, coughing up a storm.

"oh my. I'm so sorry."

"no prob." Edge gagged.

Vinyl:  . /tumblr_m4gosbuyzx1rnafxbo1_ 

Vinyl sat in the windowsill of her and Octavia's place, waiting for her marefriend to come home.

"man, Octavia sure is taking a while." she muttered. She glanced back at her turntable then looked at her hands. She jumped down from the windowsill and walked on over. "wonder how human fingers work on these."

She touched one of the discs and tried doing what she does best on it. It works good. It's not great but it's something she can work with.

Octavia:  fs70/PRE/i/2011/318/9/6/human_octavia_by_ice_ 

Octavia reached the door to her and Vinyl's apartment and opened it up to see Vinyl playing with her turntable.

"hey, Octy. Get this. Human fingers work just as well with my turntable just as well as my hooves." Vinyl happily said, playing away.

"how wonderful." Octavia sarcastically said.

"So where'd you go?" Vinyl asked.

"well, with all that's been happening lately, I thought we should go on a vacation."

The record scratched as Vinyl slipped, hit her head on the table, and fell. "I'm fine." she quickly said, sticking a finger up. She quickly sat up. "did you say vacation?"

"sure did." Octavia took out and flipped over 2 tickets. "3 days and nights at the Château Nearo."

"Cool." Vinyl said, grabbing them and looking them over. "wait, ain't that in the Gryphon Kingdom?"

"yes."

"… you think they won't chase humans away?"

"it's true that Griffons aren't exactly the friendliest of creatures. I still remember that fiasco with Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rainbow, and that Griffon, what was her name, Gilda?" Vinyl nodded. "but still, it's a vacation. We desperately need it."

Vinyl shrugged. "if you say so."

Pinkie Pie:  gallery/?q=human#/d4p5s0h

Pinkie Pie hummed the shows main theme as she took out a tray of muffins from the over and slid them onto the counter.

"Fresh Muffins!" She called out. She turned around and slid on into the kitchen. "I am loving these fingers!" She cheerfully said. "they make gripping the trays so much easier."

"Pinkie…" Mrs. Cake interrupted.

"yes?"

Mrs. Cake handed her a bag. "Take these to Rainbow Dash. She ordered some blueberry cupcakes."

Pinkie saluted like a doofus and bounced on out.

"Even as a human, she's still as hyper as a gerbil." Sora muttered, cutting some oranges.

"That's Pinkie for ya." Mr. and Mrs. Cake, plus Marble, said.

Rainbow Dash:  gallery/?q=human#/d4oybxu

Dash flew though the air, getting used to her new form. It wasn't as aerodynamic as her Pegasus body but it can still fly, though not well.

"wonder if the Wonderbolts are suffering from the same problem?" She muttered to herself.

"HI, RAINBOW DASH!"

Dash almost lost focus on her flying when she heard Pinkie calling her.

"hey Pinkie."

Dash fluttered down and landed gracefully as Pinkie walked on up. "your cupcakes are ready. Never knew you liked blueberries."

"now you know." Dash took the bag and opened it up. All 3 were in there. She reached back and pulled out a few bits. She paid Pinkie and she took them with a smile on her face.

"So what are the cupcakes for?"

"oh. Shadow asked me to buy some for him. He's helping Satoshi with Orion and…"

The sounds of children laughing caught their attentions. They both looked in the same direction when they heard; "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS HANG GLIDERS!"

Pinkie and Rainbow looked at each other and got the same feeling. "uh-oh."

CMC: albums/hh111/zarb1/12310-Cutie_Mark_CrusadersSweetie_Belleapple_

The Cutie Mark Crusaders stood on the edge of a cliff, each with their own hang gliders.

"you sure this is safe, Scootaloo? I mean, I think we should hold off on finding out Cutie Marks till after we get turned back into Ponies." Applebloom asked.

"but 'bloom, Rare still had her cutie mark on… what did Ash call it, right shoulder. Our marks should appear in the same spot." Sweetie Belle explained.

"if you say so." a worried Applebloom said. She still wasn't sure about this but she was gonna do it.

"Ready?" Scoot's asked. Bloom gulped in agreement. Sweetie gave a thumbs up. "Okay. 1... 2... T-"

"HOLD IT!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, flying in front of them. All 3 girls screamed as they fell backward. "This is extremely dangerous, even to adults." Dash said as she landed. "besides, didn't you try this before?"

All 3 CMC thought for a moment then groaned. "ARGH! That's right. We did try this before." Scootaloo groaned as she fell backwards.

"nice going, Scootaloo." both Applebloom and Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

Derpy Hooves:  albums/zz224/monsterlord-18/580958_338843596199681_157575570_ 

Jax sat in a chair in Derpy's apartment, reading a book while the radio played. The title read 'supernaturals'.

The door opened wide and voices came from the other side. Jax glanced to see Derpy, Sparkler, and Carrot Top walk in, carrying bags of groceries and chatting up a storm.

"Well that was fast." Jax muttered out loud.

"well, hands made it easier." Sparkler said as she placed her bag on the counter.

"Told ya." Jax muttered.

The song that was currently playing ended and was replaced with the orchestral version of Once Upon a Dream.

Derpy recognized it and lovelingly held her heart. "oh, I love this song." she said in a swoon.

"not again." both Carrot Top and Sparkler groaned. Jax was confused.

Derpy began ballroom dancing with nothing but air as she hummed the song. "un… what's with dopey?" Jax asked.

"whenever she hears this song, she goes into some sort of mental flashback of sorts." C.T. explained. "not sure why, though. She just does."

Derpy kept on dancing till the song ended. When it did, she got a little teary-eyed and held her heart. "eTu`nes." she softly muttered.

Jax overheard that and asked; "eTu`nes?" that broke Derpy out of her trance. "who's eTu`nes?"

"a old and… very important friend who was in my life until 8 years ago. I still miss him."

"What happened?" Jax asked.

"yeah. You never told me as well." Carrot Top added.

Derpy's heart hurt a bit. She held it as her voice cracked. "sorry. I…" Derpy cleared her throat, getting rid of the crack. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"if you say so." C.T. and Sparkler muttered. Jax, however, was curious about what had possible happened 8 years ago, and who this eTu`nes was.

Celestia and Luna:  albums/zz224/monsterlord-18/403466_360152457387189_1541391084_ 

The Moon rose as Luna used her magic to make it so.

"not bad." Celestia said while sitting on a stone railing. "even as a human, you can still lift the moon."

Luna stopped and cracked her back. "well, I still think it was one of those humans that did this." Luna said, sitting down on the pavement.

"you're kidding, right? You read the letter Twilight sent us. She said it was a mare that that tried to gain Twilight's heart that did this." Tia explained.

"love. It's such a freckle thing." Luna chuckled. Celestia chuckled as well. A moment passed as Luna thought of how to word this next question. "hey, Sis. Were you ever in love with someone?"

Celestia was surprised that Luna asked that kind of question. "Why do you ask?"

"I don't know. Guess 1000 years trapped on the moon made me think about things, love among them. Sometimes I wonder if I'm ever gonna find love of my own."

Celestia patted her sister on the back. "You will. Someday."

Luna smiled up at her big sis, who smiled back. "you didn't answer my original question." Celestia exclaimed in wonderment. "were you ever in love with someone?"

Celestia looked up to the stars and closed her eyes. "yes. I was. Back when there were hundreds of our kind and before you were born. With a Alicorn named Cosmos. Like you and me, he had control over the heavens; in this case, He was in control of the stars and made them sparkle every night."

"wow." Luna dreamily said, trying to picture what he looked like. "What happened?"

A single tear ran down her face as she looked down to the gardens. "Discord happened. He… got rid of him."

Luna gasped in shock at that last sentence. "oh. Oh, sis, I'm so sorry."

Celestia sniffled as she wiped her eyes. "don't be. It was thousands of years ago. I'm over it now." she looked into the throne room to see a shadowbolt walking around. "think one of your troops is looking for you." she said to Luna.

Luna looked and saw the Pegasus. "right. Duty calls." Luna sighed as she got up and walked in.

Celestia smiled as she watched her sister walked away. When Luna was out of sight, Celestia's expression returned to a depressed state. She held out her hand and summoned a white rose into it. She moved her fingers though the pedals and held it close to her heart.

"good night, my heavenly Cosmos." she softly whispered to the flower. "pleasant dreams."


	22. The Reversal Spell is where?

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Of Ponies and Humans

Chapter 9

The Reversal Spell is where?

38 Days after Zero Hour

It has been a full month since Trixie cast the spell that turned Everypony in Equestria into humans. At first, Everypony was having difficulty adapting to it as they had a whole new set of rules of nature to work with but they quickly fell in line with their new forms, some even using it for the better.

The reconstruction of Orion started going faster then before, with Satoshi and any and all volunteers finishing the frame far ahead of schedule and are halfway done with the decks and hulls.

It was on the 10th day of October that they all got a letter from a old friend, one that help's with finding the Reversal Spell.

Req lazily sat on a tree, lazily swinging her sword back and forth in her left hand. She yawned as her eyes started to droop.

"INCOMING!" Someone yelled, snapping Requiem awake.

Someone crashed into her from above, breaking the branch and making them both fall to the ground. Req's sword flipped for a bit in midair before falling. It temporarily glowed and changed it's course, stabbing in to the ground instead of hitting both Req and whoever hit her.

"ow. Who hit me?" Req groaned. She sat up and recognized the person who hit her as the mail-mare. "Derpy?"

Derpy groaned as her eyes rolled. "hey, Req." she dizzily said. "guess my flying hasn't improved much since I became a human."

"and neither has Rainbow's or 'Shy." Req said. She rolled Derpy off of her before getting up. "you okay?"

"yeah. I fall more then you know." Derpy nervously said. "oh. I have a letter for Twilight but I don't go by her house for another hour or so. think you can give it to her?" Derpy asked, showing Req the letter.

Req took it but didn't open it. She flipped it on the other side and saw a royal seal on the back. "a seal? Thought Celestia and Luna sent their letters via Spike. Who would write Twilight with a seal?"

"I don't know. Could be anyone with information on how to change us back to normal. She did ask Celestia and Luna to send her any info letters they get."

"then why send it like this?" Req muttered. She shrugged and jumped up from the ground. "well, no use wondering. I'll go take this to Twi. You go and do your thing."

"okay." Derpy took off straight up. Req took a few steps when she heard Derps hit a tree branch. Hard. "I'm okay." she said. Req couldn't help but chuckle.

"no no no. it's not right." Dash muttered, looking at a costume Rarity was making her for Nightmare Night 30 days from now. Dash asked her to make her a human shadowbolt costume in case the reversal spell wasn't found by then.

"let me guess… needs to be 20% cooler" Rarity sarcastically asked.

"nice idea, but no." Dash walked around the costume, looking it over and wondering how to make it better. "hmm… try adding some more lightning bolts onto the sleeves and the leggings."

"more lightning. Got it." Rarity wrote that down on a notepad.

Dash jumped up onto a empty table and laid back. "hey, Rare. Quick question." Rarity looked in her direction. "where were you at last years Nightmare Night? You disappeared the day earlier."

"oh, that. Guess I should've told you before I left." Rarity chuckled. "I went to Baltimare to be with family. My cousin was giving birth to her first foal."

"oh, congrats… Auntie."

"oh, pish-posh. It was the least I could do for my favorite cousin. Although…" Rarity put down her notepad. "…it got me thinking…" Dash curiously looked her way. "… got me thinking if I'll ever have children of my own."

"oh, Pbbt. Of course you will, Rare. You just need to find the right guy."

"And you saw how well that's going. Prince Blueblood turns out to be some snob S.O.B., Fancy Pants, while not as snobbish, was still unpleasant…"

"That's not what I saw at Cadence's and Armor's wedding." Dash snickered.

"Well, I was just being nice to him. He had no date to the reception, after all."

Dash wasn't convinced. "rrrright. You keep telling yourself."

Rarity blushed as her eyes darted back and forth. She stopped when she remembered something. "Wait a tick. What about you?" Rarity asked.

"What about me?"

"you find love of your own?"

Dash scoffed. "What's it to ya?"

"does it matter? You know, I caught Storm Shadow shooting some glances your way."

Dash, a little bit caught off guard by that, sat up. "Shadow?" Rarity nodded. "the crazy, eccentric, loco _Espanol _of a unicorn? Why would I love him?"

"well, for starters, you're speaking his language."

Dash's face puffed up as she turned and looked away. Rarity laughed softly at Dash's little fit.

The door opened and Requiem walked in. "hey girls."

"hey, Req." both Rare and Dash replied.

"you see Twilight anywhere?"

"un… think she was over at Bonbon's Candy Store, getting some sweets. After all, Nightmare Night is in a couple of weeks." Rarity explained, picking up her notes.

"that so?" Req muttered, looking at the letter.

"What's that?" Dash asked.

"letter for Twi. Don't know who it's from. Only thing I do know is that there's a seal on the back." Req flipped it and showed it to them both. They leaned on, getting close looks at the seal.

"that does have a royal feel to it." Rarity muttered. "but I don't recognize the crest."

"And it didn't come from Celestia or Luna. Otherwise, they would've used the living Fax Machine." Req joked.

"Well, now I'm curious. A unknown letter from a unknown sender." Rainbow Dash muttered. "sounds like Twi may have a secret admirer that ain't Halo or Trixie."

"maybe." Req muttered. "better go get her."

Req left the boutique and headed for Bonbon's place. "Wait up." Rare said as she and Dash ran after her, both curious by what the letter may contain.

They went to Bonbon's, only to have her say that Twi left for Orion, where the rest of the Mane6, plus the OC's and the CMC, and the original humans were, watching a little… demonstration arranged by Satoshi.

"you got the electronics to work?" a un-believing Aura said, arms folded across his chest.

"Sure did. I got them to work not long after the frame was rebuilt."

"well, let's see it." a smug Shadow asked.

"okay." a happy Satoshi said. He jumped up and grabbed a control panel. "Come to life, o' glorious fans." he silently pleaded is he pushed a button. The engine rumbled for a second before nothing happened, not that that didn't surprise anyone. "Come on, girl. Work for me." Satoshi asked as he pushed it again.

Something sparked in the engines. They slowly but surely came to life with a loud roar. The fans began spinning the way they did every time before, kicking up dust and sediment, forcing everyone to cover their eyes.

Satoshi turned off the engine. The fans slowed to a halt. Everyone uncovered their eyes. The original humans, obviously, were excited.

"YES! We can go home!" Jax cheered.

"not yet, Jax." Satoshi interrupted. "there's still countless repairs to be done and that monster, the one cloaked in shadow, still has the device that allowed us to travel between worlds in the first place. Even if we fix Orion completely, it'll be for naught unless we get it."

That ruined Jax's day. She fell onto her butt and crossed her arms in a huff. "Way to ruin the moment." she angrily muttered.

"here you all are." Req said from behind as she, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash walked up. "We've been looking all over Ponyville for you guys."

"Why?" Applejack asked.

"well, I got a letter for Twilight, but the sender is unknown. Only thing we know for certain is the seal on the back of the envelope." Req explained.

"A seal?" Twi asked. She quickly walked on and snatched the letter. She flipped it and looked at the seal. She immediately recognized it. "This is the seal of the Crystal Ponies. This is from Cadence." she said with a hint of excitement.

"Who's Cadence?" Sora asked.

"oh. Un… Cadence was Twilight's Foal-Sitter when she was young." Fluttershy explained. "before she met us, Cadence was her only friend."

"she also married Twilight's brother, Shining Armor, technically making them sisters and technically making Twilight royalty as Cadence is related to Celestia and Luna." Applejack added. "as well as the 3rd Alicorn in existence."

"Alicorn?" Req muttered. "That sounds familiar."

Twi opened the envelope, took the letter out, and quickly read it. "What's it say, Sugarcube?" A.J. asked.

"you're all gonna wanna hear this." Twi said. She cleared her throat and began to read out loud:

"Dear 'Little' Sister,

How's life back in the small town treating ya? Missing the hustle and bustle on the big city yet? Haha, I joke I joke. I know you love Ponyville and I don't blame ya. It's a nice place. I've gotten off track, didn't I? my bad. Seems I inherited Auntie Luna's ability to ramble on. Ah.

Word has reached us about your predicament in Equestria. Me and Armor are unaffected due to us having been in the Gryphon Kingdom at the time. We've been here at the king's request to try and help abolish a horrible slave trade, Seems Ponies, Griffins, and even Changelings have been taken by this trade and forced to do… Things I can't really discuss in a open letter, and it's been doing murder on their tourism and they aren't making enough revenue for the kingdom to break even.

Anyway, as I was saying, we heard that everyone in Equestria have been turned into humans from a couple of friends of yours who were living examples themselves, Think their names were Octavia and Vinyl. Anyway, we told the Gryphon King of the situation and he agreed to help. He says he may even have knowledge of where to find a Reversal spell. Unfortunately, his real b*!&h of a daughter requests that you come as well. Says you have a score to settle with her. Not sure what she meant by that. You do something to make her angry.

Well, if that's the case, guess we'll be seeing you pretty soon. Me and Armor have something to tell you but we're gonna keep it a surprise till you get here. It's a biggie, I'll tell you that.

See you soon, 'sis' .

Love,

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza."

"oh, a surprise. I love surprises!" Pinkie happily exclaimed.

"in the Gryphon Kingdom?" Twilight exclaimed. "But that's hundreds of miles away. It'll take forever to get there." she looked up at the corpse of the ship. "if only this thing could fly."

"you and me both, sister." Satoshi muttered.

"the Gryphon King's daughter. Why does she have a score with us? We do anything to her?" Dash asked.

"I don't know." Twi said as she folded the letter. "but I gotta make preparations. It's a long way to the Gryphon Kingdoms."


	23. To The Gryphon Kingdom!

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Of Ponies and Humans

Chapter 10

To The Gryphon Kingdom!

39 Days after Zero Hour

Yesterday, Twilight and the rest of the Mane6 received a letter from Princess Cadence, saying that the Reversal Spell to this is somewhere in the Gryphon Kingdom and that the king knows where it us. Unfortunately, his daughter is requesting that they come to the kingdom to get it. So, Twi is making preparations to go and meet with them, but is she going alone? Pbbt, of course not.

The sun's rays broke the horizon, bringing the new day it's first light.

Twilight read the letter again while Spike was putting a bag of supplies together. "Why are you looking at that again, Twi? We know where we need to go and that we'll meet Cadence and Armor again when we get there." Spike said, stuffing in a sewing machine. (When will they need that?)

"yeah, I know. I'm just wondering what surprise she has for us. Or who this Gryphon King's daughter is who has a grudge on us. We don't know a Gryphon princess."

"we'll find out when we get there, Twilight." Spike said as he jumped down on a sink. (seriously, what's with these things Spike's putting in the travel bag?) "by the way, are we the only ones going? If it's just us 2, it's gonna get boring fast."

"no we aren't Spike. Requiem and her friends, minus Satoshi, are coming with."

Spike grunted as he landed butt-first on a cupboard. (what kind of bag is this?) "why ain't Satoshi coming?" Twi looked at him with a 'are you kidding' glare. "oh, right. Orion. Well, what about the others?"

"I don't know. I didn't get any word from them. They either are or they aren't." Knocking came from the main door. Twi didn't answer before Trixie came in. "oh, no. not again." Twi groaned.

"hey there, Twi." Trixie noticed the bag. "What's… going on?"

"I'm going away on business, Trixie. S-"

"Oh, cool. Where you going? Can I come? Think this'll bring us closer together?"

Spike rolled his eyes. "she's worse then Big Mac and Cheeralie when they were under that love potion." he muttered.

Twilight scoffed. "you won't let this go, will you? Please, listen Trixie. I don't love you. At all. At least not in the way you're hoping."

"oh, come on Twili. Just try it once. You'll love it." Trixie asked, running her finger though Twi's hair. Spike face-palmed.

Twi pushed Trixie's finger out. "what is your obsession with me? what is so fascinating about me that you're still trying to get me?" Trixie didn't answer. She just stood there, not sure what to say. "that's what I thought."

Twilight picked up the bag Spike had packed, which she lifted with ease, and she and Spike headed for the door. Her hand was above the doorknob when…

"Because you're my first love." Trixie suddenly blurted. Twilight and Spike looked back at a distrat Trixie. "until I met you, I… I never had someone to love. True, I had Halo and Zilver, but… but I know they aren't my real brothers. … I was hoping you would be the first to… to actually love me."

Twi couldn't bear to open the door after hearing that. "Trixie…" Spike looked between the 2 and then at the camera, shrugging. "Trix… you're better off finding someone else. I'm not a Filly-Fooler. I'm in love with Halo, even if he won't return it. I'm sure Lyra or Bonbon have some single Filly-Fooler friends or some ex-marefriends. Ask them."

Twilight opened the door and walked out, Spike not far behind. Trixie just stood there. "but… I don't want anyone else… I want you…" she sadly said.

"you sure you don't wanna come, Satoshi? It sounds like it's gonna be one heck of a adventure." Dash asked.

"pretty sure." Satoshi said as he pulled out a broken piece of wood. "that adventure we had on the last world took it out of me. Besides, someone has to keep an eye on Ponyville while you guys are gone."

"you? Really? You don't look like you can fight."

Satoshi scoffed. "that's so I can catch people off guard. I'm a master strategist and mechanic. I don't need to fight. Besides, whenever I do…" Satoshi reached behind him and pulled out a block of… something. The block bulged and transformed into a gun as he pulled it out. "I have some deadly accuracy with this."

"how so?"

Satoshi looked around for a target and found it. "See that apple at the tip-top of that tree?" Dash looked, saw it, and nodded.

Satoshi aimed the gun with one hand and closed his left eye. He carefully aimed down at the apple and fired. A red laser bolt came out and hit the stem. The apple fell and hit the ground. Dash's mouth dropped. "see. Deadly accuracy." Satoshi gloated.

"Sure you'll be okay by yourself, Fluttershy?" Bahamut asked.

"Yes, I will Bahamut. I'm pretty sure I can take care of Edge by myself." Fluttershy said, grabbing a couple of washcloths.

"if you're sure. But just to be safe, I'll ask Pinkie to check in now and then."

"if you want." 'Shy distantly said.

Bahamut got suspicious. "you okay, 'Shy?"

Fluttershy sighed. "no I'm not. My friends are going away and leaving me behind."

"It's only for a couple of weeks at best. Hopefully we'll be back before Hallowe- I mean Nightmare Night."

"It's not just that." Fluttershy added. Bahamut titled his head in curiosity. "I have this sinking feeling that something bad is going to happen if you all go."

Bahamut just raspberried at that. "it's probably just butterflies in your stomach. It's just gonna be you, Marble, and Satoshi looking after Ponyville while we're gone. Anyone would be nervous if they were to watch a whole town by themselves." Bahamut picked up his knapsack with his mouth and put his wings though the straps. "Trust me. Nothing bad is going to happen."

Bahamut unfurled his wings and flapped them once. He hovered in mid-air as he turned his attention to Fenrir and Cobalt. "you 2 keep an eye on this place while I'm gone. And don't try to eat any of Fluttershy's animals, okay?" the wolf and eagle nodded. Bahamut nodded back. "be back in a couple weeks, 'Shy." Bahamut flipped in midair and flew out the open door.

Fluttershy continued to stand there. She still had a bad feeling about all this.

"…and remember to lock the place up before you go home, okay?" Twilight explained to Berry Punch. She had asked her to look after the library while she was gone.

"yeah yeah yeah. We went over this 3 times already." Berry complained.

"just making sure, since you don't exactly have the best memory due to you… ahem… escapades at the local bars."

"Hey! That happened once, okay? Still not sure how that story of me being drunk 24/7 even started."

Twilight just shrugged at it. "you also have Fluttershy to call on if you need help."

"right." Berry turned Twilight around and pushed her. "Now go and cure us."

The group gathered outside of Ponyville just as the sun completely rose over the horizon. They waited under a tree when Applejack and Rarity ran up. "Sorry we're late." Rarity panted. "Sweetie Belle and Applebloom were insisting that they'd come along, something about crime-fighting Cutie Marks."

"hehe. Kids. So innocent and so fun to mess with." Aura chuckled.

Applejack looked around at the ground and noticed… "Derpy? Why's she coming along?"

"I grew up in the Capital City for a few years. I know my way around." she explained. "plus, I know a old friend that owns me a favor. Think I can ask him if we can bunk at his place while we're there."

"well, you're not the only one who knows a old friend in the Gryphon Kingdom." Dash said, hanging upside-down off a branch.

"right. Gilda. We remember her. What a mean girl she was, yelling at Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie like that." Rarity angrily said, thinking back to that day.

"yeah, well, I know more then just Gilda." Dash flipped up and jumped down. "I was born and raised in the Gryphon Kingdom up till I was 6. It's gonna be nice meeting with the old gang after all this time."

"Guess that explains the gruff attitude." Halo muttered.

"So, Twi, how do we get to the Gryphon Kingdom?" Sora asked, sitting back on the tree.

"Well…" Twi reached into her knapsack and pulled out a world map. She unfurled it and set it on the ground. "… we would've taken the train to Port Hayshed but the Train's out of commission; wheels rusted due to bad oil. Once at Hayshed, we take a boat over the river to the Gryphon port of BedFeather then we catch a train from there to the Capital City of Fellwing."

"That's a long ways. What about that balloon of yours?" Zilver asked.

"not enough room for all of us. Don't wanna say it, but i guess we're walking."

"well, how far is it?" Ash asked.

"Would've taken a full day by train, so…" Twi ran the math in her head. "should take us at least a week to get there, give or take a few days."

"a week?" everyone groaned at it. "good-bye, legs." Aura comically whined.

"don't worry. I know a secret that will get us there in no time at all." Pinkie proclaimed.

Those not going- Dinky, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Sparkler, Carrot Top, Satoshi, Lyra, Bonbon, Berry Punch, Ms. Cheerilee, Big Mac, Marble, and Fluttershy -arrived to say their goodbyes to those who are leaving.

"Good luck, sis." Applebloom told A.J.

"you take care, okay?" Sweetie asked her sister.

"don't worry. We will." Applejack and Rarity both replied. A.J. scuffled Applebloom hair while Rarity hugged Belle. "And don't give Ms. Big Mac a hard time, okay?" Rarity asked.

"don't worry none, Rare. It'll be like a slumber party." Applebloom said. Both she and Belle gave a faux smile.

"Why don't I feel comfortable with that?" Rarity muttered.

"remember, Berry, you have to-" Twilight started to talk to Berry again on what to do with the Library. She shut her up by placing her hand over Twi's mouth.

"I still don't like this." Fluttershy worriedly said. "I still have this feeling that something bad is going to happen."

"in our line of work, something bad happens every 20 minutes." Jax said. "we've come to expect it."

"bye mommy." Dinky said, hugging Derpy good-bye.

"See you when I get back, muffin." Derpy said, holding Dinky tighter.

"don't worry, Dinky. I'll take care of your mother." Whooves said, cheering Dinky up.

"thanks, Uncle Whooves."

"and don't you worry about Dinky. We'll take care of her." Sparkler said, holding her little sister tight.

"hey, Pinks." Marble said, coming at Pinkie from behind.

She turned around with a smile. "what is it, Marble?"

"I just wanna say…" Marble paused, making Pinkie curious. Marble looked back up and smiled. "… come back safe, 'kay?"

"of course I will, Silly Pony. I haven't been getting any doozies with my Pinkie Sense lately so this is bound to go well."

"Pinkie Sense?"

"you're better off not asking." Twi groaned, remembering the last time Pinkie got a doozy.

"Lyra, Bonbon. I expect the boutique to be in top shape when I get back." Rarity said. "don't wanna come back to a pigsty."

"Don't worry, Rare. It'll be fine. You go and save the world or something."

"save the world?" Sora asked. "so, only thing that seems world-destruction worthy was the beasty that stranded us. And I highly doubt we're gonna run into Sabado Gigante on the way there."

"who?" the 3 asked.

Requiem heaved up her knapsack and looked off where they needed to go. "we going or not? Last I checked, that spell ain't gonna come here on it's lonesome."

Everyone nodded in confirmation.

"then let's get going. On to the Gryphon Kingdom!" Req exclaimed, pointing in the direction it was.

"wrong way, Req." Twi said.

Req staggered into a comical pose. She looked back to Twi with half-closed eyes and questionably pointed in another direction. Twilight nodded.

"right. Well… the moment's ruined. Let's just go." a defeated Req walked off. Everyone looked at each other and chuckled.

They started down the hill. Their destination: The Gryphon Kingdom. Both groups waved good-bye as they went their separate ways.

Halo stopped and doubled back for a moment. Ash noticed this and looked back. "Halo?"

"I'll just be a moment." he said to the group. "I forgot something." he reached those who are staying behind.

"What'd you forget?" Big Mac asked.

"To ask you guys to look after Trixie."

"Trixie? Why?" Bonbon asked.

"She's not in the right frame of mind right now. I'm worried she'll do something stupid. Or worse." the group looked at each other and talked amongst themselves for a moment. They all looked back at Halo and nodded. Halo breathed a sigh of relief. "thanks. You don't know what a relief this is."

"well, you might wanna hurry. You're being left behind." Bonbon said. Halo turned around. The rest of the group was gone, gone, gone.

"HEY!" Halo yelled. He ran after them. "HEY, WAIT UP!" he called out, running after them.

The group waiting on the other side of a small line of trees as Halo ran up.

"Thanks for waiting." he panted. He gathered his second wind and walked to the other side of the group.

"So, Pinkie. What's this shortcut of yours?" Jax asked.

"oh? Oh, it's quite a shortcut. Should get us halfway to the capital city in 3 minutes." Pinkie squealed.

Sora couldn't help but laugh. "okay. Hehe. That's impossible, Pinkie."

"it isn't if it's a musical montage."

Everyone looked at her with unbelieving eyes. "you been watching one too many Disney movies?" Aura asked.

"hehe. No silly…"

Begin Song:  watch?v=Opv1JnwKm64 On My Way from Brother Bear

0:00.

"…It's been proven that singing is the best way to past the time." Pinkie happily exclaimed.

"anybody else hear music?" Bahamut asked, looking up to the sky. Pinkie bounced on by with a wide grin on her face.

"She's really not gonna sing, is she?" Requiem asked Rainbow Dash.

"you obviously don't know Pinkie. Once she gets the need, there ain't no stopping her."

0:19.

Pinkie:

" Tell everybody I'm on my way. New friends and new places to SEE! "

"she's really singing." a distrat Jax groaned.

Pinkie:

" with blue skies ahead, yes I'm on my way… "

Pinkie bounced on off with everyone slowly following her.

" …and there's nowhere else that I'd rather be… "

0:37.

Original Song(V.A.)

Tell everybody I'm on my way, and I'm loving every step I take…with the sun beating down, yes I'm on my way, and I can't keep this smile off my face… "

The group walked though several different landscapese, such as a very hilly field, a flower field, and just a plain ol' field.

0:56.

Original Song(V.A.)

cause there's nothing like seeing each other again, no matter what the distance between.

Rainbow, Sora, and Zilver talked amongst themselves. It must've been a annoying or boring conversation as Jax had some clouds for earmuffs.

And the stories that we tell will make you smile. Oh, it really lifts my heart.

The group sat around a campfire as A.J. told a story with a big finish. Ash, Shadow, Spike, Derpy, Zilver, and Bahamut laughed while everyone else was confused by the ending.

1:16.

Original Song(V.A.)

so tell 'em all I'm on my way, new friends and new places to see.

They all walked on over a rickety bridge that swayed under them. They all walked across one at a time to avoid being swept away by the raging river 50 feet below.

and to sleep under the stars, who could ask for more. with the moon keeping watch over me.

The group made camp inside a cave big enough for them. They all fell asleep as the moon shone in.

1:33.

Original Song(V.A.)

Not the snow, not the rain, will change my mind. The sun will come out, wait and see.

They walked though a very windy valley, blowing everyone's hair every which way.

When they emerged on the other side, everyone's hair was a mess. Everyone laughed while Rarity freaked out, as usual.

and the feeling of the wind in your face will make you smile. Oh, there's no where else I'd rather be…"

The unfortunate walkers of the group sidled against a thin foot hold as they slowly made their way across a cliff.

Bahamut, Rainbow Dash, Requiem, and Aura flew on by, Bahamut and Aura acting like a couple of idiots.

They slammed into the cliff and sank to the ground below.

1:54.

Original Song(V.A.)

cause I'm on my way now. Well and truly. I'm on my way now.

The group stood at the edge of a cliff overlooking Port Hayshed.

"2 minutes. New world record." Twi chuckled, looking a imaginary watch.

"See? Musical Montages are always the best form of travel." Pinkie said as she skipped on down to the port.

2:10.

Original Song(V.A.)

Requiem and Spike ran onto the docks of Port Hayshed and looked out at the water.

"WHOA!" they both excitedly exclaimed. "That's one big ocean!" they both said.

"It's not a ocean. It's a river over 10 miles wide." Twilight explained.

"Still, that's pretty big." Req said. "and I've seen my fare share of big. And I take it flying over will be a chore?"

"There's no islands between shores. There's bridges but they're reserved for trains and carriages. You can walk across but it'll take you 2 days to get across and even then, you'd have to worry about traffic."

"boat it is then." Spike said, looking up at Req. she just shrugged.

The group gathered at the edge of the docks as Aura, Halo, and Applejack walked up. "Okay, we got tickets. Cost us a arm and a leg." Halo grumbled.

"Which ship we on?" Dash asked as she grabbed hers.

"The… GKS Bright-Wing." Shadow said, looking at his.

"That ship." Aura said, pointing at it.

"huh. Looks just like Orion, but without the fans." Ash pointed out.

"un… I'm starting to get seconds thoughts about going on a boat, guys." A.J. groaned.

"oh, relax Applejack. It's just like riding in a carriage." Dash said. When A.J. wasn't looking, she looked to Shadow and snickered evilly.

2:38.

Original Song(V.A.)

Applejack leaned over the side, vomiting up a storm. "Guess A.J.'s seasick." Spike said to Jax.

Bright-Wings reared up as it sailed over a big wave. It crashed down into the water and kept on going.

2:50.

Pinkie Pie, Requiem, Sora, Twilight, and (Rarity):

" tell everybody I'm on my way. And I just can't wait to be there.(just can't wait to be there.) with blue skies ahead, yes I'm on my way. And nothing but good times to share… "

The 5 stood on the bow of the ship, singing the song loud and proud.

3:08.

Rainbow Dash, Derpy, and (original song):

" so tell everybody I'm on my way. And I just can't wait to be home.(just can't wait to be home.) "

The 2 sang on top of the crows-nest, Derpy surprising soundly like Janet Jackson.

Requiem, Pinkie, Twilight, Sora, and Rarity joining in:

" with the sun beating down, yes I'm on my way. And nothing but good times to show… I'm on my way. "

The other 5 joined in with those 2 and finished the song with a bang as the ship sailed over the water and towards the setting sun.

3:37. End Song.


	24. Arrival

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Of Ponies and Humans

Chapter 11

Arrival

46 Days after Zero Hour

After receiving the letter from Cadence; Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Halo, Zilver, Shadow, Derpy, Requiem, Aura, Ash, Jax, Bahamut, Spike, and Sora left for the Gryphon Kingdom to find the Reversal Spell for the human-turned Ponies. What they don't know is that this journey is going to be a lot tougher then it sounds.

The GKS Bright-Wings pulled into Port BedFeather, the Gryphon port on the other side of a 10 mile wide river.

A quesy Applejack walked away from the water, her face green in illness.

"Guess you're not much of a boat person, are ya?" Sora asked.

"no…" A.J. gagged as she felt bile rise up. "…I'm not. Never even knew I could get seasick till now."

"now you know." Zilver chuckled.

A.J. looked at him with the evil eye. "you think this is funny?"

"well…" A.J. tried to hit him in the shoulder but was stopped short by another vomit false alarm.

Jax cracked her back as the group walked towards the port town. She looked up at the sign above that read 'welcome to Port BedFeather. One heck of a place.' "how original." she muttered.

"Gryphon's aren't exactly known for there originality." Twilight said as then entered the town.

As soon as they entered the town, they could immediately feel every eye fall on them.

"Why are they all looking at us?" a nervous Sora asked.

"they never saw humans before. That answer your question or do you have another stupid one?" Dash asked.

"no, but I do have a observation. Look." Requiem said, pointing ahead of them. Ahead of them were unaffected ponies. They weren't human in any way, shape, or form. "Why aren't they affected?"

"remember what Cadence said in her letter? She and Armor are also unaffected. Guess it was just the country of Equestria that was affected." Twilight explained.

"Argh! This spell is starting to give me a headache." Jax exclaimed.

"tell me about it." Derpy groaned. "I'm starting to get one too."

"Same here." Rarity said, rubbing her forehead.

Requiem and Ash looked at each other with worried expressions. "Sure it's just a coincidence. After all, we were on a boat for a full day." Ash pointed out.

Bahamut just shrugged and took a few steps before he spotted a Gryphon heading towards them. "heads up. We got company."

Everyone took notice of the Gryphon. Jax secretly got a fireball ready as it approached. "are you Ms. Twilight Sparkle?" he asked.

Twilight was nervous about this. "Yeeeeah. What of it?"

"The name is Jason. Captain Jason. I've been assigned by King Zaltan to escort you to the capital city."

"oh. Oh, well, thank you." Twi said. Jax snapped her fingers, extinguishing the fireball she hid behind her back. "but… how did you know I was me?"

"A couple of friends of yours, a Ms. Vinyl Scratch and a Ms. Octavia Philharmonica, provided a description of your likeness."

"Vinyl and Octavia? What are they doing here?" Zilver wondered.

"I remember them saying they were taking a vacation. Guess it was to this place." Derpy explained.

"oh."

Jason gestured to the way he came. "if you'll follow me." he walked back the way he came. Everyone else soon followed.

A train pulled out of the port and headed towards the capital city, which lays 30 miles east.

The train was a private train, belonging to the king himself. It consisted of just the engine and a long luxury car.

"have ever told you guys how much I LOVE luxury cars?" Rarity swoon fully asked while laying on a futon.

"10 times in the past 5 minutes." Sora groaned, plugging her ears.

"you'll be meeting with the King tomorrow evening. You'll have the next 24 hours to relax, recharge, and take in the sights." Jason explained.

"Good. I was hoping to see my old stomping grounds." Dash sighed, sitting back on a bean-bag chair.

"Stomping Grounds?" Jason asked.

"born and raised in the cap. I wonder what everyone's doing now." Dash wondered.

"Guess you'll find out when you get there." Ash said, pouring himself some bourbon.

Requiem took a bite out of a corn-cob. "it'll take us around 3 hours to reach the Capital City." Jason explained. "then you'll be given a tour of the city then I'll show you to your quarters for your stay. I trust that'll be satisfactory?"

"sounds good." Req said with her mouth full. "so far, the only town we've seen was Ponyville."

"huh? Ah, you must be one of the humans that came to our world before the spell."

"bingo!"

"Ah. Pleasure to make the acquaintance of visitors from another planet. You've all gotten quite the reputation across out world."

"how so?" Aura asked, laying back on a rocker.

"the story of your crash-landing at the hands of that giant shadow-cloaked monster. One of you single handedly fighting off a entire hoard of Changelings. And Princess Luna being obsessed with the past, claiming to have heard of humans before."

"From what we heard, we mostly exist in fairy tales and legends." Jax said, playing pool with Whooves and A.J.

"well, some people accept those tales as truth. Lyra, for instance." Whooves explained. He aimed his pool cue with the white ball and it with the 10 ball and shot. The white ball hit the 10 ball and the 10 ball went in the corner pocket.

"Guess that explains that obsession with me." Ash muttered.

"what of you?" Rare asked Jason.

"put me in the Fairy Tale camp. Until you arrived, no humans existed on Equestria before or ever." Jason pulled out a pocket-watch, which read 5:00. "it's still gonna be a couple of hours before we arrive. I suggest you make yourselves comfortable." Jason left their room and entered the adjacent one.

The train continued down it's only course as a shadow passed over it; a very big shadow.

HIGH up in the sky, the giant monster that had stranded Requiem and her friends on Equestria followed. It stared down at the train. It let out a small guttural growl before flapping it's wings and flying up into the clouds.

Pinkie stuck her head out a window. "we're here, we're here!" she squeaked in her usual matter. Everyone leaned out of the windows to see the capital city.

"Wow!" the human-turned ponies, Requiem, and Sora gasped in exclaim.

The Capital City lay before them. A walled community, the city consisted of towers that stretched into the sky. The tallest of them all sat in the exact center, serving as the palace for the King of the Gryphon's.

If looked at from above, it looks like a Medallion.

"WOW!"

Jason looked at them all and smiled. "impressed, are ya?"

"Very!" they all exclaimed in excitement.

"this place is even more impressive then Canterlot. And that's something I never thought I'd say." Twilight exclaimed.

The train rolled into the station, squealing and hissing to a halt. The door on the car opened and everyone departed from it.

"Man, I can't wait to see my old friends." Dash exclaimed with excitement. She rubbed her hands together and flexed her wings.

"HOLD IT!" Dash screeched to a halt in mid-air when Jason yelled out like that. "I'm sorry, but you can't go out. There's a curfew in place."

"A curfew? At 8 at night?" Dash angrily exclaimed.

"This is probably what Cadence mentioned in her letter." Twi mentioned as she pulled it out. "yeah, something about a slave trade."

"she is… partially correct." Jason said. "they do kidnap Ponies, Gryphon's, Dragon's, and even Changelings, but… I wouldn't exactly call it a slave trade."

"then what would you call it?" Rarity asked.

"Eh… ooo, how do I explain it?" Jason thought for a moment. "eh… *makes bed-squeaking sound*"

"EW!" everyone exclaimed at once. Guess they didn't need to think about it.

"I can see why you want it abolished." a disgusted Applejack said.

Jason turned around and gestured to the door. "I'll explain the rest in the limo."

"All right. Limo." a intrigued Aura said.

The limo, which is just a extended carriage pulled by 8 Gryphon's and Ponies, pulled away from the train station and cut though the middle of the city.

"first a posh train car now a comfy limo?" Rarity excitedly squealed. "I'm falling in love with this king." she passionately sighed.

Spike got nervous. "y-you are?" he mutter.

"So what else can tell us about this… *cough* sex trade?" Ash asked.

"it mostly always happens at night. Doesn't matter where, they always get you. And they don't care about status. If they want you, they'll take you. Hence the curfew. Helped lower the crime rate on more then one aspect."

"And considering the alternative, I think nobodies gonna argue." Req said.

"right. We found and shut down a few of their nests but they're so wide-spread throughout the entire kingdom, it's been difficult."

"So how do Shining Armor and Princess Cadence fit into this?" Whooves asked.

"well, they were honeymooning in the islands to the south when the princess met with them and filled them in on the situation. They agreed to help. They've been extremely helpful. Their magic has found more of their hideouts in 5 days then during weeks of investigations."

"what do you expect from my big brother and sister-in-law?" Twilight snickered, leaning back.

Sora pulled open the shades to look out at the streets. The lamps were on, showing that the streets were deserted. "Dang. such a desolate place."

"only at night until the trade is taken care of. You should see this place shine during the day. It's more impressive then Canterlot, I assure you."

"it's certainly bigger then it. We'll give it that." Derpy said, looking out.

"if you do have to leave past the curfew, make sure it's in a large group; 3 at least. Or under the escort of a royal guard."

"Got it." Bahamut said, pretending to write it down.

"I'm not joking. These are some dangerous people."

"and what do we look like, chopped liver?" Jax asked, spinning a Chakram around on her finger. She stopped spinning it. "we off-worlders aren't exactly weaklings."

"So we've heard." Jason muttered.

The Limo went out of a gate and headed away from the city.

"Where're we going?" Ash asked.

"to Shining Armor's and Princess Cadence's residence while they're here. They offered it to you all while you're all here."

"Really?" Halo said. "how nice of them."

The limo turned onto a dirt road following a cliff overlooking…

"THE OCEAN!" Req exclaimed.

"not really. That's Lake Quill-feather. Quite a nice place and quite the tourist attraction." Jason explained.

A grinning Req turned to Sora and Jax, who were equally as excited.

The carriage approached a stunning looking and charming beach house that's located between the ground and the beach itself.

(example pic:  /Marley%20Negra%201000%20pxs/Beach%  )

"HELLOOOOOO, Tropics!" Req and Pinkie happily exclaimed.

The group entered the house and were immediately impressed.

"We call the deck!" Req, Jax, and Sora all exclaimed, carrying their bags out towards it.

Twilight looked around and, except for them, the place was pretty empty. "where's Cadence and Armor?" she asked Jason.

"meeting with the king, which you will be doing tomorrow at 6 P.M. till then, you can relax, tour the town, and see the sights."

"I can live with that." Shadow said from a distance.

Jason bowed to them. "till tomorrow, Ms. Sparkle." he turned and left, leaving everyone to the house. Pinkie walked up and watched him leave with Twi.

"He's certainly a lot nicer then Gilda." she said.

"that's certainly true." Twi muttered.

Everyone reached into their bags and started pulling out sleeping bags and rolling them out. Twi, instead, reached into hers and pulled out a quill, ink, and paper.

"What'cha doing, Twi?" Halo asked.

"writing home to the gang in Ponyville and Celestia. Letting them know we arrived safely and will be meeting with the King soon." she explained.

"Well, can't it wait till morning?"

Twi paused and thought for a moment. "guess you're right." she yawned. "I am feeling a little tired." she rolled up the paper and put it and the rest of the supplies away.

She started for the deck when Halo stopped her. "Oh, and when you do write it, can you ask about Trixie?" Halo asked.

"still worried about her?" Twi asked. Halo nodded. "I don't blame ya. I'm worried as well. We didn't exactly leave on the best of terms with her."

"no argument here." Zil said as he jumped onto the couch. "I just hope she didn't do anything stupid, like make this permanent." he said, looking at the human hands.

"no, we have to worry about Lyra doing that. Thankfully, best she can do is a light spell." Twi explained, rubbing her eyes. She left for the deck again, yawning.

Before long, everyone fell asleep, tired from the trek they took to get here. Twi, Req, Sora, Jax, Derpy, and Spike slept out on the deck while everyone else slept inside.

A shadow cast over them as something flew in front of the full moon.

Whatever it was, it flew far out, way out of earshot, before diving into the water.


	25. Reunion

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Of Ponies and Humans

Chapter 12

Reunion

47 Days after Zero Hour

After receiving the letter from Cadence; Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Halo, Zilver, Shadow, Derpy, Requiem, Aura, Ash, Jax, Bahamut, Spike, and Sora left for the Gryphon Kingdom to find the Reversal Spell for the human-turned Ponies. What they don't know is that this journey is going to be a lot tougher then it sounds.  
They arrived in the kingdom with no trouble but are informed of a curfew in place due to the impending threat of a slave trade going on. They are to meet with the king tonight and find out where the reversal spell to this predicament is.

The sun rose on the new day, illuminating the beach house and everyone sleeping within. Most woke up when the sun's rays hit them but some kept on sawing logs, specifically Jax and Zilver.  
"Who knew Zil snored?" A.J. yawned, rubbing her eyes.  
"I knew." Halo groaned, eyes blood red. He grabbed a pillow and tossed it at Zil. It hit him right in the head.  
He snorted as he woke up. "all hands abandon ship." he snorted. He fell back down and fell asleep again.  
"oy gevalt." Halo groaned.  
"Don't worry. I know how to wake them up." Aura said. "Req." Req nodded and pulled out a small portable stereo out of her bag. He placed it between Zil and Jax and turned it up to full volume. "you might wanna cover your ears." he told everyone else. Everyone but Req, Sora, Ash, and Bahamut did. They heard this so many times, they got used to it. Jax, on the other hand…  
Aura softly pressed the play button.  
Heavy Metal music blared out. Jax and Zil shot up from their beds and into the ceiling. They fell back down, along with a lot of dust and fragments.  
Up in the master bedroom, a couple of figures stirred under the covers.  
"AURA!" Jax yelled with a bad case of bed head. Rarity and Dash tried to hold back laughing. Aura just playfully shrugged. Jax got angry and her face got red. She started to whistle like a tea kettle. Aura playfully waved and bolted for the deck. Jax blazed after him, leaving a trail of fire.  
"this happen every time?" Whooves asked.  
"more then you can count." Bahamut said, watching them jump over the railing and onto the beach.  
"FIREBALL!" Jax yelled. A fireball came from the air and hit the ground behind the fleeing Aura. "Fireball! fireballfireballfireball!" Jax rapidly repeated.  
Needless to say, everyone started to get nervous. "We better go break it up before she kills him." Bahamut said. He unfurled his wings and flew on out. Everyone soon followed.

The commotion outside woke up the newlywed couple in the master bedroom.  
"I think they're here." Shining Armor groaned, head still on the pillow.  
"don't they know it's too early for a party?" Cadence groaned as she got up and rubbed her eyes.  
"blame Pinkie. She's the party nut."  
"FIREBALL!" Jax yelled. The following explosion sent everything in the room up a few feet. Aura exclaimed in pain a few seconds later.  
"and those must be the humans Twi wrote about." Armor groaned.  
"well, gotta give 'em credit for being energetic this early in the morning." Cadence joked with a smile.

Aura laid in the sand, brunt to a crisp and twitching his leg. A enraged Jax stood over him, steam coming off of her and snarling.  
Everyone stood a safe distance from the crazy chick. "everyone back it. I think it's her time of the month." Sora whispered as she slowly backed away. Pinkie, Bahamut, and Zilver followed suit.  
Someone landed behind them but no one took notice. "well, guess humans are as destructive as the stories say." a familiar gruff voice said.  
Dash went wide-eyed. "that voice…" she and the rest of the Mane6 quickly turned around to see a very familiar griffin behind them. "Gilda?"  
the humans and the OC's turned around to see the meany-head. "who's the senorita?" Shadow asked Pinkie.  
"a real big meany-head. Made Fluttershy cry." Pinkie explained.  
"and that's a unspoken rule among us; you never make her cry." Rarity whispered. Halo and Bahamut looked at each other and just shrugged.  
Gilda turned her attention to Dash, not recognizing her. "Do I know you?"  
"uh, duh. It's me. Rainbow Dash."  
Gilda flew on over and looked her over, weirding Dash out. "well what do ya know? It is Rainbow Dash. Guess the story that Princess Cadence was telling is true."  
"what do you want, Gilda?" Dash sighed.  
"Well, I heard you and your friends were coming to town. Just didn't except a whole lot of ya." Gilda said, staring at Requiem and her crew.  
"We're non-natives, genius."  
"un-huh. Well, whatever. Just came by to see if that story was true. Guess it is." Gilda unfurled her wings. She took a quick look back. "Catch you on the flipside, Dash." she said. She flapped once and took off into the air.  
"Anybody else's lesbian detector go off?" Jax joked.  
"no, but my bitch-dar did." Requiem angrily added.  
Jax rolled her eyes. "come on. Let's move this before it starts to stink." she said as she walked over to Aura's burnt body.  
"hehe. No such dice from me." Dash chuckled as she unfurled her wings. "I got some catching up to do with the ol' gang." she gave a slight 2-finger salute. "later." Dash took to the air and headed for the city.  
"could've said no instead of making up some lame excuse." Jax muttered. She grabbed Aura's arms and dragged him back to the house.

Dash barrel-rolled out of a cloud and over the city gates.  
"hehe. Perfect way to infiltrate." she snickered.  
In contrast to yesterdays midnight tour of the city with the streets completely empty, there were filled to the brim with Ponies and Gryphon's today, going about their business as if they never heard of the slave trade.  
"wonder if they still hang out in the old hideaway." Dash muttered as she flew on.

"Torrent." Jax passingly cast. A ball of water appeared Aura and burst, splashing down on him and washing away Jax's earlier fireball burns. Aura coughed as he spit up water.  
"oh, Jax." Twi exclaimed as the water spread all over the floor. "we're gonna have to clean this up."  
A tired Cadence and Armor came down from above, though no one noticed… until Armor slipped and fell down the stairs, get their attention. "Ow! Ow! Ow! Head! Elbow! Shoulder!" Armor landed face-first in the water.  
Twilight winced at the crash landing. "sorry, BBBFF."  
Req raised a eyebrow in confusion. "BBBFF?" she asked A.J.  
"big brother best friend forever."  
"ah."  
Armor pulled his head up and spit out water like a fountain. "great. Here for 10 minutes and already you turn the place into a water park."  
"that would be her fault." Twi said, pointing to Jax. "like I said. Sorry."  
"Hey there, Twili. there's something different abut you. You change your hair?" Twi groaned as she rolled her eyes at the bad joke.  
"who are they?" Cadence asked, most of her body wrapped in a robe.  
"These would be the humans that arrived on Equestria a month ago." Whooves explained. "I take it you already heard the stories?"  
Armor stood up and shook himself dry. "that we have. They already left quite a reputation with that giant monster and the Changelings."  
"well… it's not like we planned it." Bahamut muttered. "just sorta happened."  
A very loud and a very long growl came from Halo's stomach. He embarrassingly blushed as he nervously chuckled. "Think we can talk about this over breakfast?"

Dash looked all over town, hoping to find her old hideout. Considering it still existed. "come on. Where is it?" she whined. She bit her arm in worry. After a couple of hours of searching, she finally found it; a belltower that's the biggest one in it's block. "Yes!" she happily exclaimed as she flew down to it.  
Dash opened up a small niche in the tower's clock face. She slipped in, softly closed it, and jumped on down. She looked around her out hideout and smiled. It was exactly the way she remembered it, right down to the last detail.  
She took in a deep breath and smiled. "oh, how I missed this place. The musty fumes, the light filtering in…" she tripped over something and fell over. She looked back to see a can on the ground. "Zatch's littering."  
She got up and dusted herself off just be jumped on from above and pinned on the ground. She quickly rolled over to have a clawed foot come down on her neck, pinning her.  
"Who in the 7 hells are you?" the Gryphon asked. "some kind of deformed thief?"  
Dash recognized him instantly. "Zatch? Zatch, it's me. Rainbow Dash."  
Zatch snorted in laughter as a couple of other flyers; a fellow Pegasus and some bat-pony thing, landed behind him. "Yeah right." the female bat-pony said. "if you are Dash, what's the secret password?"  
"really?" a disbelieving Dash asked. "After all these years, you're still doing the password thing?" Zatch tightened his grip, causing Dash to choke. "All right. All right. Just let me go."  
Zatch loosened his grip and helped 'Dash' up. The other 2 fliers looked at each other and chuckled. No way this intruder could know the password.  
Dash tried to remember what the password. "un… oh, man. What was it?" she muttered. "em…. OH!" she cleared her throat. "no matter which way the wind will blow, no matter how far the distance, we Daring-Flyers will always stick together though thick and thin."  
The 3 looked at each other for a moment, which gave Dash time to worry. "Uh-oh. Did I recite it wrong?" she thought.  
She didn't have to worry long as the overly-excited Pegasus suddenly hugged her. "Oh, DASH! It is you! It's been too long!" he happily exclaimed.  
"un… nice to see you too, Lightning. Now, you mind letting me go?" CRACK! "I think you're breaking my ribs."  
"Oh. Sorry." Lightning quickly put her down.  
"long time no see, Dash." the bat-pony said.  
"nice to see you too, Gothic. Gosh, it must've been… what, 16 years since we last saw each other."  
"yeah. The group just hasn't been the same since you moved to Equestria." Lightning said.  
"yeah. I don't remember Gilda being such a grump." Dash muttered. everyone nodded in agreement.  
"So, Dash, what's with the new look?" Lightning asked as he perched himself on a makeshift couch. "you trying out a new species look?"  
"oh. This. Well… it's a long story. And pretty complicated. Think my friends can explain it better." she said as she unfurled her wings.  
"Friends?' Zatch asked.  
"yeah. I think they'll be interested meeting you." Dash took one flap and instantly took to the air. "follow me." she said as she flew up though the entrance. The 3 followed suit, mostly curious to see what friends she was talking about.

As they were guests on their planet, Requiem and her friends were making breakfast while Twilight and her friends had just finished explaining the situation to Cadence and Armor. The water had been cleared out by Cadence's magic. Twi could've done it but her magic has been fritzy every since she changed into a human.  
"hmm… that's quite a story." Armor muttered.  
"but it's all true." Rarity said. "because of Trixie, every pony that was in the country has turned into humans."  
"but why just Equestria?" Cadence asked. "by the sounds of it, it should've covered the entire world."  
"Simple…" Ash said. He flipped a pancake their way. It landed flawlessly on Cadence's plate. "Trixie isn't all that powerful with her magic. Best she can do is bright flashes and fireworks."  
"well, I wouldn't say that." Halo interjected. "I mean…"  
"Ash is right." a peeved Pinkie interrupted. "this was all Trixie's fault. She's the reason every pony is like him."  
"can't believe I'm saying this but I agree with Pinkie." Applejack added, much to Halo's and Zilver's dismay. "If she hadn't come back to Ponyville, none of this would've happened."  
"now, calm down girls." Twi pleaded.  
"Why? This was also your fault. The Punta fell in love with YOU, which is what brought this on!" a very peeved Shadow exclaimed.  
A defeated Twilight looked away from them. The humans looked at each other with worry, same with Cadence and Armor.  
"placing blame isn't going to change what happened." Armor said. "all that matters now is finding that Reversal Spell and changing you back, right?"  
"I guess." A.J., Pinkie, and Shadow distantly said.  
Twilight wasn't as great about it. She got up and walked outside to the deck.  
"think we may have upset her." Shadow whispered to Pink and A.J.  
"you think!?" a stern Halo asked. He got up and walked after her. Cadence watched as Halo left.

"…and there's Spike. Nice guy. Pretty cute for a Dragon, and then Derpy. One word: Klutz." Dash told her old friends about her new friends as they flew on back to the beach house.  
Her old friends were surprised by how many she has. "wow, Dash. That's some imagination." Zatch chuckled. "come on. Friends with royalty?"  
"that is completely true." Dash exclaimed. "why would I make this up?"  
"oh, I don't know. Maybe because you're good at making stuff up. Remember when you said you could perform a Sonic Rainboom?" Gothic chuckled.  
"Which I did! 3 Times!"  
"Hahaha. That's what we love about you, Dash. You always know how to make us laugh." Lightning laughed.  
"okay. Fine. Don't believe me? Maybe you'll believe my friends." Dash flipped over. "last one there is a rotten dragon egg." she quickly exclaimed as she flew faster, getting ahead of them. The other 3 flew after her.

Twilight leaned forward on the edge of the deck, looking down at the ground and appalled by what her friends said earlier. It wasn't completely Trixie's fault.  
"Penny for your thoughts?" Halo asked as he walked up from behind.  
"my friends hate Trixie. They were the first to forgive her when I was… well, you know." Halo partially shrugged in agreement. "now… they hate her for turning us into humans."  
"and you?"  
"I don't know. Part of me does hate her for doing this but… part of me also feels guilty for making her do this. It was her feelings for ME that made her do it. She just wanted to be with me. I can't help but feel guilty." Twilight deeply sighed as she lowered her head.  
"well… I hate her too." Halo suddenly said, surprising Twi. "of course, since she's my sister, I can't hate her that much. I'm still gonna bean her when we get home." Twi lightly chuckled with a smile. Halo chuckled as he scratched the back of his head.  
"quick question." Twi asked. "did you ever find out who Trixie's real parents were? Like did you run into them or investigate or something?"  
"no. but it's not like I tried. It seems her parents wanted nothing to do with her so… they just abandoned her." Twi couldn't help but feel sad. "she's had a rough life. 2 sets of parents hating her. Her lifelong dream of entertaining ponies was destroyed. And the love of her life doesn't love her back."  
"I do love her, but how I love my brother. How I love Cadence. How I love my friends. Just not how…"  
"how you feel about me?" Twi was surprised that he knew. She looked away to the floor. "Zilver told me that you told Trixie at that dinner that you love me."  
"h-h-h-h-h-he did?" she nervously asked. She quickly looked away in embarrassment. "Zilver, you dolt!" she silently exclaimed.  
"Twi? You okay?"  
She turned around with a big fake smile. "Yeah. I'm fine. I'm just gonna kill Zilver in his sleep. But not before I bean you."  
Halo exclaimed as he fell. "w-what? Why?"  
"Cause I overheard you and Zilver talking that night. How you were hoping you wouldn't have a relationship with anyone."  
"oh." Halo chuckled nervously. "you heard that, huh?"  
"every syllable." Twi walked over to help him up but slipped and fell. "Ow!"  
Halo quickly jumped up. "you okay?"  
"no, I'm not okay. I fell on my butt. Gotta admit, it's one heck of a shock-absorber."  
Halo rolled his eyes and chuckled. He reached down to help her up. She accepted the help and was pulled up. He must've pulled to hard as he pulled her right into him.  
"Sorry." he said.  
"no no. it's…" both stared into each others eyes, completely losing themselves in each others company. "it's perfectly… all right…" Twi whispered.  
Both started to lean closer to each other. Closer, and closer and closer, and just as their lips were about to touch…  
"oh my. Hope I'm not interrupting anything." Cadence said, standing at the door with a embarrassing smile on her face.  
Halo and Twi saw what they were doing and backed away from each other. "no, Cadence. Your… timing was impeccable." Twi painfully said as she and Halo put some distance between each other.  
"no no no. I didn't stop anything. No no. you 2 go back to doing whatever you were gonna do." Cadence insisted.  
"…. so, when are we gonna meet with the king?" Halo asked, drawing the subject away from what almost happened.  
Cadence face-hoofed. "me and my big mouth. Gotta learn to keep it shut." she muttered to herself. "well… we're gonna meet with him tonight, about 2 hours till the curfew kicks in again."  
"yeah. I was surprised to hear that a Griffin Princess wanted to see us. We don't even know a Gryphon Princess." Twi mentioned.  
Cadence just shrugged. "That's just what she said. She was insistent that you all come. Guess she just wanted to see what humans looked like."  
"maybe." Halo muttered.  
"oh. That's right. In the letter, you also said you had a surprise to show us. What surprise?" Twi asked. Cadence blushed a bit and chuckled.

Dash and her friends landed in front of the door. "now, don't be surprised if they ask who you are, okay? I barely talked about my past."  
"oh, don't worry. We'll be adamantly surprised." Gothic disbelievingly said. Dash rolled her eyes and touched the doorknob when…  
"YOU'RE PREGNANT!?" Twilight yelled in surprise.

A overly-excited Twilight could barely contain her joy when she heard that she's gonna be a aunt, Cadence's baby bump providing proof.  
"Who's pregnant?" Everyone from inside asked. Dash and her friends poked their heads from behind the corner to see them.  
"YAHOO!" Twi cheered. "I'm gonna be a auntie! I'm gonna be a auntie! I'm gonna be a auntie! I'm gonna…." she cheerfully chanted as she bounced around a la Pinkie Pie.  
"Aw. Congrats, Cadence." Dash said as she flew on over.  
"thanks, Rainbow Dash."  
"holy crap. Dash does know Royalty." Zatch, Lightning, and Gothic said in surprise.  
"well, congrats Armor." A.J. said. "how long till the foal is due?"  
"about 4 months."  
"… be a auntie! I'm gonna be a …" *Record needle scratch* Twi stopped in mid-bounce. "wait. 4 months till?" she slowly turned around, keeping her pose. "that means she's 7 months pregnant? And the wedding was 4 months ago?"  
TICK TOCK, TICK TOCK, TICK TOCK… DING!  
"oh ho ho. Armor, you dog." Aura chuckled.  
"just couldn't keep the urges to yourself, could ya?" Zilver added. Armor embarrassingly blushed as he scratched his cheek. Cadence blushed as well.  
"does it matter?" Pinkie excitedly exclaimed. "That means it's time for a party! Oh, this is gonna be so exciting. I never threw a baby shower before!"  
Ash held her hand over Pinkie, stopping her from bouncing before she could begin. "We don't have time for that, remember?" he said, holding up her human hand.  
"oh right. Well, we can still do it after!" She happily exclaimed.  
Dash chuckled before being pulled away from her friends. "okay. We believe you. You're friends with royalty." Zatch quickly said.  
"told ya. Come on. You should meet everyone." Dash said, gesturing to the door.  
"Why? We're peasants. No way they would want to see us." Gothic said.  
Dash scoffed at it. "Trust me. If they can let Pinkie near them…" Dash flew behind them and started pushing them in. "…they can tolerate you."

Begin Song: watch?v=qdrTqz8pSyQ Strange Whispers - Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep version

A lone cloaked figure, clearly a human, hovered above the ground, watching the events unfold from a distance.  
"they are so blind to this worlds true fate." he sinisterly said. He looked out the lake with a sinister smile. "and his feelings for her will make this difficult."  
He snapped his fingers, making a plume of black fire appear in his hands. "I need him to be clear of any ties to this pathetic world."  
He silently chuckled before disappeared in a flash of dark fire.

End song.


	26. if the feeling is strong enough

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Of Ponies and Humans

Chapter 13

If the feeling is strong enough

47 Days after Zero Hour

After receiving the letter from Cadence; Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Halo, Zilver, Shadow, Derpy, Requiem, Aura, Ash, Jax, Bahamut, Spike, and Sora left for the Gryphon Kingdom to find the Reversal Spell for the human-turned Ponies. What they don't know is that this journey is going to be a lot tougher then it sounds.  
They arrived in the kingdom with no trouble but are informed of a curfew in place due to the impending threat of a slave trade going on. They are to meet with the king tonight and find out where the reversal spell to this predicament is.  
There, Dash had a very brief reunion with Gilda and met back up with her friends from her foalhood. Also, Twilight finds out she's gonna be a aunt when Cadence reveals she's pregnant… and was for 3 months prior to the Changeling's botched invasion. Guess even Ponies can't resist the call of the wild when it hits, huh?

"I'm bored!" Derpy groaned as she laid on the deck's beam.  
"agreed!" everyone in the group replied.  
The groups meeting with the king, where they're to be told where the location of the reversal spell is, wasn't for another 10 hours. So, naturally, they were trying to find ways to pass the time. Twilight and Spike were writing a letter to send back home and Cadence & Armor were off on business. Everyone else, however…  
"my god. I forgot that beach houses are snore fests." Aura groaned, his head bumping into the wood over and over.  
"that is a given fact, no matter what world." Jax groaned, a pair of sleeper goggles over her eyes.  
"I thought your friends were party people, Dash." a lazy and peeved Zatch said.  
"everyone has off days.  
Req sputtered as she swung her arm off the edge. Nothing but the sounds of the waves filled their ears. "wait. Sand… Water…" she muttered. "That's IT!" she happily exclaimed. Everyone lazily raised their heads.  
"what's it?" a lazy Bahamut asked.  
"We throw a beach party!" everyone looked at each other with weird looks. "oh, come on. It's a perfect day for it; no clouds in the sky, a nice summer breeze, big beach. Plus, we got time to burn."  
Nobody said anything. Finally, Halo was able to say something. "you know what? I'm game. I'm bored out of my skull. We should have some fun."  
"YAY!" Pinkie excitedly exclaimed. "PARTY!"  
A whole lot of commotion came from outside, getting Spike's and Twilight's attention. "what do you think's going on?" Spike asked.  
"I don't know." Twi said as she put the finishing touches on both letters. "there. One letter for our friends back home and another for the Princesses, updating them on our status." Twilight put the quill down and rolled both up. "Ready Spike?"  
"I hope so. I'm not sure if I can do my fire breath ever since I became a human."  
"well, you received that letter from the princess's back when this began. So, in hindsight, you should be able to send them."  
"well… I can try." Spike said. "still not sure if this will work or not." he grabbed one of the letters and took a deep breath.

"Thank you and have a nice day." Fluttershy said as she paid for some carrots. She walked off as she looked over her checklist. "let's see here… 'buy carrots for Angel?' check. 'see to Barry Punch to see if she didn't burn down the library?' check. 'make sure I never let Edge near my checklist?' check."  
A burst of green fire suddenly appeared in front of her, freaking 'Shy out a bit. But, then she realized that Spike sends messages though green fire.  
She embarrassingly took the letter and opened it. "oh my." she gasped, reading the letter over. "I'm sure everyone will be interested with this." she rolled it up and headed off.

"BIKINI SEASON!" Requiem, Sora, and Jax happily exclaimed, all 3 dressed in slim bikini's.(you're welcome.)  
They ran on down to the beach while everyone else dragged along behind them, each dressed for the part.  
"every time there's a beach, those 3 go ballistic." Aura said with his eyes half closed.  
"but you have to admit. The view is nice." Ash added. He looked at the girls as Aura leaned in. they both watched all 3 run on down. Aura's mouth dropped. Ash pushed it back into it's socket.  
The ponies, each in bikini's and shorts of their own, looked at each other with a weird look. "I will never understand humans fascination with… THESE as long as I live." Rarity muttered, pointing to what's hanging off of her chest.  
"me neither." everyone else answered.

"…and to top it off, I just found out I'm gonna be a aunt. Cadence is Pregnant!" Fluttershy read to those who didn't go at a local establishment, reaching the end of the letter.  
"aw. Well, congrats for her." Carrot Top said, biting into a baked potato.  
"we're gonna be meeting with the King in a few hours. Then, we'll find out where to find the Reversal Spell and turns us back into Ponies. Hope to be back soon." 'Shy looked on the flip side. "Guess that's it. I hope they're all right."  
"they will be." Satoshi said. "my friends defeated God's and Goddess's. trust me. They'll all be fine."  
Sparkler couldn't help but spit up what she was drinking. "They beat what?"  
"God's and Goddess's. evil ones, but still." Satoshi went one and bit into one of his sandwiches. The ponies looked at each other with disbelief, not buying that they beat beings of a higher plain.  
Dinky grunted as she held her head in pain. "Dinky? You okay?" Sparkler asked.  
"yeah. Just got another headache." she grunted in reply.  
"now that you've mentioned it, I've been getting them too." Fluttershy said.  
"Same here." Ms. Cheerilee agreed. Everyone eventually said the same thing.  
"hmm… guess this is a side-effect of the transformation." Satoshi guessed. "frequent headaches. That's gotta be a painful way to live."  
"you have no idea." everyone replied.  
Satoshi rolled his eyes and placed his head in his hand. That's when he noticed a certain unicorn wasn't there. "wait. Guys, where's Trixie?"  
Everyone looked around the restaurant but she wasn't there. She took off.  
"uh-oh. This isn't good." Berry said.  
"uh… you think?" Lyra jokingly replied.  
"okay. I'll check the apartment. You all look around Ponyville. She can't have gotten far." Satoshi said as he ran out. Everyone followed suit. Being the last one out, Berry paid for their food and drinks.

Satoshi arrived at the apartment to find Trixie packing a bag. "oh no. no no no." he said over and over.  
"Don't try to stop me, Satoshi. I have to do this." Trixie sternly said as she continued packing.  
Satoshi huffed. He walked over and began unpacking. "No. you don't."  
"Yes…" Trixie packed the same things he took out. "… I do."  
"no…" he took the same things out. "you don't."  
"Yes…" she huffed, packing them again. "I do."  
"oh, for… this isn't love, This is a obsession. Get it in your head, Trixie. Twilight doesn't love you the way you love her!"  
"I KNOW THAT!" Trixie yelled, catching Satoshi completely off guard. "I know that. But… but I have to go."  
"Why?"  
"… so I can apologize." she somberly said.  
Satoshi was surprised by that. "Apologize?"  
"for what I did; for turning me and every other pony into, well, you…" Satoshi shrugged in agreement at that. "…and for giving her a hard time, both 2 years ago and my flirting during this… crisis. She loves my brother. I know that. It just sucks that it took me this long to let it sink in."  
Satoshi folded his arms across his chest. "well… love can make you do some crazy things. I remember Ash and Sora when they were starting out. Hehe. They tried to keep it a secret but everyone eventually figured it out. Well… everyone except Jax."  
Trixie closed the bag and sighed. "so… now you know why I have to go." Trixie walked over to the door. She opened it only to have everyone fall in. "where you all listening?" she angrily asked.  
"You really want us to answer that?" Scootaloo asked.  
"So… you're really going?" Big Mac asked.  
"I have to. If I don't, this will just… eat away at me." Trixie stepped over them all and walked to the end of the hall.  
"wait. Hold it!" Marble exclaimed. He got up and went after her. "you honestly can't be thinking about going alone, are you?"  
"yes." Trixie sternly replied.  
"oh." Marble stopped and looked back. "I tried my best." he shrugged.  
Everyone groaned in anger. Fluttershy walked up to Trixie. "but… you heard in Twilight's letter that there's a horrible slave trade happening in the Gryphon Kingdom."  
"don't care."  
Fluttershy stopped and let Trixie continue walking. "but you can't go alone."  
"I swear, she's as stubborn as a mule." Cheerilee said to herself.  
Fluttershy and Marble looked at each other and nodded. "then we're coming with you." they both said.  
Trixie was stunned by that response to where she stopped walked. Everyone else was also surprised, mostly to hear Fluttershy said that she was going. "You're what!?" they all asked.  
"you heard me. I said I'm going." Marble said. He walked past Trixie.  
Satoshi couldn't help but grin. "is it because of a certain bouncing hyper party pony?" he jokingly asked. Marble didn't dignify that with a response. "and why you Fluttershy?"  
Fluttershy got confused herself and thought for a moment. "you know. I'm not sure why. I think some of Edge's personality is rubbing off on me." she looked back to the group. "speaking of Edge, can you 4 keep an eye on him?" she asked the CMC + Dinky.  
"no prob!" they all replied.  
"fine. Whatever." Trixie said with a hint of anxiety in her voice. Though she wasn't going to say it out loud, she's glad for the company. "we got a long walk ahead of us so we sh-"  
"A long walk? Aren't you gonna take the train?" Big Mac asked.  
"the Train isn't working, right?"  
"they fixed it yesterday." Satoshi said. "if you hurry, you can make it before it departs."  
"then I guess we have no time to lose." Marble said as he ran out. Trixie and Fluttershy followed.  
"Why'd you let her go? Carrot Top asked. "she's not exactly stable right now."  
"I think we both know there was no way I was gonna win a argument with her." Satoshi said. "besides… she's feeling guilty for all this and wants to help make up for it."  
"I was talking about Fluttershy."  
"oh. Eh… same thing, minus the 'feeling guilty' part."

Trixie, Fluttershy, and Marble ran to the station as fast as they could. The whistle blowed, signaling it was about to leave.  
"Come on, legs. Don't fail me now." Marble grunted as he picked up speed.  
They all ran up the stairs and bolted for the train just as it was pulling away from the station. Marble jumped into the last car, which was a freight car. Fluttershy jumped. He caught her arm and pulled her in.  
The train pulled away from the station just as Trixie jumped for it. Marble caught her arm and pulled her in.  
They all fell to the floor and started panting. "that… was cutting it too close." Marble panted.  
Trixie panted as she caught her second wind. "ditto that. Hoo… how about you, Flutter…" Fluttershy was out cold, too tired from the running. "nice thinking. I sure could use a re..." Trixie didn't finish it as she fell backward and went out on impact. Marble did the same thing.

"YEE-HAW!"  
A.J., despite having not done this before, was a-surfing on the waves, along with Req, Pinkie, and Derpy.  
"This is awesome! Why didn't we do this before!?" Pinkie happily exclaimed.  
"who cares? We're doing it now!" Derpy exclaimed.  
Back on land, a sleeping Spike was the unfortunate victim of getting a mermaid body being made over his body. Jax walked away with a bucket and a pail and a deviously smug smile.  
"ready? Then take this!" Rarity exclaimed. She jumped up and slapped a volleyball to the other side of the net.  
"Coming to you, Ash." Sora pelt it back to the other side. She hit it far. Ash ran after it and kicked it back.  
"I take back what I said before, Dash. Your friends know how to party." Zatch said as he, Dash, and the other 2 fliers flew on down to the beach, each carrying a tray of drinks.  
Dash scoffed. "Told ya. It was just being a off day."  
"if you say so." Lightning said.  
They touched down on the beach and immediately got everyone's attention. "DRINKS!" Aura called out to the surfers. They directed their boards and headed on in.

(i know this pic isn't depicting what i wrote but i couldn't resist putting it in. you can thank me later:  
[img] albums/zz224/monsterlord-18/378298_332811893472720_1819438171_ [/img]

The train went along it's route to the river that separates Equestria from the Gryphon Kingdom.  
"so… I have to ask. Why did you want to come with me?" Trixie asked Marble and Fluttershy.  
"well, I'm not sure for me, but… I just felt like I have to come. I had a bad feeling about this whole trip from the day Twilight and them left, and it's still there."  
"So… you wanted to go and see if your feeling is justified or completely bogus?" Marble summed up.  
"if you want to put it like that, yes. And what of you, Marble?"  
"I just wanted to get away from the town. It's been getting stuffy since they left."  
"would 'they' happen to involve Pinkie Pie, by any chance?" Marble didn't dignify that with a response. Fluttershy and Trixie looked at each other and giggled.

Ash plucked a few cords on his guitar just as the sun had begun to set. Zatch, Lightning, and Gothic headed home not long before sunset. Ash then began to play a tune to the lazy people.  
"here we go." Sora muttered. "he always knows how to play a tune." she told Rarity with a smile.

Trixie depressingly looked out at the setting sun, sitting at the edge of the door. A worried Fluttershy and Marble looked at each other. "un, Trixie… you okay?" 'Shy gently asked.  
"no… no I'm not." Trixie sighed. "all my life, nothing has ever gone my way. I had 2 different sets of parents who wanted nothing to do with me, I never had any friends other then my brothers, and the love of my life…" Trixie held her heart. Fluttershy got even more worried. "In my dreams since that day 2 years ago, I had the perfect future for me and her; marriage, kids, old age together. But… thanks to her love with my brother… that will forever remain a dream- no… it'll remain a nightmare of broken dreams."  
Marble mouthed 'wow' while Fluttershy wiped away a tear. "listen, Trixie…" Fluttershy started. "just because you can't have Twilight as the way you want her, you will probably gain her in another way." Trixie glanced back at 'Shy, scoffing at what she said. "think about it. If she and Halo marry, you'll gain her as a sister. You'll be with her, just as sisters related by Halo, like how Twilight is now technically royalty since her brother married Princess Cadence."  
"and besides, there's plenty of fish in the sea." Marble added.  
"beg pardon?" both mares asked.  
"sorry, I heard one of the humans say it. I think it means there's more then one love out there for you. So you won't get Twilight. So what? You'll find someone else to have that future of yours with. I'm sure Lyra or Vinyl have a few Filly-Fooler friends who are single. You'll find someone else. You just gotta let go of this now failed dream."  
Trixie's lips pouted to the side. "as grim as that was, you're right. Can't sit around, mopping about what won't come true anymore. Just… have to accept it." she looked to her left at the rising moon, her sadness and dread replaced with hope. "just wonder why it took me this long to see it."  
"love can make you do stupid things…" Marble said as he plopped down on a pile of hay. "… like turn every pony in Equestria human. And isn't that why we're going, so you can apologize for this?"  
"Yeah. For that and many other stupid things I did to Twilight and her friends. And, if it comes to it…" Trixie held her heart again. Worried yet again, Fluttershy and Marble looked at each other. "nothing. Never mind. Let's just get some sleep. It's still gonna be a day before we reach the river." Trixie said. She walked over to a different pile and fell down on it, falling asleep instantly.  
"what do you think she meant 'if it comes to it?'" Fluttershy asked.  
"could be anything." Marble muttered before he fell asleep.  
The bad feeling Fluttershy got before came back in force, filling her with dread. "I don't like this." she told herself.

Ash stopped playing with a soft finish. Everyone clapped at it.  
"Well… not bad playing." Jason said as he landed on the beach.  
"Jason. What are you doing here?" Twi asked.  
"I came to tell you that it's time for your audience with the king."  
The ponies looked at each other with a smile. "YES!" they all exclaimed. "not long till we done with these bodies." A.J. happily said.

Everyone got back into their clothes and headed for the carriage limo.  
A very major headache came and hit Derpy. Being the last one out, nobody noticed. She leaned on the door, holding her head in pain. Her cousin noticed this and walked back to her.  
"Derpy? You okay?" Whooves asked.  
"yeah. I'm… fine. Guess I had too much fun today." she playfully replied. The headache went away and Derpy regained her old self. "come on. We're this close to being ponies again." She excitedly said as she headed for the limo.  
"I got a bad feeling about this." Whooves said as he closed the door, locked it, and headed for the carriage.

*author's notes*  
yeah. i know. not one of my best but, like it was said in the chapter, everyone has a off day once in awhile.

ur document here...


	27. it just got worse

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Of Ponies and Humans

Chapter 14

It just got worse

47 Days after Zero Hour

After receiving the letter from Cadence; Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Halo, Zilver, Shadow, Derpy, Requiem, Aura, Ash, Jax, Bahamut, Spike, and Sora left for the Gryphon Kingdom to find the Reversal Spell for the human-turned Ponies. What they don't know is that this journey is going to be a lot tougher then it sounds.  
They arrived in the kingdom with no trouble but are informed of a curfew in place due to the impending threat of a slave trade going on. They are to meet with the king tonight and find out where the reversal spell to this predicament is.  
There, Dash had a very brief reunion with Gilda and met back up with her friends from her foalhood. Also, Twilight finds out she's gonna be a aunt when Cadence reveals she's pregnant… and was for 3 months prior to the Changeling's botched invasion. Guess even Ponies can't resist the call of the wild when it hits, huh?  
Now, after many days of waiting and searching, the location of the Reversal Spell is about to be revealed, and with Trixie, Fluttershy, and Marble on their way, this is gonna get worse before it gets better.

The carriage pulled in front of the biggest tower in all of the city. Everyone departed and strained their necks as they looked up.  
"Whoa! That is big!" Spike exclaimed.  
"even I must admit, this is pretty big." Req said in awe. "and I've seen some pretty big things."  
"I can bet." Aura snickered to himself.  
A primitive elevator came down from above and stopped in front of them. "shall we?" Jason gestured to the elevator.  
"gee. How quaint." Ash sarcastically said.  
They headed on over and crowded in. it was barely big enough to hold them all. Those with wings grabbed the bars surrounding the elevator and unfurled their wings, allowing them to go up with the same speed.  
The elevator shuttered a bit before starting for the top.  
"So, what will happen when we meet the king?" Req asked, flying alongside the elevator. "will we need to know some cultural rules or something?"  
"Ah. Yes. Thank you for bringing that up." Jason thanked. "there are a few things. 1; Zaltan is a bit… eccentric when it comes to politics."  
"Eccentric?" Derpy asked.  
"he's not like most other rulers. He's more carefree and doesn't take it seriously." Twi explained.  
"oh."  
"yes. He is like that. Although he is taking this Slave Trade seriously. He wants it gone as much as the people do." Jason said. "number 2: don't mention crickets around him. He doesn't like 'em all that much."  
"really?" a disbelieving Applejack asked. "He doesn't like crickets?"  
"no and I'm not sure why. it's like a pet peeve of his." Jason said.  
"well, everyone has those." Zilver said.  
"and thirdly, his daughter. Sh-"  
"Ah, yes. The one who made us come here. Tell us, what is she like, so we know what to look out for?" Whooves asked.  
"I was just getting to that." Jason angrily said. "*ahem* well, as I was going to say, she's not exactly the… nicest Gryphon you'll ever meet."  
"ho, boy." Aura said a la Quantum Leap. "so wonderful. Gotta be nicer then the one we met on the beach."  
"Gotta be." Jax said.  
The elevator reached the top of the tower. The door opened up and they all entered. A.J. looked over the side to the ground WAY WAY WAY far below. She shuddered and ran after the group.  
The interior was very worn-down but still bright. "why does this place look so run-down? Not what I expected from a king." Halo said.  
"Well, Zaltan is more in touch with the people then previous rulers are. He's decreased taxes, donated money to orphanages, and even started a charity for the less-fortunate."  
"this guy's starting to turn into my favorite ruler." Sora commented as they walked further in.  
"in spades." the rest of her human friends added.

2 grand doors opened up into the throne room. They all walked in to see Armor and Cadence, and for some reason Vinyl and Octavia, talking with the Gryphon King Zaltan.(I really should've come up with a better name.) to mostly everyone's surprise, the King was laid-back and not taking the job all that seriously. They heard the footsteps and saw them walking towards the throne.  
"Hey. Vinyl! Tavi! Surprised to see you 2 here." Pinkie exclaimed in surprise.  
"we know. Us too." Octavia said.  
"guess we were helpful with getting you guys here, I guess." Vinyl added.  
Jason flew on ahead and bowed. "my lord, I have brought the traveler's your daughter requested to come."  
"I can see that, Jason. You did good." the king replied, sounding a lot like a certain Prothy squad mate from ME3. He got up from his throne and flew on over. "they certainly are affected."  
"yes. WE were, your majesty." Twi said. She pointed to everyone affected. "me and Spike, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Halo, Zilver, Shadow, Derpy, and Dr. Whooves here, we were all affected."  
The king turned his attention to Req and her friends. "so I take it that these are the otherworlders? The ones with the reputation that presides them?"  
"you would be correct, Zaltan. I am R-"  
"please, don't call me by that name. not sure what my parents were thinking. Just call me Z."  
"…Z?" a cautious Bahamut asked. "well, whatever rocks your boat, I guess."  
"Hehehe. I heard you were all er… free when it comes to royalty."  
"yep!" they all said.  
Derpy held her head in pain again as the headache came back. She made sure no one saw it until it passed.  
"listen, your majesty. If you don't mind, we should really get to business." Twi insisted. "we're all keen on getting this curse taken away."  
"And I would be too. But surely you have time for dinner before you all go."  
Someone's stomach growling proved to be the answer to that question. "Hehehehe." Rarity nervously laughed. "guess we have some time for a quick snack."

They all relocated to a dining room where their eyes were set upon quite a spread, including something the humans had not seen in a long time.  
"MEAT!" Bahamut, Aura, Ash, Jax, and Sora happily exclaimed. Their legs revved up like cartoons and they ran towards the food.  
"I take it that like meat." Z chuckled.  
"it's been 2 months since they last saw meat. trust me, they're happy." Requiem chuckled.  
"and you?"  
"Vegetarian, like the ponies back. And I just spotted a spread for us." she said, spotting tons of plates filled with veggies. Req and the ponies, minus Cadence and Armor, ran on over to that end.

Before long, everyone was digging into the feast laid out before them. Even Z was enjoying the food.  
Twilight swallowed what was in her mouth and asked… "Excuse me, your majesty, but I think we're short one person."  
"how so?" he replied.  
"well, your daughter doesn't seem to be here. And last I checked, it was her insistence that we come here. I mean, it's only fair that we meet the one who summoned us, right?"  
Z chuckled as he placed a bone on his plate. "you are right but I'm afraid she's leading a raid on a supposed site of the Trade. I'm afraid she won't be back for…"  
"I'm back, Dad." the princess called out from another room.  
"Well, that was fast." Z said, looked at a imaginary wrist watch.  
She flew on in from above. "turns out it was a bust. Guy gave us the wrong info."  
"well, we always get a bad one every know and then. You know that."  
The VERY familiar gryphon landed beside him. "yeah. Last time I trust a Crystal Pony." Gilda said.  
The humans nearly choked on her drink as the Mane6, plus Derpy and Whooves, spit up their food. "GILDA!?" they all exclaimed in shock.  
"oh, great. It's you guys." she said with the least interest.  
"you know these people, Lady Gilda?" Jason asked.  
"you… could say that." Gilda muttered.  
"what did you do, Gilda?" Z asked.  
"Nothing." Z gave her a mean glance. "*groaning sigh* fine. I may or may not have, as the humans would put it, acted like a bitch."  
"What does that even mean?" Spike asked Cadence. She just shrugged, not knowing as well.  
Z sighed as he pinched his beak. "I realize it may be too late but I apologize for my daughter's behavior. She's been… moody for the past few years."  
"Can't help but wonder why." Sora sarcastically said to her left. Her left turned out to be Gilda. She chuckled nervously smiled a big fake smile before picking up her chair and backing up.  
"so… Z… how about we get to what we came here to do?" Halo insisted.  
"ah. Yes. The Reversal Spell for your… predicament. Well, I'm not sure if it is located there but it may prove fruitful."  
"how so?" Cadence asked.  
"there's a mountain to the north of this city, close enough for you to get in a day. At the top rests a fortress. That fortress belonged to Nightmare Moon."  
"NIGHTMARE MOON!?" the Ponies exclaimed in complete and utter surprise. The humans were confused by their sudden reaction.  
"un… who-mare what now?" Jax asked.  
"Nightmare Moon, who was a corrupted Princess Luna, was a powerful sorceress from 1000 years ago who wanted to bring about Eternal Night as she grew jealous of Celestia's sun and the ponies who relished in it's light but fell asleep when darkness fell. it was thanks to her that we got together." Twi explained.  
The humans didn't know what to make of it. "wait wait wait. Luna tried to destroy the world? That cute black pony from the summer party?" Bahamut asked.  
"well, everyone has off days." Dash said. Z cleared his throat, getting their attention again. "sorry, Kingie." she chuckled nervously.  
"as I was saying, the fortress belonged to Nightmare Moon during her glory days, before Celestia banished her to the moon. It's said that everything her forces gathered during her war with her sister was put in there; every book, every treasure, every spell..."  
Jax's eyes lit up with dollar signs when she heard the word 'treasure'.  
"…odds are there may be a Reversal Spell that could change you back into Ponies yourselves."  
"well, we could ask Luna." Req asked.  
"she's been trapped on the Moon for 1000 years. Doubt she even remembers the place." A.J. retorted.  
"did you try to enter the fortress yourself?" Armor asked.  
"me personally, no. but I have heard of people who tried to enter, only none have returned. Guess some of Nightmare's traps and spells are still working."  
"well, we ain't worried." Aura said, sitting back, picking his teeth with his lance, which had shrinked down considerably. "we defeated God's and Goddess's and saved the universe on more then one occasion. I'm sure we can handle a few booby traps."  
"they defeated God's and Goddess's?" a worried Twi whispered to Zilver. He just shrugged.  
"so… when should we go?" Shadow asked.  
"well, anytime is good." Twi said. "I think we should plan an-"  
"anytime?" Z interrupted. "you mean you don't know about the side-effect?"  
"Side-side-side effect?" a nervous A.J. asked.  
Jason winced as he bit his claw. "uh-oh. They don't know. This could be problematic."  
"the spell you used, it was over 30000 years old, right?" Z asked.  
"yeah? What of it?" a very nervous Rarity asked.  
"well, 30000 years ago, life wasn't exactly good. Every spell made back then had a deadly side-effect. Any transformation spell would kill the effected in 50 days with a tumor in their brain."  
That hit the ponies like a bag of bricks.  
"f-f-f-fifty days?" Whooves nervously asked. "we've been human for 47."  
"so this spell is gonna kill every pony in Equestria?" Armor exclaimed.  
"and anyone outside of the country would be unaffected." Req muttered. "we better go now." they all got up and bowed to the king. "Thanks you explaining this to us, your majesty."  
Z bowed back. They all bolted for the exit when… "wait." Z called out. Everyone screeched to a halt. Bahamut wasn't so fortunate as he rammed into a unfortunate waiter. "do you even know how to get to the mountain?" Nobody responded. This was their first time in the Gryphon Kingdom. "I see. Gilda. Go with them. Show them the way."  
"ME!? Why me?" Gilda retorted.  
"Cause you know the way to the mountain. You've been there."  
"yeah. Once. And I only got to the base of the mountain." Gilda argued.  
"HEY!" Aura yelled out. "the longer we stay here, the shorter time the ponies have till D-Day!"  
Z nodded. "Jason. Go with them. I see my daughter is going to be troublesome. Again." Gilda looked away from her father in a huff.  
"whatever! We just need to get going!" Spike exclaimed.  
"Guys…" Derpy said. Everyone looked towards her and were shocked to see blood coming out of her eyes. She adopted a worried expression before collapsing.  
"Derpy!" her cousin yelled out as he ran over. Everyone soon gathered around her.  
"What's wrong with her?" Pinkie asked.  
"I don't know. Breathing's shallow, she's bleeding. Could be that tumor thing Zaltan mentioned.  
"I said call me Z." he groaned. "and it's not supposed to do that, least according to the stories."

Begin Song: watch?v=qdrTqz8pSyQ Strange Whispers - Birth by Sleep version

The same mystery man from before hovered outside the window to the dining room, far from view from their prying eyes.  
His right hand glowed and flexed as he aimed it right at a certain human-turned grey Pegasus.

Derpy started shivering as pain now racked her body.  
"This isn't good." Ash said.  
"We gotta go. Now." Requiem said as she and her human friends, plus Jason, bolted for the exit.  
Dash turned in their direction and called out to them "but what about…"  
"Don't worry. We'll take care of Derpy." Armor said.  
"you just worry on turning us back before we end up like this." Octavia exclaimed.  
The ponies, though not liking the idea, looked at each other and nodded. They ran after Req and her friends as Z called for medics.

The groups met up and ran outside of the city, heading for the mountain.  
The mystery man, still high in the air, saw them scurry like ants.  
"Run, run, run as fast as you can. But it'll be for naught." he snapped his fingers, causing dark figures to appear behind him. "I'll make sure of it.

End Song.


	28. Hurry!

Paste you

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Of Ponies and Humans

Chapter 15

Hurry!

47 Days after Zero Hour

After receiving the letter from Cadence; Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Halo, Zilver, Shadow, Derpy, Requiem, Aura, Ash, Jax, Bahamut, Spike, and Sora left for the Gryphon Kingdom to find the Reversal Spell for the human-turned Ponies. What they don't know is that this journey is going to be a lot tougher then it sounds.  
They arrived in the kingdom with no trouble but are informed of a curfew in place due to the impending threat of a slave trade going on. They are to meet with the king tonight and find out where the reversal spell to this predicament is.  
There, Dash had a very brief reunion with Gilda and met back up with her friends from her foalhood. Also, Twilight finds out she's gonna be a aunt when Cadence reveals she's pregnant… and was for 3 months prior to the Changeling's botched invasion. Guess even Ponies can't resist the call of the wild when it hits, huh?  
Now, after many days of waiting and searching, the location of the Reversal Spell is about to be revealed, and with Trixie, Fluttershy, and Marble on their way, this is gonna get worse before it gets better.  
Upon meeting with the king Zaltan, who's very laidback for a ruler, and who's daughter who summoned them who turned out to be Gilda, informs them of a fortress Nightmare Moon had in the area during her uprising. Hopefully, there's a reversal spell inside that can change them back. And soon cause it turns out this spell has a side-effect. In 50 days, the affected will die by a brain tumor. It's been 48 days and Derpy's starting to feel the effects.  
They have no time to waste.

Derpy panted heavily and shivered as pain continued to engulf her body. She had been replaced from the throne room to a nearby hospital where they were trying to lessen the pain, but…  
"oh, Derpy. What's wrong with ya?" a worried Whooves asked.  
"do whatever you can for her, doctor. King's orders." Armor said, producing a note. The doc nodded and flew off. Armor looked inside to Whooves and walked on "don't worry. This place has the best care in the city. She'll be fine."  
"will she?" Whooves hopefully asked.  
Armor didn't want to make guaranties. He knows that things can go south in a second. "at the very least… we can make her comfortable." Armor walked out of the room, leaving the relatives behind.  
He walked into the waiting area where Cadence, Vinyl, Octavia, and Gilda were waiting. Gilda was dragged by her father to come so she just stood in a corner.  
"well? How is she?" a worried Cadence asked.  
"Don't know. She's still in pain. They're doing everything they can to make her better, but… they've never seen anything like this."  
"I really hope she pulls though. Don't want Dinky to be raised be her own." Vinyl said.  
Gilda was curious by what the DJ said. "Dinky?"  
"Derpy's daughter." Vinyl explained. "Lost her father about a couple months before Req and her friends came. And if she loses her mother…" Vinyl shook her head. "I know what it was like to raised without parents. I can tell you it ain't nice."  
Unfortunately, Gilda also knows what it's like to live without a parent. She looked into Derpy's room. Her condition wasn't getting better.

A orb of white light hovered over the curvature of the tower, the image of a certain grey Pegasus in it's center. It's owner, the mystery man, sat beneath a lightning rod, the hood off and revealing his head. Looks like he's 30 years old with pink spiky hair.  
"Tick tock, on the clock. Better hurry till her time is up." he with a feminine rhymed as he looked though a deck of cards.  
His hair changed to green and his voice a deep baritone. "why are you rooting for them?"  
Hair changed back to pink. "why not? It's fun to toy with the simpletons once in a while."  
Hair changed to blue and the voice is more wily. "you know, I never thought I'd say this, but she's right."  
Hair changed to white and voice a bit cold. "of course you would."  
Hair changed back to blue. "and what is that supposed to mean?"  
Hair changed to black. "ENOUGH!" he yelled with a dark sinister intent. "either way, Lady Kyra wants them dead. And what she wants, she gets. Understand?"  
Hair went down a rainbow route. "yes sir." a multitude of voices said out of the one mouth.  
Hair changed to black. "Good. Now, I think I thought of a good way on how to get rid of them" he pulled a card out of the deck. "by giving them a blast from the past." he flicked the card out. It glowed as it flew on out.

The group ran into a large marsh which stretched from the city all the way to the mountain.  
"Really wish we found out about the tumor thing earlier. Could've saved us a lot of trouble!" Twilight exclaimed as they ran on though.  
"you know, she has a point." Aura whispered to Sora. "why keep this hidden?"  
"and it's also like he knew this would happen. He's hiding something." Sora whispered back.  
"Which way is the quickest way though, Jason?" Ash asked.  
"Well, if you all could fly, we'd be on the other side by now."  
"if we had Orion, we'd be there and already have the spell." Jax muttered to herself.  
"how about less talking and more running!?" Spike exclaimed.  
"he's right." Req said. "more time we spend lollygagging, the less time th-"

Begin Song: watch?v=3b_ONxwca5E Black Powder - Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep

Something suddenly burst out of the ground beneath them, sending everyone falling onto their back's and inadvertadly picking Requiem and Jax on it's back.  
The beast shook it's back and let loose a familiar trumpet-like roar that Aura instantly recognized. "wait. Is that…"  
The monster roared yet again as the dirt, water, and muck that covered it stripped away. It's 6 eyes opened and it's wings opened wide as it let loose a 3rd earth-shattering roar.  
"Green Death?!" a very surprised Aura exclaimed.  
"you know that thing?" Dash asked.  
"… you could say that."  
The Green Death roared as it reared it's head back and got ready to breath fire. Something dove out of the sky and clawed it's eyes out, temporarily blinding it as it breathed fire into the sky.

The mystery man, who's eyes were glowing and hair was red, was surprised by that turn of events, only to dismiss it with a slight chuckled.  
"not gonna work." he said with a slight evil chuckle. He held out his hand, which began to glow with the same color as the hair.

"not cool! Not cool!" Jax exclaimed as she and Req slid down the dragon's back and right towards it's club-tail.  
"this is gonna hurt!" Req yelled, covering her face.  
The same thing that dove out of the sky flew over and picked them up before they could become pancakes.  
Req and Jax opened their eyes and saw they were off the dragon and that something was pulling on their shirt collars. "what the?" they looked behind them and saw "Gilda?"  
"Don't take this the wrong way, okay?" she coldly said. The monster roared, getting their attention. "So how do we deal with ugly?"  
Requiem summoned her wings, prompting Gilda to let her go. "well, we obviously can't use the same plan we did on Berk; he'll probably remember it." Req muttered.  
Jax looked over the battlefield and came up with something. "I have a idea. And it is a SHOCKER."

Ash fired his pistols at the monster but all it was doing was making it mad. It snarled as it's mouth started filling with gas.  
"now would be a good time to run!" Aura exclaimed as he bolted for the mountain. Everyone followed suit, not wanting to become barbeque.  
The Green Death breathed it's fire and slowly turned it's head, following them.  
"Please tell me you beat this thing before!" a desperate Zilver asked.  
"we did. Well, actually, Hiccup and Toothless did. I was just a diversion." Aura explained.  
A uncomfortable silence fell on them as they ran. "you don't know how to beat it, do you?" the ponies asked.  
"me? No." everyone groaned in despair, knowing that their goose was fully cooked.

The Green Death roared and took to the air. It wasn't in the air for more then a few seconds before being dragged down by something.  
"Oh no you don't." Jax grunted as she stopped the monster from going farther up with Bind.  
Req flew towards the right wing while Gilda headed for the left. Both zigged-zagged on thought the wings, punching big holes in them.  
Once down, Req flew up above it, her sword glowing green. "time to go back down to earth!" she swung her sword, creating a giant gust of wind that hit the monster in it's head, sending it crashing back to the ground.  
Jax's chakrams glowed brown as a glyph appeared under her. She grabbed one of them and slammed it into the ground while yelling ; "GROUND POUND!"  
A big crater opened up, big enough for ugly to fall in and still have enough room for 2 more.  
The other Chakram glowed blue as she tossed it up into the air, yelling; "TORRENT!"  
More then one ball of water appeared, some as large as the monster itself. The Chakram spun though them, popping them and allowing water to fall towards the ground.  
The water filled the crater up half-way. The dragon reared up out of the water and roared. Req snapped her fingers. A net appeared over the crater, trapping it within.  
"now, Jax!" Req called out.

A big purple glyph appeared under the sorceress as the wind flipped around her and the Chakrams spun wildly. Dark clouds started to appear in the sky as thunder rumbled in them. Lightning shot around the area where the glyph was but the caster paid no mind.  
"oh, mighty power of strikes the earth, which cleaves the heavens with such power and majesty…" the Glyph started to get brighter and brighter as the chakrams flew up into the clouds.  
"…I call upon thee to strike my foes down so that the world may be cleansed of this evil blight!…" the Chakrams reached the center of the clouds and started spinning around in a circle, quickly gaining speed till they were naught but blurs. It caused the center to swirl around like a Tornado without the Tornado.  
"Let this fool and those behind it fall to your mighty ferocity and grace!"  
Jax snapped open her eyes as the Glyph disappeared from under her and reappeared in the center of the clouds.  
"INDIGNATION!"  
A massive, and I mean MASSIVE, Lightning Bolt shot down from the sky and hit the dragon dead center. It roared it's death cry as it disintegrated under the sheer ferocity.  
A massive explosion of steam followed that could be seen in the city and felt all the way back to Canterlot.

End Song.

The mystery man flipped though the deck of cards, looking each monster over. The Green Death's card appeared and slipped itself back into the deck, the picture devoid of all color.  
"well… guess I underestimated Melody's power." the black-haired version said.  
The hair changed to silver and his voice took a Liam O'Brien approach. "you always underestimate the power of others, Tenebrae. That's why you're the strongest but not the smartest."  
The hair changed to black again. "shut it, Glacies. You may lead us but that doesn't mean we have to like it."  
The hair changed to light-green and the voice a more laid-back approach. "come on, Ten. Ease up a bit."  
Hair changed back to black. "Shut it, Ventus. Or should I say, Aero? You are always the one holding us all back."  
Those 2 personalities retreated into the recesses of the mind as the silver-haired personality took over again. "*sigh* here we go again."

Nothing but steam and smoke remained from the crater. Shadow slowly peeked out from behind a rock. Everyone with him, which was, well, everyone not involved in the fight, peeked out as well.  
"whoa…" the ponies all exclaimed in awe.  
Jax, standing where she cast, panted heavily as pure power seeped out of her like smoke. "yeah…" she tiredly said, staggering a bit. "that's what you get… when you… mess with a pissed off lady."  
Dash landed right beside her and peeked into the crater. Nothing was left of the Green Death except the smoldering crater. "that… was… AWESOME!" Dash exclaimed. "Can we do it again?"  
"I don't think so, Dash. Unless you wanna die next time?" Gilda jokingly said as she and Req landed.  
"Lady Gilda? What are you doing here?" Jason asked.  
"what? Girl can't make spontaneous decisions?"  
"with you? No. there's always a reason, Gil." Dash smirked.  
Gilda started blushing nervously. "I, un… t-t-t-there's no reason. Just feeling helpful, okay?" nobody was buying. "now aren't you all running out of time? Aren't you all slowly being killed by a tumor?"  
"Ah. Right." A.J. said "Well, in that case…" Everypony bolted towards the mountain, leaving behind their figures in smoke. Sora shrugged and ran after them, followed by Ash, Aura, Bahamut, and Req.  
Gilda started flapping her wings when Jason and Jax stopped her. "what?"  
"you know what, Lady Gilda." Jason insisted. "I've known you since childhood and you've never changed your mind without good reason."  
"So spill. What decided to make you help us?" Jax continued.  
"there's no reason." Gilda blushed again. "I'm just in a helpful mood, like I said." Gilda flapped and quickly took to the air, quickly flying after the group.  
Jax gave a scoffing chuckle while Jason shook his head. "you buying that?" Jax asked.  
"nope."

r document here...


	29. Scaling the Mountain

Paste yo

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Of Ponies and Humans

Chapter 16

Scaling the Mountain

48 Days after Zero Hour

After receiving the letter from Cadence; Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Halo, Zilver, Shadow, Derpy, Requiem, Aura, Ash, Jax, Bahamut, Spike, and Sora left for the Gryphon Kingdom to find the Reversal Spell for the human-turned Ponies. What they don't know is that this journey is going to be a lot tougher then it sounds.  
They arrived in the kingdom with no trouble but are informed of a curfew in place due to the impending threat of a slave trade going on. They are to meet with the king tonight and find out where the reversal spell to this predicament is.  
There, Dash had a very brief reunion with Gilda and met back up with her friends from her foalhood. Also, Twilight finds out she's gonna be a aunt when Cadence reveals she's pregnant… and was for 3 months prior to the Changeling's botched invasion. Guess even Ponies can't resist the call of the wild when it hits, huh?  
Now, after many days of waiting and searching, the location of the Reversal Spell is about to be revealed, and with Trixie, Fluttershy, and Marble on their way, this is gonna get worse before it gets better.  
Upon meeting with the king Zaltan, who's very laidback for a ruler, and who's daughter who summoned them who turned out to be Gilda, informs them of a fortress Nightmare Moon had in the area during her uprising. Hopefully, there's a reversal spell inside that can change them back. And soon cause it turns out this spell has a side-effect. In 50 days, the affected will die by a brain tumor. It's been 48 days and Derpy's starting to feel the effects.  
They have no time to waste.  
On the way, the humans ran into a old foe from one of the worlds they visited: the Green Death, a massive dragon from Berk. They quickly defeat it with unexpected help from Gilda and Jax's signature spell, Indignation. the enemy destroyed, they continue on their way to the mountain.

The train from Ponyville rolled into the capital city. It hissed as it slowed to a stop. The doors on the passenger cars opened, allowing the people to depart.  
On one of the back cargo cars, one of the doors was forced open by Trixie and Marble. "oh. Finally. We made it." Trixie groaned as she fell forward face first to the station floor.  
The loudspeakers beeped as a announcer lady spoke. "welcome to FeatherTop, the Capital City of the Gryphon Kingdom. Due to recent events, there is a curfew in effect that starts as soon as the sun sets. Keep that in mind as you enter our glorious city and please, enjoy your day."  
"Recent events?" Fluttershy wondered.  
"probably that slave trade Cadence mentioned in her letter." Marble guessed.  
"whatever. Let's just get going." Trixie said as she walked off. 'Shy and Marble followed after her.  
The 3 exited the station, taking the opportunity to stretch their tired limbs. "Man, that was a long train ride. I thought we were gonna be stuck in their forever." Trixie grunted as she stretched.  
"you and me both, lady." Marble groaned.  
A sudden flash of light suddenly shone, followed by a powerful earthquake and a massive explosive plume of steam and electricity.  
"w-what was that?" a nervous Fluttershy asked.  
"Something big, that's what it was." Marble jokingly retorted.  
"and something tells me we'll find Twilight and the others in that direction." Trixie said. She started towards the direction of the plume. Fluttershy and Marble carefully followed after her.  
"is it just me or is Trixie leading us into danger just so she can apologize to a failed love?" Marble whispered to 'Shy.  
"I guess so. But people have gone on journeys for other reasons. Besides, you heard Trixie. It'll just eat away at her until she does do it. Besides, we made the decision to come along."  
"for lamer reasons then apologizing, I might add." Marble scoffed. "by the way, that feeling still there?"  
"yeah." 'Shy looked up at the explosion's aftermath. "and it got worse."

The mystery man with the bad case of multiple personality syndrome still sat on top of the tower, still looking though the deck.  
"well well well. Looks like a old foe didn't work out much, Glacies." the pink-haired personality chuckled.  
The hair changed to silver. "then maybe you should give it a try, Fulmen."  
Hair changed back to pink. "perhaps I will." he flipped though the cards and came across something intriguing. "a old foe didn't work, so let's see how they fare with a oversized Corvus Corax." he pulled out the card and flicked it out.

Zilver's mouth dropped to the ground when he saw how big the lonely mountain is. "oh… sweet… Celestia…" he gasped as he strained his neck to try and look up. "this is insanely big! I could see why Nightmare Moon built a Fortress on top."  
"I'm guessing this is as big as a Rocky Mountain. Maybe even a Andes." Sora strained as she poured water on the campfire from last night.  
"translation?" a nervous Pinkie asked.  
"it's gonna be one long climb." Jason said.  
"we'd be halfway up by now if it weren't for you all on the no-fly list." Gilda angrily said. "guess we'll taking the long way up."  
"oh. Goodie." a less then enthusiastic Jax said. "Sure hope there's a path."

The 'path' was a narrow niche into the mountain that curved upward all the way to the top. There wasn't even any safety rails to keep them from falling off the side. It took them half a day just to get halfway up.  
"oh, I feel so confident now that we're hanging on the edge. Literally." Shadow joked.  
Gilda, Jason, and Dash flew on up, making sure no one would fall.  
"So, Gil. Why did you suddenly decide to help us?" Dash asked.  
"w-what?" Gilda started blushing in embarrassment. "Who said I was helping you?"  
"um… the fact you helped us beat that horrific monster yesterday, for starters. And I know you. You wouldn't do these kinds of things without good reason. So, spill, what changed your mind?"  
"un…"  
A sudden shadow cast over their side of the mountain, surprising everyone.  
"there supposed to be a eclipse today?" A.J. asked Twi.  
"no. and there's not supposed to be one for a couple of weeks. So what could've…"  
"AHH!" Pinkie exclaimed, looking up at the sun. everyone did the same thing and got the same reaction.

Begin Song: watch?v=DHglQRvbzOc MLP:FIM Fighting is Magic: Rainbow Dash Stage Theme

A massive bird flew down from the sun and towards them, cawing loudly.  
"BIG RAVEN!" they all exclaimed. The bird flew right by them, creating a big gust of wind. Everyone dug in to keep themselves from falling off.  
The bird cawed as it flew to the other side of the mountain.  
"That's one big birdie!" Halo exclaimed.  
"No…" Aura smirked and pulled out his lance. "that's a all-you-can-eat chicken dinner." he looked up to Bahamut, who smirked back.  
"you read my mind, Aura." he smirked back.  
The oversized cockatoo came from around the other side and cawed as it swooped in to kill. Aura and Bahamut weren't prepared to counter-attack when it returned.  
A rainbow streak shot in front of the bird, getting it's attention. It distracted the beastie long enough for it to ram into the cliff, causing a slight rock slide.  
"Hey, ugly. Deal with someone that can put up a fight!" Dash boasted. Dash flapped it's wings and took to the air.  
The raven shook it's head, replacing it's caw with a shriek. It flapped it's wings rapidly and flew towards Dash.  
"Dash!" the ponies yelled out.  
Bahamut jumped off the cliff, spread his wings, and took off after tookie-tookie. Aura's back began to glow red.

The oversized Polly flew after Dash, who was flying too fast for the bird to keep up. "better like next time, you oversized Turkey." Dash gloated as she bolted to the other side of the mountain.  
She flipped onto her back and looked back to see that the over-blown parakeet wasn't perusing her anymore. "hehe. All in a day's…" The Raven came around from the other side and flew right towards her. "WORK!"  
She turned around and moved her legs and arms rapidly but the bird bit down on her wings before she could get anywhere. "OW OW OW!" she yelled in pain. "You better not clip my wings!" she exclaimed as the bird flew back to the others. The bird flew by them and headed for the top. Dash noticed that Bahamut and Aura were gone. "where'd they go?"  
Something covered in blue fire hit the Raven in the back. Hard. It shrieked in pain, letting Dash go. She tried flapping her wings but the overgrown chicken broke 'em. She yelled as she fell to the ground.  
Bahamut flew up from below and caught her. She grabbed hold of his tail and held on. "Thanks for the save, B." Dash panted.  
"no prob."  
The raven shrieked as Aura jumped off. He swung his lance, sending a streak of blue fire at the bird. It hit, causing it to shriek in pain. Wings of blue fire came out of his back, suspending him in mid-air. Bahamut flew by and dropped Dash off on his back.  
The dragon coated himself in fire and rolled into a ball. The fire wheel slammed into the raven's chest, sending it up into the sky.  
Aura suddenly appeared beside it, spun his lance as fast as a game disc in a console, and swung it like a baseball bat. The raven was sent cascading into the top of the mountain.  
Aura dropped Dash off at the top and he and Bahamut flew up into the air. Both encased themselves in fire as the raven shook rubble off it's body and shrieked.  
Aura and Bahamut spun around and fell towards the giant bird like a double helix. Their fire combined as they towards their target.

Ash jumped up onto the next part of the path and grabbed Shadow's hand when the mountain suddenly and violently shook. They all looked up to see a wall of fire cast out over the side, followed by what Gilda and Jason are seeing as a mushroom cloud.  
"I think they just took out Polly." Sora joked.

End Song.

"okay. 1... 2...3!"  
Ash tossed Applejack up first onto the top of the mountain. She, Gilda, and Jason, helped Ash up, then Twilight, then so on and so forth.  
"methinks we reached the top." Requiem joked.  
The top of this lonely mountain was as flat as a pancake with a small forest and a small pond. Night had already fallen when the rest of the group arrived up top.  
"where's Aura, Bahamut, and Dash?" Twi wondered.  
"Over here!" Aura called out. They all looked and saw the trio and the cooked remains of the bird. The overgrown chicken was cut up by Aura and Bahamut. They were biting into what was the birds leg.  
"hey. Could've saved us a piece." Ash joked as he headed over.  
"there's plenty to choose from, Ash. We got some wings, another leg, the breasts, the thighs. Take your pick." Bahamut said. He burped and sighed in relaxation.  
"Guess that attack cooked this goose." Jax joked.  
Sora face-palmed. "the worst joker in the galaxy, ladies and gentlemen."  
"At least I try!"  
Req groaned and rolled her eyes. She and Ash walked behind them both and pushed them towards the cooked poultry.  
"They are really powerful." Halo said in awe as he and everyone else started over.  
"no doubt. They have more power then the Princesses combined." Applejack said. Twi stopped in her tracks and thought for a moment. They were powerful, powerful enough to defeat a giant dragon and a giant raven in mere minutes. they could easily overthrow Celestia, Luna, Cadence, Zaltan, and every other leader on the planet. That made her suspicious. She glanced up at everyone chatting, Aura and Bahamut already bragging about how they just took out the raven. Just because they were nice doesn't mean their intentions are.  
"Twi. Hey, Twi." Applejack snapped her fingers in front of Twilight's face, snapping her back to reality. "you okay?"  
"yeah. Just thinking about something." the 2 started for the group.  
"well, you should know that Dash got injured during the brawl with the raven."  
"oh no. what happened?"  
"it bit down on her wings. According to Requiem, it severed the veins. She ain't gonna fly for awhile, even after she turns back."  
"dang. poor Dash. Flying's everything to her."  
"well, Req's trying to fix it with some healing spell of hers. Seems to be working quite well."  
"wait wait wait. A healing spell?"  
"yeah. Req called it Healing Light or something like that. Dash still won't fly but at least it's for a few days then never."  
"ah. Right." Twilight's suspicions went away when she heard that and couldn't help but smile.

The raven's card reappeared and slipped back into the deck.  
"nice choice, Fulmen. A giant avian is much more dangerous then a massive dragon." the blue-haired personality said.  
"it least I tried, Aqua." the Fulmen personality replied. "what's your excuse, having your period or something?"  
"HEY!"  
A sudden whoosh from behind distracted them from their argument. They looked to see a man in black armor walked out of a portal of dark fire.

Begin Song: watch?v=jHq8bMQKeeA Tales of Symphonia OST - Mithos

"oh, come now Orochi. Are you arguing amongst yourself again?" the man joked.  
Orochi suddenly got up and bowed. "Lord Tsylatac. What are you doing here?" all 8 voices asked.  
"Lady Kyra wants you back at the tower. Says she's got a new assignment for you on Termiris. Says it requires your 'personal' touch."  
Orochi couldn't help but smile. "Termiris? That backwards medieval planet? Whatever for?" the red-head personality asked.  
"figures you would ask, Ignis. There's a situation brewing in one of the villages. Seems they're planning a revolt against our local advisor. You're to take care of this uprising before it gains a foothold. Clear?"  
"but in case you forgot, we're a little busy here with our plan for this planet." the brown haired personality said.  
"I am well aware of it, Terra. Hopefully, this uprising won't take more then a hour for a mighty Japanese God of Destruction to quash. Right?"  
"it will be done, My Lord." Glacies replied.  
Orochi disappeared in a flash of light, all his belongings disappearing with him, including the orb.  
The Black Knight looked to the mountain. Inside his helmet, he couldn't help but smile. "it's gonna be a pleasure to see you again… Serenity."  
He too disappeared but in the same way he appeared; in dark fire.

ur document here...


	30. The Fortress

Paste y

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Of Ponies and Humans

Chapter 17

The Fortress

49 Days after Zero Hour

After receiving the letter from Cadence; Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Halo, Zilver, Shadow, Derpy, Requiem, Aura, Ash, Jax, Bahamut, Spike, and Sora left for the Gryphon Kingdom to find the Reversal Spell for the human-turned Ponies. What they don't know is that this journey is going to be a lot tougher then it sounds.  
They arrived in the kingdom with no trouble but are informed of a curfew in place due to the impending threat of a slave trade going on. They are to meet with the king tonight and find out where the reversal spell to this predicament is.  
There, Dash had a very brief reunion with Gilda and met back up with her friends from her foalhood. Also, Twilight finds out she's gonna be a aunt when Cadence reveals she's pregnant… and was for 3 months prior to the Changeling's botched invasion. Guess even Ponies can't resist the call of the wild when it hits, huh?  
Now, after many days of waiting and searching, the location of the Reversal Spell is about to be revealed, and with Trixie, Fluttershy, and Marble on their way, this is gonna get worse before it gets better.  
Upon meeting with the king Zaltan, who's very laidback for a ruler, and who's daughter who summoned them who turned out to be Gilda, informs them of a fortress Nightmare Moon had in the area during her uprising. Hopefully, there's a reversal spell inside that can change them back. And soon cause it turns out this spell has a side-effect. In 50 days, the affected will die by a brain tumor. It's been 48 days and Derpy's starting to feel the effects.  
They have no time to waste.  
On the way, the humans ran into a old foe from one of the worlds they visited: the Green Death, a massive dragon from Berk. They quickly defeat it with unexpected help from Gilda and Jax's signature spell, Indignation. the enemy destroyed, they continue on their way to the mountain.  
Upon arriving at the base of the tall and lonely mountain, they start to climb but quickly run into trouble as a giant raven tries to turn them into lunch. It ends up becoming fried chicken as Aura and Bahamut kicked it's ass. Now they gotta hurry.

Requiem stretched her arms as she woke up. "oh, momma. I needed that." she groaned. Before long, everyone started to wake up as well from the night's rest they got.  
"*yawn* what time is it?" Zilver asked.  
Twi rubbed her eyes as she looked up to the sky. She went wide-eyed when she saw that the sun was directly above them. "it's noon. We slept for 13 hours!?"  
Aura burped. "guess that Raven really knocked us out. *burp*. from the inside."  
"no duh. And I was having the most eloquent dream." Bahamut said. Aura raised a eyebrow in suspicion. "okay. I was doing it with Sapphyre."  
"Ew!" the girls all exclaimed.  
"no need for images. thank you." Rarity groaned, trying to get the picture out of her head.  
"Girls! We don't have time for this." Twilight said as she quickly got up. "we got less then 12 hours to find that reversal spell before we all die from the tumor."  
the ponies exclaimed as they quickly got up. They didn't want a first-class ticket to Tartarus so they moved.  
Pinkie stopped for a second and thought for a moment. "wait. Which way do we go?"  
Ash grabbed her head and turned her around. "My guess; That tower." he said, pointing to a big tower that broke the horizon.  
"oh." Pinkie bounced on ahead. Ash face-palmed and groaned like a ghost.  
"when we get there, where do we start looking? Knowing Fortress's, it's probably going to be a big place." Sora pointed out.  
"likely the library or a secret lab. Villains love those 2 spots in a evil lair." Req said.

The group made their way to the tower, which was farther away then it looked.  
"I can see why Nightmare Moon chose this place for a fortress. This place is gorgeous." Rarity exclaimed in awe as they walked though the light forest.  
"no argument from us." Requiem and Dash both said.  
"so when should I be able to fly again, Req?" Dash asked, flexing her wings.  
"least not for a few days. That crow…"  
"raven." Zilver corrected.  
"…whatever, really did some damage. Even with the cure spell, it's still gonna take away."  
"well, I can feel it working. Should it tingle?"  
"yep. That means it's workin'."  
"great. Guess I'll be flying in no time."  
Jax yawned. "so… how long till we get there?"  
"well, we don't know how big this place is. It could be a few minutes. Maybe a few hours." Twi explained.  
"then shouldn't we be running instead?"  
"We got until Midnight to find the spell before we go splat." she looked up. "and it's only Midday. We got 12 hours to find it. Figure we got plenty of time to find it."  
"I hope." A.J. whimpered. Zil walked backwards to keep in tune with her.  
"you okay, Applejack?" Zilver asked.  
"no. no I'm not." she worriedly said. "I… I don't want to die."  
Zilver put his arm around her. "everyone's afraid of death. No one knows what happens when one dies. That's part of the allure."  
Bahamut and Sora glanced at each other. They all knew what happens when one dies but didn't want to say anything.  
"that's not exactly making me feel better, Zil." A.J. coldly said.  
"least I'm trying. Give me credit for that." he asked the others. Some kinda shrugged in agreement.

They came out of the woods and saw a sight that may them go 'OOH.' Standing before them was a massive fortress as big as Buckingham Palace and dark & dismal to boot.  
"ooookay. Who wants to go into the creepy castle first?" Shadow asked. Nobody volunteered but they came up with the same idea to choose; They all took a step back. Only one who didn't step back Jax, who was looking up at the tower.  
"That would make a good lightning cond-" she finally noticed that everyone had stepped back. "oh, hell no. I ain't going in first."  
"sorry, Jax. The line has spoken." Aura said like a announcer. "you have been voted to enter the stonework of death first."  
Jax chuckled coldly as she grabbed one of her chakrams. "ho ho ho. If you say so. But… I'm gonna need a torch." her chakram lit on fire as everyone took several dozen steps back from Aura.  
"I gotta learn to shut my mouth." he groaned as a red glow got brighter.

The orb left by Orochi continued to glow.  
Derpy continued to shiver and pant in pain. Cadence placed a washcloth on her forehead, hoping to help.  
"how is she?" Whooves asked as he came in.  
"still as bad as before." Cadence sighed. "still wondering what's causing this."  
Whooves sighed as he sat down in a chair. "poor Derpy. She's had a tough life. Bullied by a couple of mean rapscallions when she was a kid, lost in the Everfree Forest for a long time, her husband leaving her, now this. Only good thing that happened to her was Dinky."  
"Dinky?"  
"her daughter. Loves her as much as life itself. Sort of like you and Armor."  
"I can bet." Cadence chuckled.  
Derpy started groaning loudly which got both of their attention. "nnh… ugh… nhh…"  
"Derpy?" Whooves asked.  
Derpy was muttering something but was too soft for them to hear. "e….e…."  
"What's she saying?" Cadence whispered. Whooves shrugged.  
"e…tu…nes…"  
"eTu'nes? That sounds familiar." Whooves muttered as he thought about it. He didn't think for long as another headache hit, this one stronger then the last.

"could've just asked me to go Sol, Jax." a burning Aura muttered as the 2 of them stood at the large doors to the place. They were locked by a chain and lock, which meant getting in was gonna de difficult.  
"I know." Jax smugly said as she spun her chakram around her finger. "I just felt like doing it." she smirked as she walked towards the doors. Aura snarled at her.  
Jax grabbed her chakram and swung at the lock. It hit and broke it off.  
The doors creaked open all on their own, freaking Jax out a bit. "okay. That's new." Jax backed off and kicked Aura in first.

Aura yelped as he fell onto the floor of the fortress. His power illuminated the place, making it bright for all to see. True to the outside, the inside was dark and dismal and completely dullish grey.  
"gee. How homey." Aura joked as he tapped his fingers on the stone. "I feel like moving here."  
"you're a funny man, Aura." Sora sarcastically said as she and everyone else walked on in.  
"hello!" Pinkie yelled out. Nothing but a echo replied. Pinkie being Pinkie, however, took this to mean something else. "How are you!?" she yelled out. The echo replied. "I'm doing fine, thanks for asking!"  
"this is gonna get annoying fast." Jax groaned.  
"this place is loco big. How are we gonna find it?" Shadow asked.  
"Simple. We split up." Twi suggested. "we search though all the rooms, hope one is the library, and contact the others thought these…" Twi reached into her bag and pulled out small green stones. "…when we do find it."  
"What are they?" Spike asked as he took one and looked it over. Dash got bored and started looking around.  
"Gossip Stones. I had Armor make them back when we were at his place. They for us to talk to each other over long distances."  
"oh. Sort of like Walkie-Talkies." Ash muttered as he looked one over. "so… how do we split up?"  
"hmm… that is a good question. Without a map or blueprints, we'll just be fumbling in the dark."  
Jax continued looking around and bumped into something. She snarled till she saw it was a skeleton of a human holding a map. "guys. You may wanna come take a look at this."  
Everyone gathered round and let out a collective gasp when they saw the skeleton. "human bones? I thought the tales said Discord got rid of them 30000 years ago by making them disappear." Gilda said.  
"they do. So what's the bones of one doing here?" Rarity muttered.  
Bahamut reached down and grabbed the map with his mouth. He pulled on it but skelator had a tight hold on it. Spike and Shadow pulled back with him. With one hard pull, they pulled out the map and landed on their butts. The skeleton dissolved to dust.  
Twi took the map and blew on it, clearing off the dust that covered it for a millennia. "this place looks big. Not sure how to split us up, though."  
"I'll take that." Jason said as he took it. He opened it up and looked though it.  
A.J. thought for a moment about something the king said before they left. "wait. Didn't Gilda and the King say that there were booby-traps in this place?"  
"we said we think there are booby-traps, genius." Gilda scolded. "that's one of the guesses on why those who came here never returned."  
"what others are there?"  
"Ghosts. Deadly animals. Holes in the floor. Crumbling parts of the castle. There's a whole array, genius. Take your pick." Gilda explained before flapping her wings and flying up to the rafters. A.J. rolled her eyes in anger at Gilda.  
"so, what's the map say, J?" Dash asked as she walked over.  
"says here there's lots of corridors but it's not labeling any of the rooms. My guess is that our dead guy was making a map before something happened that killed him."  
"I'm still wondering what a human was doing on Equestria. Think it was one of Merrifield's people?" Req asked her friends.  
"possibly. But why would one of the Temhres want with this world?" Sora muttered.  
"who know's? that race is always a wily bunch." Ash said. "so, back to the problem at hand, Jason?"  
"thank you, Ash. As I said, it's nothing but corridors that lead to other rooms. Odds are one of them is our library. But there's dozens of corridors. Might go faster if we split up."  
"okay. How?" Shadow asked.  
"well, maybe Aura and Requiem can check outside…" the 2 looked at each other and laughed flirtatiously. "…and maybe-"  
Jax took the map out of his claws. "if you send those 2 together, you'll never hear from them for the rest of the day." she berated while hitting him on the head with the rolled up map. Aura and Requiem pouted as Jax took her turn at bat. She looked up from the map a few times, mapping it to the layout in front of them. "okay… and that's there…"  
Dash and Gilda started to get impatient, rapidly tapping their feet.  
"Okay. Got it. Rainbow Dash, Storm Shadow. You 2 go around the castle outside, see if there's a secret entrance or something."  
Shadow gave a fake salute. "roger, Mon Capitan." he said like a idiot. Dash rolled her eyes.  
Jax did the same. "Aura and Pinkie Pie, you 2 go down that corridor on the left…" she pointed to the corridor just left to the doors. "…and me and Req will go down that one on the right." she pointed to the one opposite of it.  
"okay, upstairs. Twilight and Halo, you 2 go down the right way while Applejack and Zilver go down the left way. Spike and Rarity, you 2 check out the attic and towers. Sora will stay here to keep an eye on the entrance; see if no one followed us. Guess that leaves Gilda, Jason, and Ash with the basement."  
"whoa whoa whoa. How come I get left alone?" Sora angrily asked.  
"you wanna explore the creepy castle or stay here where there's likely the only light in the place?" Sora shut up and sat put.  
"well, now that that's out of the way, everyone take one." Twilight said, offering up those Gossip Stones. Every group took one.  
Sora peeked outside. "by the looks of the sun, we have 11 hours till the dawn of Pony Genocide Day." she called in.  
The various groups looked at each other, nodded, and went down their chosen paths. Shadow closed the main doors behind him, with Sora leaning on the castle outside. She mockingly repeated what Jax said as the doors closed.

When the last person walked out of view, a freaky creak filled the air.  
Near the door, a suit of primitive gryphon armor's helmet started to glow bright yellow.

*Author's Notes*  
Ooh. Got a Scooby-Doo vibe going.

our document here...


	31. ReverseRebirth

Paste your docume

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Of Ponies and Humans

Chapter 18

Reverse/Rebirth

49 Days after Zero Hour

After receiving the letter from Cadence; Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Halo, Zilver, Shadow, Derpy, Requiem, Aura, Ash, Jax, Bahamut, Spike, and Sora left for the Gryphon Kingdom to find the Reversal Spell for the human-turned Ponies. What they don't know is that this journey is going to be a lot tougher then it sounds.  
They arrived in the kingdom with no trouble but are informed of a curfew in place due to the impending threat of a slave trade going on. They are to meet with the king tonight and find out where the reversal spell to this predicament is.  
There, Dash had a very brief reunion with Gilda and met back up with her friends from her foalhood. Also, Twilight finds out she's gonna be a aunt when Cadence reveals she's pregnant… and was for 3 months prior to the Changeling's botched invasion. Guess even Ponies can't resist the call of the wild when it hits, huh?  
Now, after many days of waiting and searching, the location of the Reversal Spell is about to be revealed, and with Trixie, Fluttershy, and Marble on their way, this is gonna get worse before it gets better.  
Upon meeting with the king Zaltan, who's very laidback for a ruler, and who's daughter who summoned them who turned out to be Gilda, informs them of a fortress Nightmare Moon had in the area during her uprising. Hopefully, there's a reversal spell inside that can change them back. And soon cause it turns out this spell has a side-effect. In 50 days, the affected will die by a brain tumor. It's been 48 days and Derpy's starting to feel the effects.  
They have no time to waste.  
On the way, the humans ran into a old foe from one of the worlds they visited: the Green Death, a massive dragon from Berk. They quickly defeat it with unexpected help from Gilda and Jax's signature spell, Indignation. the enemy destroyed, they continue on their way to the mountain.  
Upon arriving at the base of the tall and lonely mountain, they start to climb but quickly run into trouble as a giant raven tries to turn them into lunch. It ends up becoming fried chicken as Aura and Bahamut kicked it's ass.  
They arrive at the Fortress, which is as big as Buckingham Palace, and split up to find the spell somewhere in the castle, unaware that they are being watched.

Sora huffed as she stood outside the main doors to the fortress. "I get guard duty. Just my luck." she angrily muttered. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a deck of playing cards. "well, may as well pass the time."  
She slid down to the ground and started playing a game of Solitaire.

"you know. I'm a little bit suspicious about these teams you chose, Jax." Req said as they both walked down a corridor.  
"how so?" Jax asked. She opened a door and looked in a room. Nothing was in it.  
"you deliberately separated me and Aura because you knew we were an item."  
"well, we all know what you two are like when you're alone. You're all not as subtle as you sound."  
Requiem started blushing nervously. "Eh…"  
"We could hear you on Orion. Aura must be really well endowed."  
Req sputtered at the notion. "h-h-how did we get on this subject matter? All I asked was why you chose the teams. You know Twilight and Halo have a complicated relationship going on and yet you sent them off as a team. Spike has a crush on Rarity and you sent them to the attic. And I noticed Gilda making Bambi eyes at Jason before we all went to sleep last night."  
"Well how was I supposed to know?"  
"here's an idea. It's a big one. You better listen carefully." Req leaned in close to Jax's face, who started to blush a little. "USE YOUR BRAIN!"  
Req walked off, leaving a angry Jax behind. Thankfully, she had a mean comeback. "I do use my brain. Right now, my mind is wondering why you aren't pregnant yet. From what we heard at times, hooh. You should be squatting out a kid by now."  
A angry Req bonked Jax on the head. "I ain't losing this heavenly figure till I'm 40."

Shadow da-da-da'ed a tune as he and Dash explored the outside of the castle grounds. Dash rolled her eyes, recognizing it as the same Gala song she and her friends did 16 months ago. Remembering that crappy night, she wanted to change the subject.  
"hey Shadow."  
It got him to stop humming. "yeah?"  
"how's that flying machine of yours coming?"  
"well, got close with number 38. Now, I just gotta try to stabilize the-"  
"yeah yeah yeah. Please don't bore me with the technical stuff, please. I'm what you would call technologically illiterate."  
"oh. Okay." he returned his gaze to the path and spotted a open window. "hey look. A open window. Let's see where that leads." he said as he ran over. Dash followed not far behind.  
They arrived and discovered their first problem. "you crazy? That's 10 feet up. Without my wings, there's no way we can get up there."  
Shadow smirked as he chuckled. "and that is why you are a tomboy, senorita." he put his back to the wall. "climb on my shoulders. I'll help you up."  
"oh. Now I get it." Dash walked over and did what he suggested. She climbed up onto his shoulders. He grunted as he grabbed her ankles.  
"you need to lay off the cupcakes." he groaned.  
"just help me up."  
Shadow used all his strength to push her up to the window. She grabbed the edge and pulled herself up. Shadow backed up a bit to give her room.  
"what do you see?" Shadow asked.  
"nothing. Big room of nothing. Unless spider-webs c-" a brick came loose and fell from under her left hand. She yelled as she almost fell, holding on tight with her right.  
"Dash!" Shadow exclaimed. He ran back over, though not sure what to do. She held on as tight as she could.  
A single metallic talon flicked her hand off, sending her falling right onto Shadow, creating a puff of dust when they fell to the ground, kicking up some dust when they hit.  
Both groaned in pain as the dust cleared. When it did, they saw that Dash was on top of Shadow and that they were kissing. Dash quickly broke it as they both blushed. "un… sorry." she embarrassingly said.  
Shadow, however, was out of it. "huh? Wha…" he shook his head and snapped out of it. "right. Yeah yeah. Sorry too."  
Dash jumped up and helped Shadow up. Dash scratched her cheek as Shadow continued to blush. "let's un… let's keep going." He said as he walked off. Dash thought back to it and shook her head. Now wasn't the time for that. She jogged after him.

" .Areyouscared,Aura?Ofcourseyouaren' 'reabigstrongmanwhocanigniteh imselfonfire!andyoucanalso…"  
Pinkie had been talking for 10 mintues… and isn't going to let up. Aura had a pair of earplugs handy and put them in when Pinkie started going on and on.  
Something tapped him on the shoulder. He quickly turned around, grabbing his lance. There was nothing there. Never-the-less, he kept his guard up as he turned around and walked after Pinkie, who kept on talking.

Applejack and Zilver walked down a hall-way, using a torch they found. Thanks to a loose rock and the brick wall, Zil was able to make a spark that ignited some brambles they found.  
"man, I really hate haunted houses. I can barely survive the ones at Nightmare Night." A.J. shivered. Zilver took off his coat and put it around her. "thanks, Zil."  
"no prob. Chivalry ain't dead in the world; it's just taking a vacation." Zil joked.  
A.J. chuckled. "that's what I like about you, Zil. You know how to make somepony laugh." Zil chuckled as he scratched his cheek. "you're gonna make some mare happy, you know that?" she smiled as she walked on.  
Zil stopped for a moment and watched her walk away. "yeah… some lucky mare…" he muttered, still watching her walk off. He smirked and chuckled just looking at her. "there's already a lucky mare, A.J…"  
Dust fell from above and hit A.J. on the head. She and Zil looked up. A big brick as bit as 4 ponies fell from above. Zil grabbed A.J. and both fell out of the way of the brick. It hit the floor, cracking it on impact.  
"that was unexpected." Zil panted.  
"no kidding." A.J. added.  
A pair of yellow eyes retreated into the shadows, quickly avoiding detection.

Spike groaned as he opened the trapdoor to the 3rd tower he and Rarity were exploring.  
"I'm really starting to get annoyed by all these cobwebs." Rarity sneered as she swung her hand, trying to get the web off. Spike grabbed it and took it off. "thanks, Spikey-Wikey."  
Spike groaned when he heard that. "please stop calling me that. It's degrading."  
"oh, why? It's so cute, just like your little punum." Rarity said like a grandmother, pinching his cheeks.  
Spike got loose before calling back into a pile of old moldy clothes. Rarity couldn't help but chuckle at the comedic sight. Spike blushed in embarrassment as he chuckled as well.  
Rarity kneeled down and took the clothes off. "oh, Spikey-Wikey. You're just the cutest little dragon I know. And the best friend I ever had." she walked off to a corner as a defeated Spike sighed.  
"right. Little. That's the problem." he muttered. "and I got friend-zoned. Nopony wants to be there." Suddenly, without warning, his right hand got bigger. He shook it and it got small again. "that was odd." he said as he got up.

Twilight and Halo made their way down a hallway. They were uncomfortable around each other, what with recent events that happened to them.  
Halo pinched the bridge between his eyes and sighed. Twi walked past him and ahead for a few feet. "Twi…" Twilight turned her body half-way when she heard her name. "we need to talk."  
"about what?"  
"about us."  
Twilight sighed. She knew this was coming. "oh. Well, I don't think there's anything to talk about. You don't want to be in a committed relationship and Trixie is going to continue to fawn over me. And that kiss we almost had at the beach house…"  
"I know. But… but I wanna-"  
Halo was suddenly interrupted by walking into a door. "you okay?" Twi asked.  
"fine. Never better." Halo groaned as he pulled himself off. He tilted his head a bit when he saw the symbol of a book on the door. "that looks promising." he said to Twi.  
They both pushed open the door and entered the room behind it. What they saw made them smile with big grins.  
They had found the library and it was 3 times the size of the royal hall back in Canterlot.  
They both looked at each other. Both adopted such stupid grins. "Yes!" they cheered. They hugged each other and bounced around. They stopped and looked at each other for a moment. They quickly broke apart and blushed.  
"let's un… let's get everyone else up here." Halo said.  
"y-yeah." Twi pulled out their Gossip Stone as Halo started looking around. Twi was about to talk into it when something crossed her thoughts.  
"Halo… before you rammed into the door, you said 'I wanna.' what did you mean by that?"  
Halo remembered that but didn't want to tell her. Not now, anyway. "let's un… let's find the spell before we open up that can of worms." he said as he continued looking though the library. He looked out the 30-foot window and saw that the moon had rose and was already high in the sky. "and we got less then 5 hours to find it."  
A distressed Twi slightly nodded and depressingly sighed as she grabbed the Gossip Stone again.

Ash huffed.  
He leaned against a wall in a corridor down in the castle basement, rapidly tapping his foot and tapping his fingers on himself.  
A green glow came from his pocket. He reached in and pulled out his Gossip Stone. Twi's distorted voice came though. "everyone, me and Halo found the library and it's BIG! We're gonna need everyone here to help sort though the place."  
Everyone replied and started for Twi's last location.  
"I'm afraid that's gonna be a problem on my end." Ash said into his stone. "Gilda and Jason went off to explore somewhere and I haven't heard back from them. And that was 2 hours ago."  
"well, hurry up and find them. We have 5 hours till the ponies all go belly up." Jax said though hers.  
"way to be subtle, Jax." Ash joked as he put his stone away. He pushed off the wall and looked down both ways. "they went down this way, I think." he muttered, walking to the right.  
He walked down that path for a few minutes before coming upon a closed door. He went up to open it but stopped when he heard noises coming from inside. Fearing the worst, he pulled out one of his pistols and pulled back the hammer.  
He kicked the door down and aimed his pistol in. inside, Gilda and Jason were on the floor and kissing up a storm but stopped when Ash broke in. his mouth dropped, same with his hand. He held his mouth as he gagged.  
"Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" Gilda angrily asked while blushing in embarrassment. Jason quickly got off her and brushed himself off.  
"haven't you heard of putting a tie, or maybe a feather, on the door?" a disgusted Ash asked.  
"We didn't think we needed to." Jason said.  
Ash groaned as he brushed it away out of his mind, or at least tried to. Thankfully, he was distracted by something. "what's that?" he muttered.  
Both Jason and Gilda looked in the direction he was and noticed it as well. There was a thin ribbon of light coming from underneath a wall. All 3 looked at each other then back at the wall.  
Jason slowly walked over. He noticed a loose brick sticking out. Being a bit of a stickler for perfection, he pushed it in.  
The ground suddenly shook as gears clanked inside the wall, parting a small section of it. The light shone bright for a bit, forcing them to cover their eyes for a moment.  
Once they adjusted to it, they uncovered their eyes to see something inside that shocked them to their cores. Gilda covered her mouth in fear. "oh my god." Ash gasped.

Everyone looked though the library's books, trying to find the one holding the reversal spell. But it was a big place and finding the spell in thousands of books is no easy task. And they had little time to waste. The ground ponies took the bottom floor, the humans and dragons took the second, and the fliers took the 3rd.  
"anybody have any leads?" Spike asked.  
"nope." "nu-uh." "nothing." Spike begrudgingly threw the book he was reading away. Just a romance novel.  
Sora flipped though a book but found nothing. She tossed it away and pulled out another one. "Forbidden Spells and Curses." she muttered. "this seems promising." she flipped it open to the table of contents. "hey guys!" she called out. "think I got something here.  
Twi and Halo were the first ones over. "what you got?" he asked.  
"think I got the right book. It's got plenty of spells from way back when, such as the transformation spell Trixie cast." Sora said. She flipped to it's page.  
"anything on the reversal spell?" Twi asked.  
Sora reached the page and smirked a bit. "Yep. Right in the same chapter." she said as she held it up to Twilight.  
Twi took it and looked though it. "this is it. It's got the Reversal Spell right in with it. Oh, and it's a powerful one. Requires more then 1 magic user."  
"well, you got 5." Shadow laughed. "Me, Halo, Req, Jax, and Rarity. You got more then enough, meha."  
"let's hope, cause this spell has to cover the entire planet and turn back a spell that's been in effect for 50 days." Twi said as she looked it over.  
"and get rid of these tumors about to kill us?" Pinkie asked.  
"it should." Twi placed the book on the floor. "I'm gonna need some help drawing a rune."

"oh my god." Ash gasped as he, Gilda, and Jason saw something disturbing.  
Inside was a lab, a very big one. Inside were dozens upon dozens of Ponies, Gryphons, Dragons, Changelings, and other fauna forced into tubes and pods hooked up to a machine with a bigger pod. The creatures had tubes coming out of their bodies, some even out of their mouths.  
"this is… I may be cold but this is too far." Gilda gasped.  
Ash slowly walked in and passed by the tubes. "not even Catalyst was this cruel." he said as he passed by a tube with a Diamond Dog.  
"who?" Jason asked.  
"Catalyst. Requiem's brother. He was evil as evil can come but he never did anything like this."  
"but… why are they hooked up to all this?"  
Gilda walked by the big tube. She spotted something, a note, lying on the floor beside it. She picked it up and looked over it. "think this will help explain it." Gilda said. Jason and Ash gathered round and looked over her shoulders.  
"what is it?" Ash asked.  
Gilda turned her gaze to the header. "the revival of Nightmare Moon."

Light beamed out of Requiem's sword as she hovered high above the floor, craving a image into the floor with her magic.  
"you sure this will work?" Rarity asked.  
"we'll find out soon, won't we?" Twi said.  
Req cut off her magic and put her sword away, the image of a winged sun and moon carved into the floor. She landed on the floor. "So, how do we cast this puppy?" she asked.  
"well, you stay where you are, Requiem. Rarity. You stand over there, Halo…"  
A.J. suddenly exclaimed in pain as she held her head.  
"Applejack?" a worried Zilver asked. His head started to hurt as well. It felt like his mind was collapsing from the inside-out. The pain spread among Everypony transformed from before.  
"What's going on?" a very worried Aura asked.  
"we're running… out of time…" Twilight painfully grunted.

The time limit before the transformed ponies all over Equestria die is almost up. Already, everyone started to feel the pain, even Celestia and Luna.

"What do we do? The unicorns can't cast the spell like this." Sora whined.  
Req contemplated for a moment. She looked to the glyph she created and smirked. "I got this." she said as she walked to the center.

Begin Song: watch?v=pIT6wCJ-RHU Finding the Nautilus - Journey 2: The Mysterious Island Soundtrack.

0:00.  
"what?" the humans exclaimed.  
"if they die, then we came all this way for nothing. I have to at least try." Req confidently said as she strode to the center.  
"but Req… it requires more then one magic user…" Twi groaned.  
"more then one pony magician, maybe…" Req pulled out her sword and slammed it into the middle of the glyph. It started to glow a faint pink hue. "…but you forget, I'm a Demi-Goddess."  
"not alone you're not." Jax said as she joined the Goddess.  
They didn't like it but it was their only option. "do it."  
They both nodded. Both walked to separate sides of the Glyph, still keeping within it's boundaries. both took a deep breath and closed their eyes, concentrating on the spell before them.

0:26.  
"I realize that my time on this world may be coming to a end, so I'm leaving a failsafe behind to ensure my continued survival." Gilda read.  
"Continued Survival?" Jason and Ash both said.  
"if I am somehow killed or my gutless host Luna somehow takes back over, I have left a device to ensure I will return without the need of my host body."  
"host? I thought Luna turned into Nightmare Moon on purpose." Jason muttered.  
"the device is to be powered by beings collected over how ever long I may be gone. My mechanical creation, a suit of magically powered Gryphon armor, is to watch over my fortress and collect 'volunteers' from those who enter it's domain."  
"So they're batteries?" Ash exclaimed, looking at the tubes.  
"however, how to turn the device on is proving to be a challenge. My mechanical creation isn't smart enough nor will my host will likely return should she take control again. Then it hit me; magic."  
"magic?" all 3 of them said.

1:00.  
The glyph glowed brighter then before. Cherry blossoms appeared out of nowhere and started swirling around Requiem and Jax.

Req's back glowed as light extended out and took shape. The light broke like glass as her wings appeared.

1:15.  
"should anyone use magic within the castle walls, the mechanism will activate. Anything from a small light spell to something Celestia would use will lead to my ultimate revival."  
Ash quickly bolted for the exit. "where you going?" Jason asked.  
"to stop them from casting the reversal spell." Ash yelled back. "least till we get outside the place." Gilda put the note into her feathers and flew after him. Jason followed not far behind.  
As they left, the main machine flickered.

1:44.  
The 2 ran out into the room where Jason and Gilda were having their make-out session and ran for the door on the opposite side when something fell from the ceiling right in front of them. The dust quickly cleared to reveal the mechanical Gryphon barring their way.  
"Think we just found Nightmare Moon's little helper." Ash said as he drew his pistols in a epic fashion. Gilda and Jason got into battle positions as Mr. Robato charged them.

2:02.  
Small bolts of electricity started coming out of the glyph and hitting the casters. They caused some scaring but they weren't backing down.

Whooves grunted in pain as he grabbed his head and collapsed near Derpy's bed.

The CMC, + Dinky, started yelling out in pain in front of Edge, who was a bit worried. "hey. You 4 okay?" he asked.

Dash yelled out in pain as it got worse.  
"you 2 mind hurrying up a bit?" a heavily worried Bahamut whined.  
They didn't reply just kept on casting.

2:42.  
Ash flipped backwards and fired his pistols in succession. The Mana Bolts bounced off the metallic surface of Robo-Gryphon.  
Gilda pulled back on it's wings, trying to pull them out. Steam hissed out of it's feet, sending it back into a wall, crushing Gilda against it and Mecha-Gyphona.  
Jason kicked the robot in the head and swiped down on it's head. All it did was make it mad. It clawed at Jason, taking him down out of the air.  
Ash grunted. He pressed some of the jewels on both pistols. It glowed with a slight purple hue, giving him a smirk.  
He aimed his guns at the Robot. It quickly noticed it and smacked Ash into a wall and knocking the guns out of his hands.

3:09. End Song.

Begin Song: watch?v=XnJ9S2cwTiA Spray-On Triumph - Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs Soundtrack

0:00.  
Ash fell to the floor as the Robot charged at him. Ash quickly rolled out of the way, making the Mecha-Gryphon hit the wall instead of him. He jumped for the guns, grabbed them, and fired electric bolts at the Mecha.  
They hit. The Robot shook as it shorted out and collapsed.  
Gilda panted as she wiped blood from her beak. "you kill it?"  
"if not, it's gonna be out for awhile." Ash panted.  
They heard the machinery powering up in the previous room. Without saying a word, they bolted for the door and for the library.

0:23.  
The air in the library began to swirl around the glyph, picking up any loose papers and light objects.

0:34.  
The light of the glyph retracted to the center; Requiem's sword, and formed a 30 foot rainbow-colored orb in front of them.

0:47.  
Ash, Gilda, and Jason arrived too late to stop the spell. The orb sent out a shockwave, which knocked Requiem and Jax into bookcases, then shot up into the air.  
"Yes! Nice going you two." Aura cheered.  
"yeah. Great. You just killed us all." Gilda sarcastically said.  
"beg pardon?" Jax asked, taking a book off her head.

1:13.  
The orb shot up like a rocket until it reached the atmosphere's edge. It powered up then shrunk down to the size of a atom.

1:22.  
The orb exploded, sending out a shockwave that quickly covered the entire planet.

The shockwave went down as far as the ground, spreading along the surface and the skies.  
It also destroyed the orb cast by Orochi a few chapters back.

It quickly reached Equestria and washed over Canterlot, Ponyville, Manehatten, and all the rest.

Before long, it covered the entire world, curing everypony.

1:57. End Song.

"Lulu. Lulu, wake up."  
Luna grudgingly opened her eyes. She groaned as she held her head. "what happened?" she groaned. Celestia bent down, showing off her restored face. Luna went wide-eyed and shot up. She looked herself over; wings, check. Horn, check. Hooves, check!  
"YES!" Luna cheered. She hugged her sister. They both laughed and cheered, along with everypony else who was transformed.

Halo woke up from what felt like a VERY bad dream. Everypony else followed as they woke up.  
"What happened?" Dash groaned.  
Req smiled. "why don't you tell us?"  
Dash looked down at her hands only to find that they weren't hands, they were hooves. She quickly looked over her body to see that it was back to normal.  
"it… it worked?" a un-believing Applejack laughed. She and Zilver looked at each other and couldn't help but smile. "It worked!" they both cheered. The ponies all cheered and hugged each other. Twi and Halo closed in the hug each other but stopped and settled with a handshake.  
"now you've done it." Jason muttered. "you killed us all!"  
Everyone stopped and looked in his direction. "un… beg pardon, J?" Sora asked.  
Ash took the note out of Gilda's feathers, who felt a bit violated, and handed it to Jax. "we found a lab downstairs. Any spell cast here will activate a machine that will revive Nightmare Moon."

Begin Song: watch?v=H5WBvhVY2_A Shockwave's Revenge - Transformers Dark of the Moon Soundtrack

0:00.  
The lab lit to life. The pods holding the people glowed a dark-white while the main pod glowed black.

"What are you talking about?" a disbelieving Twi asked.  
"when you cast the reversal spell, you activated a machine that will bring Nightmare Moon back, without using Luna as a host body." Gilda said.  
"host body? You mean Nightmare Moon was a parasite?" Zilver asked.  
"maybe, but we don't know that much. All we know is that is on and working." Jason said. The room suddenly began shaking as if it was in a major earthquake. "Speaking of which…"

The subjects dissolved into liquid and pumped though the tubes into the main pod.

"I feel better then new, Lulu." Celestia said as she spun around like a ballerina. Luna scoffed and chuckled.

0:31.  
Luna's eyes suddenly glowed. She yelled and collapsed in pain. Celestia and a few guards ran over. "Lulu? Luna, you okay?" Celestia desperately asked.  
Luna's body started distorting, turning into Nightmare Moon then back to Luna for a few seconds. Celestia gasped and backed up. The guards tried to close in but Celestia stopped them. "don't." she ordered.  
Luna shivered as a blue mist hissed out of her and formed above her body. It took a all-too familiar shape in from of Celestia before blasting off.  
Luna shivered as her sister comforted her. "What happened?" Luna asked.  
"I don't know. But I think it was something bad."

0:46.  
The castle shook to it's foundation. Everyone had fallen on their butts or their backs; they weren't gonna stay up in this quake.

The main tub hissed as it ascended up though the stonework.

Clouds started to form above the mountain. They swirled around and around. A roaring tornado extended down from the clouds, stopping just above the fortress.

The floor cracked underneath everyone. "everyone move!" Aura yelled out. Everyone got up and ran as fast as they could to the exit while dodging falling debris.  
They made it into the great hall and headed for the gate. They were forced to stop short as spires fell in front of the doors, locking them in.  
"why us?" Bahamut whined.

A area in the floor behind them cracked and was forced upward when the main tub forced it's way though.  
The tornado slimmed and fell on top of it as a body began to form in the tub.  
"okay. We believe you." Req gulped.  
The blue mist shot down from above and went right into the pod.

The tornado suddenly disappeared but the clouds remained. The pod hissed and opened, letting a dark mist spill all over the hall.  
Everyone coughed up the mist.

1:40.  
A single hoof touched down on the stone floor, followed by another and another. The owner spread her wings wide, clearing the mist. The Mane6 gasped when they saw who came out.  
"it… it can't be…" Twilight gasped, seeing that it was really her.  
A evil chuckle emanated from the evil mare.

" I AM REBORN!"

2:01. End Song.

nt here...


	32. Night of Evil

Paste your d

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Of Ponies and Humans

Chapter 19

Night of Evil

After receiving the letter from Cadence; Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Halo, Zilver, Shadow, Derpy, Requiem, Aura, Ash, Jax, Bahamut, Spike, and Sora left for the Gryphon Kingdom to find the Reversal Spell for the human-turned Ponies. What they don't know is that this journey is going to be a lot tougher then it sounds.  
They arrived in the kingdom with no trouble but are informed of a curfew in place due to the impending threat of a slave trade going on. They are to meet with the king tonight and find out where the reversal spell to this predicament is.  
There, Dash had a very brief reunion with Gilda and met back up with her friends from her foalhood. Also, Twilight finds out she's gonna be a aunt when Cadence reveals she's pregnant… and was for 3 months prior to the Changeling's botched invasion. Guess even Ponies can't resist the call of the wild when it hits, huh?  
Now, after many days of waiting and searching, the location of the Reversal Spell is about to be revealed, and with Trixie, Fluttershy, and Marble on their way, this is gonna get worse before it gets better.  
Upon meeting with the king Zaltan, who's very laidback for a ruler, and who's daughter who summoned them who turned out to be Gilda, informs them of a fortress Nightmare Moon had in the area during her uprising. Hopefully, there's a reversal spell inside that can change them back. And soon cause it turns out this spell has a side-effect. In 50 days, the affected will die by a brain tumor. It's been 48 days and Derpy's starting to feel the effects.  
They have no time to waste.  
On the way, the humans ran into a old foe from one of the worlds they visited: the Green Death, a massive dragon from Berk. They quickly defeat it with unexpected help from Gilda and Jax's signature spell, Indignation. the enemy destroyed, they continue on their way to the mountain.  
Upon arriving at the base of the tall and lonely mountain, they start to climb but quickly run into trouble as a giant raven tries to turn them into lunch. It ends up becoming fried chicken as Aura and Bahamut kicked it's ass.  
They arrive at the Fortress, which is as big as Buckingham Palace, and split up to find the spell somewhere in the castle, unaware that they are being watched.  
After hours of searching, they find both the library holding the Reversal Spell and a lab used by Nightmare Moon. Upon activating any type of spell, doesn't matter which, a machine will activate, using the life-force of test-subjects taken over the years by a mechanical gryphon to revive the Queen of the Night, which explains why no one returned from going to investigate the place. Unfortunately, the main group didn't hear about it in time.  
The Reversal Spell is cast and everypony transformed wee changed back into ponies, and in the nick of time too as they were getting dangerously close to the death point. Unfortunately, that caused the machine to activate and demolish half the castle and kill the subjects in the process.  
Nightmare Moon has been reborn.

The moon shone brighter then it did before. The dark clouds stayed up in the sky and continued to swirl around.

Nightmare Moon gave a wicked and evil smile before laughing evilly into the sky.  
The Mane6 were distrat to see that their original foe is back from beyond. "Nightmare Moon?" Applejack asked.  
Nightmare Moon snickered. "hmhmhmhm. In the flesh, Honest Applejack."  
"you remember us?" Dash asked.  
"of course I do, Loyal Rainbow Dash. And I know of your human friends as well; the Demi-Goddess Requiem, the Mage Jax, the Gunslinger Ash. The new ponies, not so."  
"and how do you know about us?" Ash asked with a raised eyebrow.  
"though Princess Luna. You see, I wasn't destroyed, but merely… pushed into hibernation, if you will. While pushed deep into Luna's mind, I still heard and saw everything that transpired; Luna's first Nightmare Night. the return of Discord. The Changeling attack. And the human transformation."  
"spending 1000 years on the moon then 2 years in the back of someone's mind. I've been though that. Not pretty." Sora said.  
"it was a thousand years of pure hell, being trapped for all that time. I'm surprised Luna was able to keep her mind for as long as she did. I could barely survive 2 years. She survived 1000. She has more willpower then me."  
"you're talking about her as if you aren't an extension of her. Why?" Rarity asked.  
"because I am not a extension of Luna, Generous Rarity."  
"What do you mean?"  
"She said it in her note." Jason said, holding it. "she said that Luna was the host. Which means Nightmare Moon may have been a parasite feeding off her."  
"So what are you then? A Changeling Goddess or something?" Pinkie asked.  
"do not associate me with those heathens, Laughable Pinkie Pie. I was created by Discord just moments before he was turned into stone by Luna and Celestia in their golden days. I waited and waited for 900 years for the opportune moment to take over Luna's body. Thankfully, I didn't have to wait long. Her jealously for Celestia getting all the glory and the fame reached a bubbling point but her love for her sister. But her sisterly love prevented her from doing it; it still overpowered the jealously. One possession later…"  
"and Luna began her uprising." Twilight concluded. "so it WAS all Discord's doing. I knew I wasn't jumping to conclusions."  
"Correct, o Magical Twilight Sparkle. But Celestia banishing me and her to the moon was unexpected but I anticipated she'd try something."  
"hence the revival machine of yours." Halo said, looking back to the tube behind Nightmare Moon.  
"what happened to Luna? Are you still in her body?" Spike asked.  
"no no no. this is my own body, made from the remains of those foolish enough to investigate my fortress. Molding them to look like my exquisite self took many bodies but, you know what they say, Curiosity killed the cat.  
Bahamut snarled as Aura reached back to grab his lance. "that's… that's monstrous." Requiem gasped. "you know how many may have had families who were worried about them?"  
"should I? I really don't care what happens to anyone. Well…" Nightmare Moon's horn started to glow. "…anyone except those present."  
"What?"

Begin Song: watch?v=H5WBvhVY2_A Shockwave's Revenge - Transformers Dark of the Moon soundtrack

0:00.  
A ball of dark light appeared at the tip of her horn. With a snicker, she fired it at the group. They barely had time to react before it hit, exploding like a freight train hit them.  
They were sent falling in separate directions, hitting the floor and the wall.  
Nightmare Moon laughed at the pathetic sight. "oh, I love it when they all squirm. Makes it more fun that way."  
Aura grunted as he struggled to get up, using his lance to do so. "you're messed up."  
"Why thank you for the compliment, Aura." Nightmare Moon said before blasting him again. She then turned her attention to another person. She used her magic to pulled Twilight towards her.

0:31.  
"I feel like taking all of my frustrations out on you, you flawed creature." Nightmare Moon's horn glowed again.  
Chains appeared and whapped around Twilight. They squeezed down hard on her, causing her to scream loudly.  
"TWI!" Halo yelled.

0:46.  
Nightmare Moon snickered as she use her magic to pull the chains tighter around Twi, making her scream louder. "I am going to enjoy every waking minute of this."  
Twi barely managed to open one eye. "Why? Why are you doing this to me?" she grunted.  
"Simple." Nightmare Moon used her magic to slam Twi into the floor for a moment. "I am going to make you pay for every single second I spent trapped in Luna's mind for the past 2 years. Why you? Simple. I'm just evil that way."  
Nightmare Moon continually slammed Twilight into the floor. That, coupled with the chains, gave Twi new meaning of the word 'pain'.

Nightmare Moon blasted the group again, keeping them down a lot longer.

Twi hit the ground again. This time, Nightmare Moon pressed down on her neck with her hoof, putting on the pressure.

Req got up off the floor, wiped her mouth clear of blood, gripped her sword, and charged Nightmare Moon.  
Nightmare Moon noticed this and smirked. Her form dissolved into mist. Req swung right her the mist, where the bad guy's neck would be, and stopped on the other side.  
"oh. Didn't expect that, did you?" Nightmare Moon gloated as her physical form returned. "That's the thing of having my own body. I can do whatever I want with it."  
Req swung her sword, creating a gust of wind. Moon blocked the majority against her with her wings but it wasn't meant for her. The gust sent Twilight back to the group.  
Moon snarled when she saw this. "how about that, prissy? Guess you're not as powerful as you claim to be." Req smirked.  
"keep in mind that I was reborn a few minutes ago. And Luna gave me the power I needed to keep going." that gave her a devious idea. "I still need a host." she snickered.  
Req knew what she was leading towards and readied her blade.

1:40.  
Nightmare Moon rose up into the air, dissolved back into mist, and lunged at Requiem.

2:01. End Song.

Jax's glowing chakram cut though the chains Nightmare Moon summoned. Twi took in a deep breath and coughed loudly.  
"that was… that was nightmarish." Twi coughed.  
"well, it is in her name." Jax said. She gave a slight chuckle. Everyone gave her a mean leer.  
"not a good time for a joke, Jax." her human friends with half-closed eyes.  
"hey, where's Req?" Rarity pointed out.  
"And Nightmare Moon, for that matter." Shadow added.  
Everyone looked around, trying to find them both.  
Requiem walked up from where she was, sword still in hand.  
"there she is." Sora said. She ran on over to her, both stopping half-way. "what happened to Nightmare Moon?" Req said nothing and just stood there. Aura got a bad feeling and walked over. "Req?" Sora asked again.  
Requiem smirked.

Begin Song: watch?v=qyHeUtacaNc The Key - Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep OST

She quickly raised her head, moved her sword back, and proceeded to stab Sora. Aura grabbed Sora and pulled her down before the sword could connect.  
They both hit the floor. Aura quickly let go and got up. "Requiem, are you crazy?"  
Req snickered as she looked at him. Her eyes were different. They were silvery and reptilian. "I'm afraid Requiem isn't able to answer at this time. I'm afraid she's now trapped in the recesses of her mind" Nightmare Requiem said.  
Aura snarled and quickly pulled out his lance. Ash quickly came over with pistols drawn. "What did you do to Requiem, you bitch?" Aura snarled.  
"I just told you. I took over her body and put her personality as far back into her mind as I could. For one who looked like a skank, she's surprisingly strong-willed."  
"Let. Her. Go." Aura demanded.  
"I'm afraid not. She's currently fighting off some particularly bad memories, including a horrible thing you commented on her."  
Aura growled as his lance started to glow red. "Nightmare, let Requiem go now." Twilight demanded.  
"not a chance. Luna may have been powerful but she was no Goddess. You can only dream to imagine the sheer power flowing though her veins." Nightmare Requiem raised her arms to the sky. "I have more power then Discord, Celestia, and Luna combined could ever dream of. They may've been powerful but they could hardly be called almighty. With this power, I will conquer more then this pitiful world, but the stars as well. Nothing will stand in my way!"  
"well, there's one hitch in your galactic conquest plan, little Ms. Prissy Pants." Twi said as she and the others took battle positions. "there's still us."  
Nightmare Requiem feigned at the sight. "Oh, mercy me. What will I do?" she chuckled afterwards. "you can't beat me. You're short one Kind Fluttershy. And even if you did have her, you wouldn't attack me without harming your friend."  
Aura snarled as his body began to glow red. "I am going to make you pay for this, you equine bitch!"  
N.R. snickered evilly. "can you, without hurting your girlfriend?" she pointed the sword at them and fired a beam of darkness. It hit, causing a explosion that sent them crashing back into the walls and floor.  
Nightmare Requiem was pleased by the power in the blade. "well. This is quite the powerhouse. let's see how well it does with what I have in store." the sword glowed black. N.R. swung it to the side then thrust it skyward. A beam of dark light shot up into the clouds.  
The darkest black started spreading out, covering the sky.  
"what's she doing?" Bahamut asked as the wind picked up.  
"what she set out to do last time; put the world in eternal night." Twi forebodingly said.

The dark clouds rumbled as they covered the skies in eternal night. Slowly, It spread to the Gryphon Kingdom. From the capital city, you could clearly see the beam, laced with electricity, shooting up from the mountain and into the clouds, creating the dark barrier. Everyone looked up in fear as the darkness spread.  
"oh, that can not be good." Whooves said as he, Armor & Cadence, and Vinyl & Octavia looked out of Derpy's hospital window.  
Something whooshed over the city, creating quite a back draft behind it. Derpy woke up from that sound, the pain long gone, and looked out the same window to see a giant monster flying for the mountain  
"That's it. That's the monster that stranded Req and her friends on our world." Vinyl exclaimed.  
"That thing!?" Armor and Cadence both exclaimed in surprise and fear.  
Armor looked back out the window. "what did Twili get herself in now?"

Nightmare Requiem removed the sword from the beam, but it kept on doing what it's doing.  
"now, since I'm in such a placid mood, I'm gonna let you choose who I kill first." nobody said a word, just gave her nasty glares. "Suit yourself." she reared the sword back, which glowed black, and started to swing it towards them when a lavender beam hit her in the shoulder. She held it in pain and looked to her left to see Twi standing there, horn glowing and ready to attack again. "guess you die first. Although I wanted to have my fun torturing you."  
Nightmare Requiem swung the sword at Twilight, sending a beam tipped with a roaring Dragon head at Twi. Twi readied her magic, ready to counter, when she was suddenly pushed out of the way.  
Twi rolled along the ground as the person who pushed her took the brunt of the attack.

End Song.

Twilight stopped rolling and quickly looked up to see the aquamarine pony who pushed her away get blasted out of the smoke. "Trixie?"  
Trixie skipped along the ground twice before crashing into the rubble that held the door shut. "Trixie!" Twilight exclaimed as she ran on over to the badly beaten and wounded magician.  
"Sis!" Halo and Zilver surprising asked as they ran to her side as well.  
"well, this was unexpected." Nightmare Requiem smirked.  
Twi grabbed Trixie and tried to shake her awake. "Trixie! Trixie! Wake up!" Trixie didn't reply as her head just hung. A hopeless feeling fell over Twi, Halo, and Zilver. "Trix?" still no response. Tears started falling from Twilight's face. "no. no no no no no no no. you can't be dead. You can't be dead. You just can't be dead."  
Fluttershy and Marble ran in though a hole in the wall and saw the dead unicorn on the ground. Fluttershy gasped and held her hooves to her mouth. "oh… oh no."  
Twilight cried and held Trixie close. Halo and Zilver cried as well. Everyone else started to feel the pain they were feeling now. "Trixie, I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry." Twi cried as she held her.  
Sora held her bow hard enough to make her hand bleed. She turned her attention to Nightmare Requiem who just stood there with a smile.  
"oh, I'm positively giddy." N.R. giggled. "my first kill of the night. Too bad it wasn't who I wanted."  
Twi's anguish was replaced with anger; a rage to kill. She gently set Trixie down on the floor and she got up. "how? How can you be so cold-blooded?!" she yelled.  
"Simple…" Nightmare Requiem said. She flipped the sword and raised it up. "I have no heart."

Begin Song: watch?v=p2eUgF8Kf-0 The Dread of Night - Kingdom Hearts 3D: DreamDropDistance OST

The sword vibrated and glowed as N.R. wickedly smiled.  
She slammed it into the ground, causing a glyph to appear under her. Tendrils came out of the glyph and shot towards everyone.  
"Move it!" Ash yelled. Everyone yelled as they ducked behind rubble, shielding themselves from Nightmare Requiem's attack.  
The tendrils snapped across the hall, destroying everything in their path and breaking down walls.  
Twilight grabbed Trixie's body and pulled her behind a downed pillar where she, Jax, Halo, Fluttershy, Marble, and Zilver were taking cover.  
"What in Tartarus is going on here?" Marble demanded. "We arrive and Requiem's attacking you?"  
"it's a long story, short version is that the Reversal Spell activated a machine that revived Nightmare Moon without using Luna. Now she's possessed Requiem and using her body." Halo explained.  
"oh. Glad we got the short version." Marble joked.  
"Now is not the time for that!" Jax exclaimed.

Nightmare Requiem evilly laughed as her back glowed. Wings as black as night came out of the glow. N.R. rose up into the air, arms spread wide.

The darkness continued to spread across the planet.

The citizens of Ponyville looked up to the sky to see the spreading dark clouds.  
"hold me, Bonbon." Lyra comedicly said, hugging Bonbon tight. Bonbon angrily looked down at her.

"I don't like this. I don't like this. I don't like this." Dinky kept repeating that over and over and over, rocking herself in a corner.  
"she hate the dark or something?" Applebloom asked Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. They just shrugged in reply..

The tendrils continued to destroy the fortress while everyone cowered behind what little cover they had. Happy at this, Nightmare Requiem laughed at the sight.  
"I'm really started to hate that bitch!" Jax growled, pulling her head back before a tendril hit her.  
"welcome to the club." Zilver angrily said. He wanted Nightmare Moon dead for killing Trixie.  
A tendril hit near Bahamut's position. "Wait. Jax, weren't you working on a new spell; one you created?"  
"you mean Personality Shift?" Jax replied, wondering if that's what he was talking about.  
"perso-what now?" Aura asked. he and Shadow quickly ducked to avoid a tendril.  
"it's a spell I created." she brought up one of her chakrams. "it's supposed to work in one of two ways. It can split the person used on it into 2 different people; one good, one evil."  
A tendril hit near Applejack's and Spike's position. "and the other thing?" Spike asked.  
Jax glanced back at Nightmare Requiem, who hovered above the zone like a angel of death. "Exorcise the Possessor out of the Possessee."  
Rarity and Jason nervously looked at each other. "will it work?" she asked.  
"I don't know. I never used it before. This would be it's trial run."  
Aura grunted in anger. He didn't like it but it was their best shot at the moment. "we got no choice." he readied his lance. "we'll distract Re- I mean Nightmare Moon. Meanwhile, you get that spell ready. And hope it doesn't kill Req."

End Song.

Begin Song: watch?v=6ILcoI3XD84  
Shadow Queen (True Form part 2) - Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door OST

Jax looked up at Req. she didn't like it as well but what choice did they have? She nodded to Aura. Aura nodded back. "everyone got that?" he called out. Everyone nodded back, even the not-timed Fluttershy.  
Aura nodded back at them as his body glowed red.

Nightmare Requiem chuckled evilly as she hovered in midair and looked Nexus Ultimus over. "such a gorgeous weapon. Why is something this beautiful in the hands of such a timid girl?"  
A sudden plume of red came from below. N.R. snickered, knowing full well who it was. Aura shot up from below and quickly arrived at her position. He swung his lance at Nightmare Requiem, who blocked it quite easily.  
"I know you won't harm your girlfriend, Aura Aesir. You love her too much for that. Guess that day you broke her heart helped solidify that for you." N.R. said with a smirk.  
"Shut up!" Aura snarled.  
"maybe she would be better off with that Sopa fellow. I wonder, after I defeat you, should I go look him up?" she egged on.  
Aura figured out Nightmare's plan and didn't let it get to him. "sorry, you equine bitch, but you're not gonna snap me so easily." Aura glanced up at a blue streak in the sky. "I'm sure of that."  
Aura quickly kicked back from Nightmare Requiem. She regained her posture and moved to attack when she was slammed into by Bahamut.

The 2 fell to the ground, Bahamut biting into his 'mother's' arm.  
"ah, Bahamut. The hybrid rejected by his own kind back home. Tell me, how does it feel knowing that your own species despises you?"  
Bahamut ignored her and slammed her right into the floor. blasted Bahamut off of her and quickly got up.  
She heard the clicking of a hammer and the pulling of strings. She quickly ducked to the side, avoiding a Mana Bolt and a Arrow fired by Ash and Sora.  
Sora drew her short sword with her arrow hand and she and Ash charged Nightmare Requiem. She quickly ducked, put the sword into the ground, and grabbed them by the necks. She proceeded to squeeze them. Hard. "oh, the secrets you 2 have trusted into Requiem. I'm sure Jacqueline will be devastated if she hears the 2 of you are in a relationship."  
Ash gurgled as Nightmare Requiem laid on the squeeze. "you really need to learn to shut up!" he was able to spit out.  
The clicking of hooves reached N.R. too little too late as Applejack and Rainbow Dash bucked her in the back, forcing her to release Sora and Ash.  
Jason, Gilda, and Fluttershy flew down from above, carrying a net. They landed and pulled it down, quickly trapping Nightmare Requiem under it. Twilight, Rarity, Halo, and Shadow used their magic to enchant it to the ground.  
"See that. That's how we do it in our town." Pinkie gloated. Gilda gave her a suspicious glare. "What? I heard Satoshi say it."  
Nightmare yelled, blasting the net off. She quickly got up, grabbed Twilight, and put the blade up to her neck. "hehe. Nice try." Halo and Jason tried to move in but Nightmare put it closer to Rare's neck. "nu-uh-un. One wrong step and the Unicorn get's it."  
Halo got angry, angrier then anyone else. "you touch one hair on her head, I will-"  
Nightmare laughed at the notion. "you'll what? Kill me? What can you do? What can any of you do? I got the upper hand now. And there ain't nothing you can do about it?"  
"no? then try this on for size." someone said behind her. Nightmare was blasted by behind by a beam attack. She was pushed away from Rarity and slammed into a wall.  
Trixie heavily panted, her horn glowing a combination of green and red. "keep your hands off my future sister-in-law."  
"Trixie!" Halo cheered. He and Zil ran over and hugged their sister, who went bug-eyed in pain.  
"Pain. Pain. Giving me unbridled pain." she grunted though her teeth.  
"Sorry. We thought you were dead." Zil cried, still hugging her.  
Trix sputtered. "it's gonna take more then that to defeat the Great and Powerful Trixie."  
Twi joined in on the hug, which surprised both her and Halo. "it's just good to see you alive, Trix." Trixie smiled.  
"think we can hold off until we defeated the bad guy!?" Aura yelled, pointing at Nightmare Requiem.

N.R. groaned as she got up.  
A red beam wrapped around her right arm, catching her off guard. It squeezed her enough to force her to drop the sword. A aquamarine beam wrapped around her left arm. A white and blue beam wrapped around her left and right legs respectively.  
"What is this?" Nightmare Requiem yelled as Rarity, Halo, Shadow, and Zilver held her down.  
"one forced Exorcism, you equine bitch." Twi said, quoting Aura while being held aloft by Bahamut. She fired a beam from her horn that wrapped around Nightmare Requiem's neck and waist. "Now, Jax!" she yelled out.

Jax nodded. "sure hope this works." she whined. She closed her eyes and began concentrating. A tan glyph appeared beneath her while her chakrams flew up along side her and started spinning around and around, gaining speed as they went along. Her voice echoed as she began to cast the spell.  
"oh, powers of the infinite mind that we can only dream of grasping…"  
Nightmare struggled to get loose but the Unicorns held her down tight.  
"…let us bring break the bonds of reality and back to us the ones we love or separate the good from the evil…"  
Nightmare continued to struggle and was able to break Trixie's spell. She used her free arm to try and break the others.  
"…let us dive into the stream of time and space and do the impossible!"  
Jax snapped open her eyes. A white blade materialized on front of her. She quickly grabbed it and charged Nightmare Requiem.  
N.R. blasted the floor with a fireball spell but Jax just jumped on over it. "PERSONALITY SHIFT!" she yelled as she swung down on Nightmare Requiem's head.  
N.R. yelled as a blinding flash of light followed, quickly covering everyone and illuminating the top of the mountain like a star.

End Song.

The dark storm slowed to a halt above the equator, leaving the inhabitants there confused as to why it stopped.

Jax groaned as she woke up with a headache. "oh, god. I pray this isn't a hangover." she groaned as she got up. She looked around the destroyed room and saw that everyone was also waking up.  
"What… what happened?" a groggy Gilda asked.  
Marble tried saying something but had a rock in his mouth. He spit it out and wiped out the taste. "did it work?  
Jax stood up and cracked her back. First thing she spotted was Nightmare Moon's body, though badly damaged. "I see the evil horse. Pretty beat up. Guess it worked." she said confidently.  
"yeah but {bleep}ed up Nightmare." Twilight groaned.  
"but where's Requiem?" aura asked.  
"yheread oghn tghoerp ofagerf mgre." Requiem said, her head underneath Pinkie's plot.  
"oh. Sorry Req." Pinkie apologized as she got up.  
Requiem coughed as she got up. "that was *cough* that was something." Req groaned. She licked her lips. "why do I taste Spam? And how do I know what Spam tastes like?"  
"And there's side-effect number 2." Jax said, taking notes on the effects of her spell.  
"You okay, Req?" Aura asked with concern.  
"what was it like?" a curious Zilver asked.  
"It was… it was something. Being forced back into the back of my mind, fighting all of my old foes in my mind and reliving my worst memories. It would break anyone."  
"Sorry about one of them." Aura said, scratching his neck.  
Req smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "Don't worry about it." she looked back behind Aura and saw Trixie. "Trixie? What are you doing here?"  
"Oh, right. We were so busy, I completely forgot. Why are you here?" Twilight asked.  
Trixie wasn't prepared for it being this sudden. "well… I came to… to apologize."  
"apologize?" Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow. "for what?"  
"for being a idiot… for letting my dreams take over… and for this whole mess with turning you into humans and, I'm guessing, Nightmare Moon."  
Twilight just gave a breathing chuckle. She walked over and kissed Trixie on the forehead. "That 'sacrifice' of yours made up for it." Trixie smiled back and blushed a little. "you do know that was a friendly peck, right?"  
"oh, no yeah no, I know." everyone agreed with her.  
"okay, that explains you, but why are Fluttershy and Marble here?" Rare wondered.  
"well, ever since you left, I had this sinking feeling that something terrible was going to happen."  
She and everyone else looked at Nightmare's body. "Think that already came true." Shadow joked. "so why'd you come, Marble?"  
"I have my reasons." he replied, front hooves folded in front of him.  
"really?" Pinkie asked. "well, what are they?" Marble didn't reply but he did blush a little. Pinkie huffed and climbed all over him like a spider. "Oh, PLEASE! Tell us, tell us, tell us?"  
"no, now get off me." Marble exclaimed, trying to get her off her back.  
"Better give in. she ain't gonna give up. Trust me. I know from experience." Dash said.

The chatting eventually turned to laughter, everyone seemingly ignoring Nightmare Moon's body.  
Nightmare's eyes suddenly shot open.

Begin Song: watch?v=H5WBvhVY2_A Shockwave's Revenge - Transformers Dark of the Moon soundtrack

The wind picked up as thunder rumbled though the clouds.  
"oh, that can't be good." Bahamut said. He and every other flyer furled up his wings to prevent being dragged away.

A vortex came down from the clouds and landed on top of Nightmare's body. It slowly lifted her limp body off the ground.  
"That is so not good." Bahamut exclaimed. Nexus Ultimus reappeared in Requiem's hands but she paid no mind.  
Nightmare's wounds instantly healed, jolting her back to life. She laughed as she continued to rise.  
"What does it take to beat that bitch?" Aura angrily exclaimed.  
"that would be the Elements of Harmony but those are back in Equestria. And even then it forced her into hibernation in Luna's mind." Twilight explained.

Nightmare stopped laughing and looked down on her foes. "well, that was certainly a impressive trick. Caught me AND Requiem completely off guard. Give yourself credit, Jax. You'll die having gone down in history for making me stronger."  
"Stronger? How?" Jax asked.  
Gilda groaned as she face-palmed. "you never ask a villain that."  
"cause while I was still in possession of Requiem's body, I came across something… intriguing." the blue image of a beast with four crab-like legs, a muscular torso, and a head in fire appeared beside her. Req gasped, instantly recognizing it. "something almost as powerful as her but much more tougher."  
"what the hell, What is that thing, Req?" Ash asked.  
"that's Catalyst. Or rather his demonic form." Req explained, still in complete shock at seeing that image again.  
"he had a demonic form? Wait, did you fight that thing by yourself?" Aura asked, pointing up at it.  
"That she did, Aura Aesir." Nightmare said, answering it for her. She snickered as her body began to dissolve into mist. "now it's time for all of you to face that terror she face all by herself." she said as her face began to dissolve. "and she barely got out with her life."  
Nightmare Moon laughed as evilly as she could and kept going for the remainder of this tune.

Her body dissolved into mist and began to take the form of that monstrous behemoth. The humans, ponies, gryphons, and dragons took battle positions as it began to take shape.  
Nightmare Moon's laughed echoed as the song ended.

2:01. End Song.

Begin Song: watch?v=h7eXKsZv2gI Ibitsu (TV size) - Tales of Symphonia OVA Soundtrack.

0:00.  
Epic Freeze-Frame on Nightmare Moons transformation and the group taking up battle poses.

To Be Concluded…

0:20.

Nightmare Moon has been revived.

The Final Battle against the Queen of the Night is to take please.

Will the heroes be able to take her out or will Equestria fall under Eternal Night?

Find out in the final chapter of 'Of Ponies and Humans'

0:50.

clips of their fights with the Green Death, the Giant Raven, and Nightmare Requiem play, showing off the finishing moves put on them.

The Green Death: a uber-powerful Indignation being cast on a wet Green Death.

Giant Raven: Aura and Bahamut slamming into it and turning it into fried chicken.

Nightmare Requiem: Jax performing the Personality Shift spell on her.

1:05.  
Nightmare Moon opened her silvery eyes. She laughed as her new form began to take shape in the vortex.

1:31. End Song.

ocument here...


	33. Of Ponies and Humans

Begin Song: watch?v=GDKNMI48AcU Van Kleiss Theme RMX - Generator Rex soundtrack

Lightning cracked down from the sky and the wind picked up, making anything loose; clothes, hair, ETC, flap in the wind.

Nightmare Moon laughed as her body dissolved into mist and began to take the shape of Demon Catalyst, the demonic form of Requiem's brother.  
The Ponies, Humans, Gryphons, and Dragons took up battle positions as it began to take form.

*Cut to Black*  
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic - Of Ponies and Humans

The lower torso formed first, taking on a crab-like figure.

The upper torso came next, taking on the form of a black skeletal robot with a big hole running up it.

Arms clawed their way out of the upper torso and grew as large as buses.

*Cut to Black*  
Final Chapter

From below, they all watched the massive body take shape.  
"oh, crap." a unbelieving ash gasped.  
"That thing is BIG!" Dash exclaimed. "how are we supposed to beat it?"  
Req gulped nervously. She barely beat it last time she fought it. Now… it's gonna be big problem.

Blackish blue fire shot out from the hip and though the hole in the body, stopping just above the shoulders.

The body fell from above and landed with the force of a rocket, creating a big crater. It slowly rose up and stared the group down.  
"ha. It ain't got no head. We got this easy peasy." Pinkie happily exclaimed.

A large demonic looking head appeared in the center of the fire above the shoulders.  
"STOP GIVING HER IDEAS, PINKIE!" everyone exclaimed.

Nightmare Catalyst reared back and roared into the sky like a distorted Godzilla. Lightning cracked down around the 200-foot beast as the roar echoed as far as the Capital City.

*cut to black*  
Of Ponies and Humans

Here's a refereance pic for Nightmare Catalyst: generatorrexpedia/images/0/05/Alpha_ just replace the red spots and fire with blue and you're good.

End Song.

Nightmare Catalyst snarled and roared into the sky.  
"you neglected to tell us why you fought Godzilla here why, Req?" Aura asked.  
"I didn't think it was necessary!" Req replied, holding the hair out of her face.  
"I'd say this is necessary!" Ash yelled.  
Laughter came out of the foreboding behemoth as Nightmare looked her new form over. "this is quite the body." she chuckled, her voice a bit on the demon side. "it's owner was quite the demon himself. you've made some powerful enemies, Ms. Hikaru."  
"well, that one wasn't exactly by choice." Req snarled.  
Nightmare scoffed at that remark. "I'm starting to become bored. Think I'll destroy you all before taking over the world."  
"ain't that what you were doing from the start?" A.J. asked.  
"true…"

Begin Song: watch?v=Uza8MDuE0eY Dark Gaia Phase 1 (Running) - Sonic Unleashed OST

Nightmare Catalyst's back began to bulge as something tried to break out. "…but I'll be test-driving this new form. Good practice, I say."

Huge demonic wings burst out of her back in a gory-esq fashion that made even Gilda gag.  
Nightmare reared back and roared again, wind surging underneath her as she tried out her wings. The gust sent everyone back quite a ways as Nightmare Catalyst rose into the air.

Electricity arched between her hands as a orb appeared in the middle. "oh, lordy lordy. What's she doing now?" Jax asked.  
"nothing good. What else?" Req said as her back began to glow.

N.C. growled as the orb grew in power. It spun around like a top before shooting up into the clouds. A purple glow peeked though breaks in the clouds as a purple haze began to spread though the darkness that spread across the planet earlier.  
N.C. grinned at the sight. Something slammed into her chest, knocking the wind out of her. She quickly regained it as Requiem flew up, a large 50 foot sword of light imitating out of Nexus Ultimus.  
Req raised it up and slashed down on Nightmare Catalyst. N.C. smirked as he right hand turned into a blade. She swung it and stopped Req's attack in it's place.

"Why do you humans fight against inevitability? Why don't you give up? You know you will lose." Nightmare asked, not breaking character.  
"that's the thing about us humans." Requiem grunted. She pushed in further, putting Nightmare's blade close to her body. "we don't know the meaning of the word quit."

Nightmare roared in pain as one of her legs was slashed off. Aura landed on her shoulder and stabbed into it. Fire shot out of the lance and into the shoulder. Seconds later, it exploded off of her. She turned her head to Aura and roared loudly, the sheer force sending him falling off to the ground.  
Gilda and Jason flew up, carrying Ash and Sora. The humans jumped off and landed on Nightmare Catalyst's back. Sora pulled out a bow, which lit on fire, as Ash push in a combination on the jewels encrusted into the handles.  
"Yo, Ugly!" Ash yelled. Nightmare turned in their direction and roared. Sora and Ash fired up at Nightmare's face. They hit the eyes and exploded. Nightmare roared in pain as she staggered, trying to get her sight back.

Whips of varying lights wrapped around her body. She felt this and tried to break loose but the Unicorns held on.  
"CRYSTAL RAIN!" Jax yelled as she cast a spell.  
A glyph opened up in the sky and crystals as large as Semi's rained down, striking Nightmare all over her body. She roared in pain as she continued to be pelted by the shards.  
Bahamut flew in from behind. He coated himself in blue fire and slammed into Nightmare like a meteor.

Nightmare yelled as she fell from the sky and fell into the mountain top lake like a comet, creating quite a big splash.

End Song.

The splash shot up like a mushroom cloud. The water rained down on the entire area, soaking even those up in the air.

The group quickly converged on the lake as the ripples began to fade and the last bubble popped.  
Pinkie peered over the edge and lightly tapped the surface. "Think that did it?" she asked.

Begin Song: watch?v=r-NrSgXKgTk The Encounter - Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep OST

The ground suddenly began to shake. The lake started to get violent.  
"t-t-t-t-that a-a-a-a-answer y-y-y-y-your q-q-q-q-question, P-P-P-P-Pinkie?" Spike shuddered as he bounced along the ground.

A large arm burst out of the lake and slammed down near where Pinkie was. Another arm burst out and crushed down some trees.  
Nightmare Catalyst's upper torso burst out of the lake, roaring as loud as she could.  
"oh, come on." Jax whined. "I'm starting to hate her." she said to Fluttershy.  
Nightmare snarled as loud as she could as her right hand turned into a sword again. "DIE!" she yelled, swinging it down on them.  
"SCATTER!" Jason yelled.  
Everyone bolted in separate directions as the sword slammed down where they were.

Nightmare angrily roared. Pores opened up all over her body. Tendrils shot out and pursued those in the air.  
Req dodged the tendrils, also blasting some back. "What. Is. It. With. Bad. Guys. And. Tendrils?"

A tendril slammed down near Sora. She pulled out her short sword and sliced it up.  
"this is new, even for us!" Spike yelled as he and Dash ran for it.

Turning her left hand into a sword as well, Nightmare began to swing her arms like crazy, slicing whatever she could. The tendrils also went into a frenzy, slamming into anything and everything.

Everyone ducked into a out-cropping as Nightmare Catalyst continued her frenzy.  
"Okay. She has officially lost her mind." Dash exclaimed, holding her head down.  
"well, my brother wasn't exactly in his right mind in that form either." Req said.  
"well, now what do we do, just waltz out and ask her nicely to stop?" Gilda joked.  
Bahamut thought for a second. "you know, we haven't tried that."  
Sora groaned as she face-palmed. That's when she noticed they were short one person. "hey, where's Jax?"  
Everyone then took noticed and, in typical fashion, they started freaking out. "oh, no, she's probably dead." A.J. said, biting her hoof.  
"no she's not." Pinkie said, peering over the 'roof'. "she's right there." she pointed. They all peered out to see Jax walked amidst the destruction to Nightmare Catalyst.  
"Jax! What are you doing!?"  
Jax looked back with a smirk. "Giving Judgment a opening." she smirked.  
"judgment?" Req remarked.

End Song.

Jax stopped halfway between the group and Nightmare Catalyst. The now insane Nightmare turned towards her with a sinister smile.  
Jax just smirked as she closed her eyes, raised her hands up and a blood-red glyph appeared beneath her.

Begin Song: watch?v=3lkAwVgBXBM Plenty of Grit by Megumi Hayashibara - Slayers Revolution Op

0:00.  
Wind whipped around her at 40 MPH. her hair flowed in the wind as the glyph glowed.  
"Darkness Beyond Twilight, Crimson beyond blood that flows. Buried in the steam of time is where your power grows..."  
Nightmare roared as the tendrils shot towards Jax. They just bounced off a invisible barrier. "that what I think it is?" Ash asked.  
"…I pledge myself to conquer all the foes who stand before the mighty gift bestowed in my unworthy hand…"  
Nightmare snarled. She opened her mouth as she powered up a beam attack of her own. "it is." Bahamut calmly said.  
"…let the fools who stand before us be destroyed by the power you and I possess!"  
A blood-red orb appeared in her hands. Jax snapped open her eyes and brought her hands down.  
"DRAGON SLAVE!"  
Jax thrust the orb out. It turned into a beam of destruction that shot towards Nightmare Catalyst.  
Nightmare fired her own beam at Jax. The Dragon Slave tore right though it and hit Nightmare, creating a massive nuclear-like explosion that could be seen as far as the river town.

0:29.  
Nightmare roared as the smoke cleared, the mountain top now devoid of any life.  
"Oh, Lina would be so proud." Sora sarcastically said as she jumped up and ran towards Nightmare.  
"you all stay here. We'll handle this." Ash said as he and everyone else jumped up.  
"Why?" Halo asked.  
"we're trained professionals." he smirked as he and everyone else ran towards the giant behemoth.

Req stopped and kneeled down in front of the tired Jax. "you're insane, you know that?"  
"I try." Jax panted. "now will you get YOUR ultimate spell ready?"  
that's when Req finally got it and couldn't help but smile. "right."  
Jax nodded and grabbed her Chakrams. She charged the monster as Req just stood there. She looked up at Nightmare Catalyst, who roared as she tried to swat a few bugs out of her face. "Right. Time to go to work. So much for a vacation."

1:11.  
Nightmare roared as she tried to bite down on Bahamut. He rolled to the right, lit himself on fire, and slammed into her broadside.

Ash and Sora ran up Nightmare's arms, ready to fire their weapons. Nightmare shook, trying to shake them off. They jumped up over Nightmare's head and fired down onto it's head. They didn't blind it but they did something. They landed and skidded down the back.

Aura jumped down from above and slammed his lance into Nightmare's head. She reached up and grabbed him. She roared into his face before throwing him over the side of the mountain.

Jax threw her chakrams up, slicing off part of her shoulder. Nightmare turned her attention to Jax and roared.

1:51.  
A beam hit her in the mouth, keeping it shut by goo. "Oh, shut up! I'm starting to get a headache!" Shadow said.  
Nightmare started getting pelted in the head with rocks. "take that. And that. And some of these!" Dash exclaimed as she, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Spike used A.J.'s rope as a slingshot; securing it between 2 dead trees.  
They were, at most, a nuisance. But she wanted to kill them anyway. She raised her arm up, ready to turn them into a stain on the mountain.  
Nightmare Catalyst was blasted from behind, sending her forward in the edge of the lake. Aura, wrapped in fire, flew on over and gave her a 2-fingered salute. "gonna take more then a fall to get rid of me."  
Nightmare snarled and ripped the goo off her mouth.

2:33.  
She opened her mouth and fired her own beam attack. Aura exclaimed and rolled down into a crevice.

Nightmare spread the beam around where she could, trying to turn them all into dust.

It bounced off a barrier and hit her in the stomach. Nightmare was sent back into the wall behind her, hitting it and piercing some parts of her body.  
She pushed herself off and looked to see who was responsible.

3:00.  
Wouldn't you know it, it was Requiem. Her wings appeared and her sword glowed. She lifted herself off the ground and charged N.C.

N.C. took a swipe at her by Req dodged it and slashed down on the hand, slicing it off. She moved slightly to the left, dodging the other hand and chopping it off as well.

Nightmare roared in pain and summoned up more tendrils out of her body. They shot towards Requiem but she was too fast for them to catch up. That's when Requiem got a idea.

She turned around and shot towards Nightmare. The tendrils turned and followed. Nightmare reacted when Requiem turned towards her and shot more tendrils and even a beam attack.  
Req dodged all those. She flew underneath Nightmare Catalyst's head and out though the other side of the spine of fire unscathed.  
The tendrils hit Nightmare instead of Requiem, some even going down her throat.

Requiem landed a few feet away from everyone and smirked.

3:43.  
A white glyph appeared beneath her. Feathers floated out as she clicked her heels together and closed her eyes.  
"Light from the deepest Darkness, a brilliance that only mortals can hope to dream of…"  
Nightmare struggled to get the tendrils out of her mouth. The unicorns sent out their whips again, holding her head, legs, and remade hands in place. Jax cast the spell 'Bind' which wrapped her body in chains.  
"…I call upon thee to help me in my hour of need…"  
Nightmare struggled to break free from the whips but the Unicorns were holding on tight. The non-magic users grabbed the magic ropes and pulled on them as well.  
"…let us see if the foe before us is worthy of the brilliance of Paradiso or the despair of the 9 circles! Cast thy heavenly light!"  
Req slowly opened her eyes, which glowed a bright white.

4:10.  
With all her might, Requiem yelled; "JUDGMENT RAY!"

A intense beam of light shot down, parting the clouds as it fell to the earth.

Nightmare Catalyst, upon seeing the light, against struggled to get free again but everyone held on tight.

The beam hit Nightmare Catalyst with the force of the heavens behind it.  
She roared in defiance as she disintegrated into the light.

A MASSIVE explosion followed that quickly covered the entire planet, clearing out the dark spell Nightmare Moon cast.

4:50 End Song.

The light slowly dispersed, revealing the gorgeous night sky, Nightmare's spell now a distant memory. The world emerged untouched from the explosion, although everyone not involved was confused by what had happened.

Luna groaned as she stood up, rubbing her head. "what happened?"  
Celestia turned to her and breathed a sigh of relief. "I don't know. But I think they all somehow saved the world." she smiled.

Zilver groaned as he got up. "I'm really hating waking up after a big blast."  
"you and me both." Requiem groaned as she got up, her body coursing with electricity.  
Zil took notice of that. "that supposed to happen?"  
Req gave a gasping chuckle. "happens every time." she looked up and was surprised to see Nightmare Catalyst still up. "oh, why isn't that thing dead?" she whined as she got up. Everyone else also got up and noticed it.  
Twi noticed that something was off about her. "OH! What will it take to kill that thing!?" Aura yelled. He pulled out his lance and prepared to change when a magical wall cast by Twi stopped him. "What are you-"  
"look." she said, gesturing to N.C. he and everyone looked to see that the body was a smoldering husk of what it was.  
Jax got curious. She picked up and rock and chucked it at the body.  
It hit the middle of the head. It cracked where it hit. The crack spread, covering the whole body.

The body of Nightmare Catalyst broke apart and fell into the dried-up lake bed, each part turning to dust as they hit.

Everyone watched the body fall apart and dissolve. The Mane6 couldn't help but smile. Fluttershy couldn't contain her excitement.  
"WE DID IT!" she cheered.  
Everyone looked at each other and couldn't help but cheer as well. "WE DID IT!" they all cheered.  
Everyone hugged each other in celebration. Req, Sora, and Pinkie bounced around in a circle, laughing their heads off.  
Twi and Halo went to hug each other but stopped halfway. Trixie raised a eyebrow in disbelief and gave a sighed chuckle. She walked on over and pushed Halo into Twilight, catching them both off guard. They both looked at her and she just gestured to them both to kiss already. "it's all right. I've made peace with it." Trix said with a smile.  
Twi looked to the ground as Halo stammered. "Yeah. Um…" Halo let Twi go and turned his attention to Trix. "listen, Trix, we…"

Begin Song: watch?v=H5WBvhVY2_A Shockwave's Revenge - Transformers Dark of the Moon soundtrack

Multiple beams struck the group, hitting all but Twilight.  
A blackish-blue streak came out of the dust, grabbed her, and pulled her up into the air.  
A half-crazed Nightmare Moon materialized behind her, her hooves wrapped around Twi's body. "YOU!? But we killed you!" Twi exclaimed.  
Nightmare Moon snickered with a hint of crazy. "that's what you think, isn't it?"  
Nightmare threw Twi to the ground as hard as she could, hoping the fall would kill her.  
Halo dove in the nick of time and caught Twi before she hit. "*phew* that was close." Halo chuckled.  
Nightmare yelled as another attempt to take her life failed. The yelled eventually turned to crazed laughter as she began to twitch.  
"I think when she took Catalyst's form, she also took the crazy from it." Req concluded.  
Nightmare ran her hooves though her messy hair as she continued to laugh crazy. "If I'm going down… I'm taking you all with me."  
Nightmare's horn began to glow. A ball appeared just above it. Req and Sora readied their weapons, ready to do battle again, when…

0:45. End Song.

A blue beam came out of nowhere, hitting Nightmare in the chest. A shocked Nightmare Moon looked down to see a hole going all the way to her back. She looked down at the group to see the same reaction on their faces. She gave a faux smile, knowing full well what's coming next.  
She suddenly and violently exploded. The force knocked everyone to the ground and flattened any dead trees that were still standing.  
Ash sat up and coughed up some smoke. "That. Was unexpected." Ash said as he got up. He looked up where Nightmare Moon exploded. He traced where the beam came from and looked back in the opposite direction to see something's shadow-cloaked tail dip under the mountain's edge.  
"was that…? Naw. Couldn't be."  
"Couldn't be what?" Jason asked.  
"Long story, gryphon boy." Ash looked back to where Nightmare was. "although I think we can clearly say that Nightmare Moon is now fully and officially dead." he said out loud.  
"WOO-HOO! Now we can celebrate!" Pinkie happily exclaimed.  
"is anyone else worried about this?" Marble asked.  
"not really." everypony replied. "same thing happened when we defeated Nightmare the first time." Rainbow said.  
"Come on, Y'all!" Pinkie exclaimed, switching the scene be turning it like a page.

"LET'S PARTY!" Pinkie exclaimed. Vinyl turned the discs on her table as the party being hosted at the beach house kicked off.  
"how'd we get back here in less then 2 seconds?" Jax asked.  
"Don't question Pinkie Pie. Trying to figure her out is like trying to figure out the meaning of life." the Mane6 said at the same time.  
Bahamut and Shadow looked at each other and grinned. "we'll be right back. We gotta go do something." Shadow said as he and the dragon slunk off.

Trixie stood at the end of the deck, looking out over the lake and the stars.  
"Trixie? Why aren't you at the party?" Halo asked as he walked up.  
"just wanted some fresh air is all." she said. "and I meant what I said back up on the mountain. You should be with Twi. I know I won't get her no matter how hard I try. Besides, who says Twilight's the only one I can have my dream with? There's bound to be others."  
"There is. You just gotta look." Halo said as he lifted himself onto the beams. "but… I don't know if I will be with Twi. I mean… relationships are tough and-"  
"oh, no. not this again." Trixie groaned. "listen, Halo. Put your nervous anxiety to rest and just do it, like what I did during my 'date' with Twilight. You got to risk it. Throw all that research and nervousness away and just go for it." they both looked at Twilight, who was dancing with her brother. "she's certainly worth it."  
Halo smiled at the sight. "yeah. Guess you're right. But I'm still not sure."  
Trixie groaned again. She pulled Halo down off his high horse and him into Twi. They bot staggered a bit and blushed. Everyone started chanting 'dance, dance, dance.' Halo and Twilight looked at each other and blushed a bit.  
The record needles for Vinyl's table scratched as Shadow pulled them off.  
"Hey! Isn't we supposed to be having a fiesta!?" Shadow happily exclaimed.

Begin Song; watch?v=DOTlMUQzJrw Livin La Vida Loca - Shrek 2 Version.

0:00.  
Bahamut jumped up on one of the speakers. "Uno. Dos. Quatro. Hit it!"  
Ash plucked at his guitar as Vinyl put on a new disc, this one with a different tune that what she's used too.  
Bahamut and Shadow rose up from the beach on a couple of fake pillars. "Shadow and Bahamut, y'all." Bahamut smirked.

0:11.  
Bahamut:  
" she's into superstitions. Black cat's and voodoo dolls Sing it, Shadow."

Everyone looked at each other with 'WTF' planted on their faces.

Shadow:  
I feel a premonition. That girls gonna make me fall.

Ash pulled some killer strings as they began to dance to the beat.

Bahamut:  
"Here we go."  
Shadow with Bahamut joining in on the second tier:  
she's into new sensations. new kicks in the candlelight.

Twi and Halo danced to the beat while having a good time.

She's got a new addiction, for every day and night.

Requiem and Aura ballroom danced at a fast pace.

She'll make you take your clothes off and go dancing in the rain.

Bahamut rolled on underneath a chain that lead to nowhere and pulled it, letting water fall on him.

She'll make you live her crazy life but she'll take away your pain. Like a bullet to your brain.  
Ash & Sora and Gilda & Jason danced the Lambada with such stupid smirks.

0:49.  
Shadow and Bahamut:  
Upside-Inside out, she's Livin La Vida Loca. She'll push and pull you down, Livin La Vida Loca.

Zilver spun Applejack to the tune while Pinkie tried to get Marble to dance with no success.

Her lips are devil red and her skin is the color of Mocha.

Armor and Cadence pulled the samba as Spike spun on by.

she will wear you out, Livin La Vida Loca.

Rarity stopped Spike from spinning and began dancing with him.

She's Livin La Vida Locaaaaaaaa.

Shadow hammed at the end. Bahamut looked at a fake watch, waiting for him to stop.  
"Hey, B. that's Spanish."

1:23.

The lights suddenly cut off as Bahamut slammed a cage over Shadow.  
Shadow:  
Woke up in New York City, in a funky cheap motel. She took my heart and she took my money. She must've slipped me a sleeping pill.

Bahamut kicked the cage off in a spectacular kick.

Bahamut:  
she never drinks the water, makes you order French champagne.  
Shadow:  
once you've had a taste of her, you'll never be the same.  
Bahamut and Shadow:  
yeah, she'll make you go insane.

1:53.  
Being the radio D.J. that she is, Vinyl was spreading the song across the entire planet.

Bahamut and Shadow:  
Upside-Inside out, she's Livin La Vida Loca. She'll push and pull you down, Livin La Vida Loca.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders back in Ponyville danced to the tune with Edge moving one of his hooves to the beat.

Her lips are devil red and her skin is the color of Mocha.

Lyra and Bonbon held each other close as they seductively danced with each other.

she will wear you out, Livin La Vida Loca.

Celestia and Luna bobbed their heads to the tune but couldn't hold back. They broke out dancing fasting then you can say…

She's Livin La Vida Loca.

2:23.  
I got nothing for this part. Let your imagination run wild.

2:36.  
Bahamut and Shadow:  
Upside-Inside out, she's Livin La Vida Loca. She'll push and pull you down, Livin La Vida Loca. Livin La Vida Loca.

Shadow pulled Dash close and began dancing with her while Bahamut danced with a spiritation of Sapphyre.

All:  
She'll push and pull you down, Livin La Vida Loca. Her lips are devil red and her skin is the color of Mocha. she will wear you out, Livin La Vida Loca.

Everyone danced and sang to the tune as it came to a end.

She's Livin La Vida Loca. Livin La Vida Loca. Livin La Vida Loca.

Everyone at the beach house took a pose for the final shot.

Pinkie poked her head up from out of nowhere, pulled out a button, smirked, and pushed it, cutting the screen to black.

3:24. End Song.

The story continues in 'Friends from Unexpected Places', starting with chapter 'something nobody saw coming'.

*author's notes*  
I know, this is a bit rushed. I always get like that when I near the end of whatever I'm writing. Bad habit of mine.

r document here...


	34. Something Nobody Saw Coming

Paste your doc

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 13

Something Nobody Saw Coming

"But Princess Celestia, it's been 6 months since she disappeared. We're starting to get really worried." Derpy's mother said.  
6 months had passed since Derpy disappeared into the Everfree Forest. 6 months and nobodies been able to find her, not even Celestia.  
"I know how you feel, Mrs. Doo. I do. I know what it's like to lose someone you love." Celestia replied, glancing up at the Mare on the Moon.  
"is there anything you can tell us? Where she is, what's she's doing? Even if she's still alive?" Derpy's father asked.  
Celestia closed her eyes and concentrated. The tip of her horn glowed for a second before cracking up into spark. "I sense that she is still alive and doing better then she was 6 months ago."  
"but you can't locate her?"  
Celestia sadly shook her head 'no.' "I'm afraid not. For once in my life, I'm forced to say that I don't know everything. Locater spells were one of my sister's specialty and she's…" she glanced back up at the moon. "…currently indisposed at the moment."  
Their other daughter, with a golden yellow body and grayscale rainbow mane, whined as she started to cry. "oh, it's okay, D.D. we'll find Derpy." her father comforted her.  
"I just miss her so much." she tearfully said.  
Celestia walked off her throne and patted the kid on her back. "we all do, but we'll find her. I promise."

20 Years Later…

The sun rose on a new day in the Gryphon Kingdom as last night's party at Armor's and Cadence's Gryphon Kingdom beach hosue, celebrating reversing Trixie's spell that turned the ponies into humans, which somewhat lead to Nightmare Moon's revival. They defeated her, but after a intense battle that leveled a entire mountain and had Nightmare possessing Requiem, though for a short while.  
Everyone was strung out of the deck or the beach, either recovering from hangovers or still partially drunk from last night.  
"oh. *hiccup* think I had too much." Gilda groaned, holding her head in pain.  
"you and me both, Gilda." Twilight drunkenly. She managed to pick herself up and plop it on a table where the rest of a pineapple daiquiri sat right in front of her. She stuck her tongue out to try and grab it but it was magically pulled away by her older brother.  
"geez, Twili. You drink?" a surprised Armor asked.  
"and you never told me you were gonna be a father so that makes us even." she groaned before falling back on her back.  
"touché." Armor sarcastically said. He looked at the drink and tossed it over his shoulder.  
Cadence ducked to miss the glass as she walked down from the beach house. "and that's why I don't drink."  
"You and me both, honey."  
A foot stuck out of the sand. Cadence stepped on it, causing Bahamut to come out of the sand like a rake. He was still singing though, like a old stereo, he was breaking up. "upside-inside out, living la vida loo-" Cadence took her hoof off and Bahamut fell back into the sand.

A lone figure, our old friend with the bad multiple personality disorder Orochi, watched from high above the ground. "it's amazing that humans can get that inebriated on intoxicants." the blue-haired personality said.  
The green haired personality took over the human body. "I don't know, Aqua. I seem to remember you getting pretty drunk when we were still back at Earth."  
"Shut up, Ventus." Aqua replied.  
"Hey. Call me Aero. Sounds a lot cooler."  
"you're soon going to have trouble swimming if you don't shut up."  
"HEY!"  
"Silence!" The silver-haired personality exclaimed.  
The other 2 shut up. "Sorry, Glacies." they both softly.  
Glacies sighed. "we don't have to waste with such trivial matters such as these lowly humans or those… erasable ponies. We have BIGGER problems to deal with."  
With that said, Orochi disappeared in a flash of light.

Req dropped a couple of pills into her water, which instantly began fizzing. "so glad there's alkazeltzer on this planet." Req groaned as she took a drink of her fizzing water.  
"I'm surprised everyone got hammered." Armor said, making the same drinks and passing them around.  
"Spike and Rarity didn't, and neither did Trixie." A.J. groaned. She laid her head on the table and looked away. "where'd Twi disappear to?"  
"the bathroom. Guess Daiquiri's don't like her." Aura moaned, holding a washcloth to his forehead. "and not with me, either."  
"They don't agree with anybody, Muchacho." Shadow moaned in the same position as Aura.

Applejack walked out of the beach house a couple of hours later, stretching her front hooves to the sky. "mmmmmmmmmm… Hm. I needed that." she sighed.  
"what, the stretch or the painkillers?" Zilver asked as he walked past to the beach.  
"both." A.J. started down to the beach as well. She picked up a can and threw it into a garbage bag. "Pinkie sure knows how to throw parties. I'm still feeling the effects."  
"you and me both." Zil said as he kicked another can into the same bag. "thank Celestia for painkillers."  
"right." she looked up the beach house and frowned. "and why are we the only ones picking up the trash?"  
"Cause we were the first to recover. The rest will join us when they recover more. Some were worst off then us."  
"Right. Fluttershy sure can take a lot. And that's something that surprised all of us." A.J. chuckled as she picked up a bottle. There was still some in it. She turned it upside down and poured it out.  
Zil picked up a used noise-maker. "and to think, this whole mess started because Trixie was too in love with Twilight."  
"glad Twi, Trix, and Halo were able to work this out. We don't want Nightmare Moon to come back for a 3rd time."  
"true 'dat."

Dinky skipped on down to Fluttershy's cottage where Mirror's Edge, the injured changeling, was being cared for by her, 'Shy, and the CMC. She pulled out her key and put it in the keyhole. When she put her hoof on the door for leverage, the door suddenly opened.  
"uh-oh." Dinky muttered. She opened it wide and walked on in. the animals were all fine; Fenrir and Cobalt were sound asleep, Again. She ignored them and headed upstairs where Edge was.  
She reached Fluttershy's room where her suspicions were confirmed; Edge was gone. "oh, crud. oh crud oh crud oh crud. This is not good. This is SO not good. Fluttershy's gonna be mad at me." Dinky whined, pacing back and forth. She slapped herself in the face. "okay. Calm down, Dinky. He's gotta be out there somewhere. He's still technically injured. He can't have gotten far."  
Dinky went downstairs and outside to find Edge. A Changeling loose in town, no way it'll end well.

"interesting. When I sent you all to the fortress, I didn't expect for a moment that Nightmare Moon could return." Zaltan said as Jason and Gilda explained what had happened.  
"Neither did we, my liege. But the humans were able to defeat her. They've shown that they are indeed powerful." Jason said.  
"so I'm guessing that big red explosion and that bright white light were there doing?"  
"indeed. There is truth to what they say; of them having defeated God's and Goddess's before."  
"and I'm not one to argue with the facts." Z muttered. He thought for a moment on what to do next. "send a letter to Celestia and Luna. Let them know what had happened. And how powerful these humans are."  
"if you don't mine my asking, My Lord, but why inform them of the power they wield? I've only known them for 2 days but I've come to the conclusion that they're aren't here on evil intent."  
"I feel the same, Jason. Nevertheless, we should inform them. The Alicorn's aren't exactly known for being calm when there's someone more powerful then them around. Look at what happened with Queen Faust and Discord 2000 years ago."  
"I heard the stories." Jason reluctantly nodded. "all right. I'll send the letter."  
Jason nodded and left the presence of the king. He then turned his attention to his daughter. "Gilda. You've been awfully quiet about all this."  
"sorry, dad. I've just been thinking about some things."  
"like what?"  
"Well…" Gilda shook her head. "it's nothing, dad. Nothing you need to worry about." she took off for who knows where, leaving Zaltan with his thoughts, which turned to the humans.  
"powerful enough to cause a explosion that covers a entire planet… but leaves almost everything untouched. There's more to these humans then they appear." Zaltan muttered, intrigued by this. "Celestia isn't going to like this."

"how could you lose a pony? They don't just disappear into thin air, right?" Satoshi asked as Dinky dragged him to town.  
"Right. That's why I'm worried."  
"well, how bad are his injuries?"  
"well… truth be told, they're mostly healed."  
Satoshi looked at the camera with a raised eyebrow. "Then… why should we be freaking out?"  
"eh… no reason."  
Now he got suspicious. Satoshi dug his feet in, slowing them to a stop. "no no. tell me what's going on. If he's mostly healed, why should we be freaking out?"  
Dinky stood there, not really wanting to reveal that Edge is a Changeling. "n-no reason. Come on. Let's get moving."

"WOO! Girl's night out, Y'all!" Trixie exclaimed, putting on a pair of shades. Everyone just went meh. "What?"  
"Trixie, we're still tired from the party last night." Halo moaned, head buried in a pillow.  
"We all woke up 5 hours ago. Get up your lazy butts and come on." everyone groaned. Halo even threw a pillow at her. Trixie scoffed. "wow. Think you know some ponies."  
"We all had a lot to drink. You only had one tequila. Unless you went on a drinking binge, shut up." Jax moaned.  
Twi rolled her eyes. "I'll go, Trixie. I always wanted to see the Capital City of the Gryphons for myself." she got up and went to Trixie's side.  
"okay, that's one. Anyone else?" Trix asked. Everyone replied with a groan. Trixie groaned as well.  
Twi pouted her lips to the left. "come on, Trixie. We don't need them. Besides, Derpy, Cadence, Requiem, Aura, and Armor are in town. We can get them."  
"forgot about them." Twi opened the door with her magic and gestured Trixie to walk though. She accepted. "see ya, ya lazy bums."  
Ash grabbed a pillow and threw it, only to hit the door and not his intended target.  
They waited a good amount of time to make sure Twilight and Trixie were gone before they all looked at each other with a smirk.  
"last one down to the beach is a rotten egg!" Dash exclaimed, running by in swim trunks and carrying a surfboard. Everyone followed right behind her.

Edge cheered as he flew though the Everfree forest, heading for home.  
"Yes. Freedom! Goodbye Ponyville and Goodbye Cutie Mark Catastrophe makers. Woo-hoo! And goodbye, Flutte-"  
Edge stopped in mid-flight, slowly hovering down to the ground. As soon as he said that name, he felt… something odd inside him. "What is this? Argh. Ignore it, Edge. You're going home. You're leaving the town behind. Nothing's gonna stop you."  
He took a step forward… and just stood there. "then why do I feel guilty?"  
Rustling came from his right. He looked and saw a bunny hop out of a thorn brush. This bunny looked very familiar. "oh, crap. Not Angel."

Derpy slept on a low-flying cloud hovering over a park, dreaming about her good ol' days.  
"hey, Derpy!" Twilight called out.  
Derpy snorted awake. She rubbed her eyes and looked down. "Hey, Twilight. Trixie. What are you 2 doing here?"  
"Came to see if you want to go on a girl's day out with us." Trixie said.  
"Girls day out?"  
"yeah. You know; shopping, make-overs, things of that general nature." Twi said. "also, we need a tour guide to the city and Dash is out cold. You lived here."  
"For a couple years." Derpy replied.  
"Doesn't really matter wit us. so, you in or out?" Trixie asked.  
Derpy suddenly appeared behind them and put her front hooves around them. "I'm in." Trix and Twi smiled. "oh, I can show you my old stomping grounds, all the good places to shop, eat, play… considering their still open, of course."  
"of course." Trix and Twi imitated.  
The 3 walked off laughing, unaware that someone was watching them from behind a tree. He took a picture of them and snickered. "yeah, that one will do nicely."

The sun began to set and Dinky hasn't been able to find Edge at all.  
"oh, man. Fluttershy's gonna kill me." she whined, pacing back and forth in front of Fluttershy's cottage.  
"I'm sure he's fine, Dinky." Satoshi said, peeling a potato and still not seeing why she's freaking out like this.  
"you don't understand. Edge is…"  
"right here." Edge interrupted, walking up with Angel.  
"Edge!" Dinky exclaimed. She ran on down while Satoshi just sat there, looking at the weird-looking pony. "where'd you go?"  
Edge quickly thought of a lie he had been formulating. "eh… saw one of Fluttershy's animals run into the woods. Since no one was around, I went after it. I lost it until the animal, which turns out to be Angel here, came back with a carrot."  
"A carrot?" Satoshi asked. He peered down at the rabbit. "little insane there went into the Everfree Forest for a carrot?"  
"I know. He's insane." Edge laughed. Angel angrily looked up and him, rapidly hitting his foot on the ground.  
"Right. Well, get back into bed." Dinky ordered. She walked behind him and started pushing him.  
Edge exclaimed as he forcefully hopped to the door. "hey hey hey." he dug his back hooves into the ground and slowed to a halt. I'm fine, you little psychopath. I went into the woods by myself and came back feeling fine. I think I'm done with bed rest."  
"well, you ran off without letting us know, so your under bed arrest." Dinky tried pushing him in. "Now. Get. In!"  
"okay okay okay. I'll get back into bed." he looked at Satoshi. "when'd she turn crazy?" he asked before being pushed in again.  
Satoshi just stood there, not sure what happened. "That was odd."

After a full day of shopping, manicures and pedicures, and just acting like a couple of crazy girls, Twilight, Trixie, and Derpy found themselves in a karaoke bar just as the sun had set.  
" Don't stop… believing… "  
The 3 were up on the machine, singing 'don't stop believing.' the crowd, which consisted of all guys, wooed them on. Some even wolf-whistled.  
" Streetlights… People….. " Derpy hammed on the end as the song ended. The crowd cheered and clapped. Trixie, Twilight, and Derpy bowed and walked on off, allowing another to take the reins.  
"woo. And that's why girls have the best voices." Derpy exclaimed as the 3 of them sat at the bar.  
"True 'dat." Twi and Trix said at the same time. They laughed wildly, having a fun time.  
Someone watched them from the shadows, holding up the picture he took earlier that day. "yep. She's next." he slipped out the door and walked off.  
Trixie popped in a few peanuts. "so, Trixie. What do you say we help you find a marefriend?" Twilight suggested.  
Trix almost choked on the peanuts. She drank a mug to help them down. She coughed as she hit her chest. "you'd do that for me?"  
"yeah. We both know that you'll never have me no matter how hard you try…"  
"and I learned that the hard way." Trixie joked to Derpy. Derpy tried to muffle a chortle.  
Twi rolled her eyes. "… so, we may as well find you one. So…" Twi spun Trixie's barstool around while she was still on it and stopped it facing the entire bar room floor. "which one do you like?"  
"oh oh. How about that lovely Pegasus over there playing darts?" Derpy suggested, pointing in that direction.  
"look closer, Derpy." both Trix and Twi said.  
Derpy squinted her eyes and saw her mistake. "oh. Stallion. My bad." she nervously chuckled.  
Twi took a drink out of her mug. "Mmm…well, maybe I know a way to help narrow it down." Twi reached over and grabbed a napkin and a pencil. "What is your dream girl?"  
"you're really gonna take down a list?" Trixie asked.  
"hey, I broke your heart more then once. I figure this is the least I can do." Twi flexed up and put pencil to napkin. "spill."  
"Well… my dream girl… I want her to be kind, gentle, good with kids, have a twinkle in her eyes, be really cute…" Twi comedic shrugged at that. That's true, no matter what gender or species.  
The barkeep looked at a clock hanging over him. "all right. Last call!" he called out.  
"last call?" Derpy looked up to the clock. "but it's only 8 o'clock."  
"you just get off the boat, lady? There's a curfew going on thanks to a Slave Trade that's been buzzing around these parts." the barkeep explained.  
"Slave Trade?" Trixie curiously asked.  
"well… it's more like a un… a un… oh, how would Req describe it? It un… would be more of the 'horizontal tango' category." Twi explained.  
Trixie stuck her tongue out in disgusted. "ew." she hopped off her stool. "let's head for home then."  
"Sounds good to me." Derpy said as she got off.  
Twilight used her magic to grab the pencil and napkin. "we can finish this up on the way home."  
The 3 were the last ones out of the bar. The establishment closed up behind them as they headed for home.  
Twi magically positioned the pencil and napkin in front of her. "okay… kind, gentle, good with kids, twinkle in the eyes, really cute. What's next on your list, Trixie?"  
"hmmm… well, she'd have to be pretty…"  
"already got that." Derpy sighed.  
"oh. Well, she'd also have to be a great kisser… and really good in bed." Trixie meowed. Derpy and Twilight gave her such funny looks. "what? Girl can dream, can't she?"  
The 3 laughed at that part of the weird dream when someone cut in front of them. He was accompanied by a couple of bulky gryphons.  
"un… excuse me? You're blocking out path." Derpy said to them. They didn't budge.  
"Let me handle this, my dear Derpy." Trixie walked on over to the mystery pony. "Excuse me, my kind sir, but surely you heard of me. I am the Great and Powerful Trixie and I will pay you quite a handsome sum if you let us pass."  
The mystery pony contained his laughter.  
"maybe we should find another way home." Twilight said. Trixie and Derpy nodded. They turned around to leave only to have their path cut off by a couple more gryphons.  
"I'm afraid you're not going anywhere." the mystery pony sinisterly said. The trio started to get worried.

Gilda stopped in front of the beach house, a bit nervous about what to say or do. "I gotta to do it sometime." she muttered as laughter came from inside. She slowly raised her hand to the door and, after a second of second thoughts, knocked on it.  
"I got it." Applejack said from inside. She opened the door and saw Gilda standing there. "hey, Gil. What's up?"  
"un… think I can speak with Fluttershy for a moment?"  
"Fluttershy?" Applejack exclaimed in surprise, even getting the attention of the others inside. "why, so you can yell at her again?"  
"it's okay, Applejack." Fluttershy said from behind. "I can manage now. I still remember some things that Iron Will taught me."  
A.J. wasn't so sure. "if you say so, Sugarcube." A.J. said. She moved to the side. Fluttershy walked out. Dash flew on out and landed behind Gilda, to make sure she doesn't do something stupid.  
Gilda scratched the back of her head, not sure how to word this. "listen, 'Shy. I… I want to say I'm sorry for how I acted 2 years ago."  
"Apologize!?" Fluttershy, Dash, and A.J. all exclaimed in surprise.  
"Whoa whoa whoa, Gil." Dash flew in front of her. "You never apologized to anyone for anything. What changed?"  
Gilda scratched her neck. "well… not sure when, but I think it was when that pony friend of yours, Derpy, was in the hospital."  
"Derpy was in the hospital?" Fluttershy gasped.  
"oh right. Forgot to tell ya." Dash chuckled nervously.  
"Anyway, seeing her in that much pain and suffering… I'm not sure how, but something changed inside of me. I actually cared what happened to you guys."  
"that is odd." A.J. muttered as everyone started to exit the beach house. "did someone said anything?"  
Gilda thought back. "well… I think Cadence said Vinyl or Octavia said something about her having kids, but…"  
"Oh. I think I can explain it." Dash said. "Gilda's mom died when she and I were in flight school. It was after that that she became, well, mean. I think hearing that Derpy was a mom reminded her of that and she didn't want little Dinky to be raised all alone."  
"un….. Couldn't have put it better myself, Dash." a not sure Gilda said. She shrugged to A.J., who wasn't that sure either.  
Fluttershy gave Gilda a stern look. "and you're being truthful?"  
Gilda sighed. She didn't want to do this part. "cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." she un-enthusiastically said.  
Pinkie appeared out of nowhere and pulled those 2 close. "All right. Long time enemies now friends. Today's turning into such a happy day!"  
"help!" someone yelled out. Derpy fell out of the sky, crash-landing into the ground. She coughed up dirt as Sora helped her up.  
"Derpy, what happened?" Shadow asked.  
Derpy coughed up more dirt. She cleared her throat after that. "it's Twilight and Trixie. They're in trouble."  
"Trouble!?" a worried Armor asked. He ran over and grabbed Derpy by the shoulders. "what kind of trouble?"  
"We were jumped by some bad men. Twilight and Trixie told me to get help while they took care of them. I think… I think they were part of the slave trade you guys talked about."  
"oh no." Req gasped, holding her hands over her mouth.  
Armor angrily growled. "where'd this happen?" he angrily asked.  
"near Mayo's Bar. Least I think that's what it was called." Derpy tiredly said before nodding out.  
"I know the place." Gilda said.  
"Take me there." Armor angrily replied.  
The 2 took off. Req, Ash, Aura, Zilver, Dash, Halo followed not far behind. "you guys take care of Derpy. We'll get Twilight and Trixie." Ash called back as the 6 of them ran off.  
Fluttershy held her heart in fear. " 'Shy? You okay?" A.J. asked.  
"no. I had this feeling that something bad was going to happen when you guys left. And it didn't go away when Nightmare Moon was defeated. I'm worried that…"  
"That the feeling was this?" Sora asked. Fluttershy depressingly nodded.

Twilight groaned as she woke up. She gasped in fear when she found herself in a dark room. "where am I?" she fearfully asked.  
"in a house of… ill repute." someone said from the shadows. Twi tried to get away but she was chained to the floor. "oh, feisty. Think our client will like that."  
A door opened behind him, revealing the mystery pony to be a Unicorn and his 'client' a Pegasus. "Careful with her. She's feisty"  
The Pegasus smirked. "good. I like feisty." he said. The Unicron slunk out of the room.  
Twilight shivered in fear in the corner, afraid of what will happen.

Trixie struggled as she tried to get up from the ground but those ruffians beat her up good.  
"Trixie!" Req exclaimed as she and the other 6 neared her. She tried to get up again but fell back to the ground.  
"ruffians… they… they took Twilight…" Trixie muttered before slipping into unconsciousness.  
"Trixie!" Zil and Ash exclaimed.  
Armor heard groaning coming out of a nearby alley. He went over to investigate. He saw someone trying to crawl away. He used his magic to pull him back and up to Armor's face. "Where's my sister?" Armor sternly asked.  
The bat-pony chuckled. "Who?"  
Armor huffed and slammed him into the ground, getting the attention of the others. "Don't toy with me! Where's Twilight!?"  
The bat-pony laughed. "what makes you think I know where she is?"  
Req walked on over and pointed her sword at his head. "tell us or else this will be the last thing you see." she said.  
The bat-pony looked into her eyes and saw that she wasn't joking. "south side of the city. Run-down inn that nobody sane uses anymore. You can't miss it."  
Armor tossed the bat-pony to the side and ran to south.  
"Aura, Zilver, look after Trixie and this… guy. We'll get Twilight." Ash said as he, Gilda, Dash, and Req ran after Armor.  
Zilver looked to Aura and he back to him. "I got a bad feeling about this." they both said.

The group ran down to the south side of the city. Armor exclaimed and ducked into a alley. Everyone followed suit.  
"Why we hiding?" Dash asked.  
"because of that." Armor said. He and everyone else peeked out to see a Pegasus walk out of a old abandoned building. He gave someone a bag of bits before flying off.  
"think we just found our burlesque house." Ash whispered. "so what do we do?" Armor ignored him and charged on ahead. "break in. sure. That's always a good plan."

The door burst in. Ash rolled in and pointed his guns in both left and right. The ponies, gryphons, and dragons inside put their hands up, not wanting a fight.  
"there's also Dragons?" Ash muttered.  
A earth pony tried to sneak out but was pinned to the wall by Gilda. "Don't even think about it, bub." she angrily said, holding him tight to the wall.  
Armor ran past them and up the stairs. "is he ever gonna stop?" Dash asked.  
"What would you do if it was your own sister that was getting raped?" Req asked. Dash shrugged in agreement as the 2 ran after him.  
They reached the second floor which was one long hallway with a lot of doors. "oh, this is gonna go great." Dash sarcastically said.  
"Search every room. Twilight's gotta be here somewhere."  
They searched every room but didn't find her. Just found Ponies, Gryphons, Dragons, Changelings, and Diamond Dogs of both sexes chained to the floor but didn't find Twilight.  
Req opened the last door and found Twi shaking inside. "Found her!" she called to the others. She pulled out her sword and broke Twilight's chain but she didn't move.  
Armor ran in and over to her side. "Twili! Twili, are you okay?" he pleaded. She was in too much shock to respond. Armor just couldn't believe this, that this happened to his own sister. "oh, Twili. If only I got here sooner."  
Gilda and Ash ran up. "the guards are here." Gilda said. "They're taking the perpetrators in and-" they noticed Twi and couldn't bear to look at her.  
"Lady Gilda!" one of the guards came up and saluted her. "My Lady, we rounded all of the perpetrators up and we're ready to begin interrogations."  
"Go ahead and do it." she looked back to Twi and sighed. "and get all of the victims to the nearest hospital and tell them I'm requesting their top-notch care. Understood?"  
The Gryphon Soldier saluted. "yes, Lady Gilda." he turned and left. She walked over and placed a arm on Armor's shoulder. "don't worry. She's gonna be fine." she said in a comforting tone to him."  
"Thanks, Gilda." Armor softly replied.

The entire group waited in the hospital lobby, waiting for word on Trixie's and Twilight's condition.  
"Can't believe this happened to Twilight." Rarity sighed, not believing that this happened.  
"you said it." Spike depressingly agreed.  
"everyone has bad luck at some point." Jax said. "Twilight's just hit here other then most."  
"like a ton of bricks dipped in cement." Aura added.  
Halo and Armor were taking this the hardest. They just sat next to each other.  
The gryphon doctor came from the examination rooms. Everyone stood up when they noticed him. "how are they, Doc?" Gilda asked.  
"The victims are all going to be fine. They all suffered trauma and some are still in shock. But the majority should be fine."  
"What of the Unicorns, er, Twilight Sparkle and Trixie?"  
The Doc looked to the ground, not sure how to word it. That left the group nervous as hell. "I'd… I'd like to speak to the imminate family first." he gestured them into the hallway. Armor and Cadence looked each other nervously then followed him down.  
They walked to a distance where the group couldn't hear them but that didn't stop them from looked from behind the corner.  
"Anybody know how to read lips?" Bahamut asked.  
"Nope." "no." "un-huh." "I do. Not, bruha."  
The doctor explained the situation to Armor and Cadence. She held her hoof over her mouth in fear. Armor snarled and hit the wall behind him.  
"uh-oh. Must be bad." Zilver said non-chalantly. Halo hit him upside the head. Zil rubbed the back of his head and snarled at Halo.  
Armor followed the doc into Twi's room as Cadence slowly walked back to the group.  
"well? What's going on?" A.J. asked.  
"how's Twilight and Trixie?" Sora asked.  
Cadence depressingly sighed. "Trixie… she's gonna be fine. Few broken bones but nothing major. Twilight, on the other hand…" the tension built as everyone was nervous about what Cadence had to say. "Twilight's Pregnant."  
Requiem, Sora, and Fluttershy gasped in fear, holding the hands over their mouths. Everyone had more… vocal ways of expressing their reactions. Halo especially.  
"no. no no no. no way Twilight's Pregnant. There's just no way." Halo said, not wanting to believe it.  
"They ran the test twice. They're certain."  
Dash sighed as she looked to the ground. "you bet that the guy was saw leaving is the father?" she asked Ash.  
"Gotta be." he replied.  
Cadence contemplated on what she should do next. "Spike. Take a letter. Gotta tell my aunts about this."  
Spike depressingly sighed. "alright, Cadence."

Armor sat at Twilight's side as she soundly slept, unaware of what happened to her. He just broke down and started crying. "oh, Twili. I'm so, so sorry. If only I had gotten there sooner." he slammed his hooves into the bed. "Dammit! Dammit…"  
The group depressingly watched from outside, taking the news hard themselves.

ument here...


	35. Heading Home

Pas

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 14

Heading Home

eTu`nes snored under a tree, laying back underneath it as the sun reached mid-day.  
Derpy silently flew up into a tree branch over him, carrying a water balloon. She silently snickered. She carefully aimed it towards his head and just let it fly.  
The balloon hit eTu`nes square of the jaw, waking him up. He shot up and spit out water, even doing it as a water fountain at one time.  
Derpy was laughing up a storm. She fell off of the branch and onto a cloud she'd positioned earlier.  
eTu`nes wiped off his face and snarled at her. "think that's funny, huh?" he asked, a bit peeved.  
"Very!" Derpy laughed, now started to have trouble breathing. "oh. Oh. Oh. I've been laughing so hard, my sides ache." she painlessly stopped. "you have to admit, that was a good joke, e-" she noticed him taking up a pose similar to a cat when they pounce. "Oh, No! No no no no no!"  
"Payback!" eTu`nes proclaimed. Derpy tried to run away. eTu`nes pounced up and plucked her off her high horse.  
The 2 made some goofy sound effects as they rolled down the hill and right into the river, creating quite a big splash.  
Derpy and eTu`nes burst out the water on their backs, bodies facing different directions and their heads right next to each other. They looked at each other and tried to hold in laughter. But they couldn't.

Begin Song: watch?v=GU8N64BAzTg Destiny's Union - Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep OST

they both laughed loudly into the air, causing a flock of birds to take off. Seeing them in flight made Derpy and eTu`nes stop laughing.  
"Pretty birds." Derpy distantly.  
"think they're cockatoos. Probably flying south for the winter"  
The dragon thought for a moment on how to ask this. "Derpy, you sure you don't wanna go back home? I'm sure everypony will understand if you explain everything."  
"I told you, eTu`nes. I'm not going back ever. Why, just because some bullies can continue to make fun of me and my new 'derp' eyes till I want ta kill myself? Fat chance."  
The dragon gave a exasperated groan as he pinched his eyes. "well, we can't stay here."  
"I know."  
The duo floated on down the stream for a moment and just stared up into the sky, watching the clouds roll by and the day continue. It was a good 5 minutes before Derpy spoke again.  
"oh, I know. How about the Gryphon Kingdom?" she suggested.  
"The Gryphon Kingdom?"  
"yeah. Nobody knows us there. we can start a new life. My pen pal says the capital city is quite the happening place."  
eTu`nes 'sat' up in the water and just thought for a second. "you really want to go, don't you?" Derpy nodded while making a puppy dog face. eTu`nes couldn't argue with that cute face. "Okay. We'll go. B-"  
"oh thank you thank you thank you!" Derpy happily exclaimed, hugging eTu`nes to death. "Oh. I have something to give you." Derpy flew out of the water and headed back to their camp site. "be right back."  
eTu`nes waited a moment but got impatient and couldn't hold his excitement in. he flew out of the river and after the Pegasus. He landed at the outskirts of their little camp as he doesn't attract attention.  
Derpy could already tell he was there. She grabbed what she was looking for. She hid it behind her back as she turned around. "close your eyes."  
eTu`nes chuckled a bit before doing just that. He felt something cold on his left hand, followed by something clicking.  
"Okay. You can open your eyes now."  
eTu`nes slowly opened them and looked down at his left hand. What he saw brought a smile to his face. It was a bracelet made out of seashells and gems.  
"like it? I found the shells in the river and you'd be surprised how many gems are just lying around out here. As for the string, I just barrowed it from Zecora." she noticed tears forming in his eyes. "you okay?"  
"yeah, it's just… no one's ever giving me a gift before." eTu`nes softly said.  
"Well… they just don't know you like I do." Derpy smiled. She suddenly hugged him, leaving him confused on what to do next. She broke the hug and walked back to camp. "Come on. We better start packing." she said, already started to do so.  
eTu`nes just stood there as a smile formed on his face. He looked down at the necklace and smiled. "thanks, Derpy." he softly said. He head on over to help pack himself.

20 Years Later…

Deep in a underwater cave, the giant monster that stranded Requiem and her friends on this world sat in it.  
It looked down at his left hand, fidgeting with a seashell and gem bracelet.  
He closed his right hand on it. It softly growled as a single tear ran down his face.

End Song.

Beep… Beep…Beep…  
That was the first sound Twilight heard when she woke up.  
"Hey… I think she's waking up…" Spike's voice echoed though her mind.  
She lazily opened her eyes to find herself staring up at a ceiling. "what the…" she groaned. "why am I… in the hospital…?"  
"Twili!" Armor happily exclaimed. He hugged his sister, who was a bit confused by her brother's actions.  
"Armor? Wh-" she looked up and saw Cadence and Spike in there with her. "what are you 2... What's going on?"  
"oh, Twilight. Thank goodness you're all right." Cadence happily said, hugging her as well. Spike also joined in as well.  
"Guys… what's going on? Why am I in a hospital?" she suddenly remembered last night, but when she was… er, violated. "wait? Where's Trixie and Derpy? Are they all right? What happened to those guys who attacked us?"  
"Trixie and Derpy are fine." Spike said. "They're back at the beach house with the others packing for the return trip home. Derpy got out relatively unharmed while Trixie got some broken bones."  
Twilight groaned as she rubbed her head. "I feel like I got hit by a ton of bricks. How long was I out?"  
"a week." Cadence and Armor looked at each other with worry. "do you… remember what happened?"  
"ugh. Vaguely. I remember those ponies and gryphons jumping us but… after that, it's all a blur. What exactly happened? And why does my stomach feel funny? Feel like I haven't ate in ages."  
That's when the feeling got even worse as the 2 royals and Dragon looked at each other with worry. Twilight started to feel worried now as well.  
"Listen, Twili..." Armor depressingly said. "…I tried to get there as fast as I could, but… I was too late."  
"Too late? Too late for what?" it took Twi a moment but she pieced it together. "oh, no." she gasped. "was I…" Armor slowly nodded. Twi then remembered everything; the dark room, the chains, and that Pegasus' voice. She wasn't going to forget that voice anytime soon. "well… at least you stopped me from being a prolonged victim. Otherwise I wouldn't be here, right?"  
"that's… partially true." Armor depressingly said. He didn't want to say anymore, which left Twilight with a sinking feeling.  
"that's not the real reason behind what Armor said, Twilight." Cadence began saying. "Twi… you're pregnant."  
The entire world seemed to halt in a screech when Twi heard the news. Truth be told, a floor waxer just broke down outside the room. "Sorry about that. These olds models are always giving me trouble." the pony said as he kicked the machine. It suddenly turned on and sped off. The cord wrapped around his back-left foot and dragged him off.  
Twi couldn't believe it. "pregnant? Me? I'm… I'm pregnant?"  
Cadence comfortingly hugged her sister-in-law. "I'm sorry, Twilight."  
Twi just stared off into space, still not believing it. "I'm…Pregnant…?"

Pinkie pulled on the cord to her knapsack, closing it up. The group made preparations to leave for home now that they accomplished what they set out to do.  
"still can't believe Twilight's pregnant." Rarity said as she used her magic to put her make-up away.  
"Things are certainly going to be different, that's for sure." Applejack said, airing her Stetson out.  
"but though… that… she's gotta be devastated by this." Req said. "I know I would."  
"anyone weak-willed would be traumatized. But Twilight's not weak. She'll get though this." Dash said. She jumped up on her suitcase and jumped down on it.  
Trixie, covered in bandages and her right-front leg in a brace, slowly closed her bag. She depressingly sighed. "why do I feel… that this was somehow my fault?"  
Zilver sighed as he placed his head on his hoof. "Trixie…"  
"it's true!" she exclaimed. "If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have to have come here, then Nightmare Moon wouldn't have come back, and then Twilight wouldn't… wouldn't…" Trixie broke down and started crying.  
Sora comforted her and patted her on the back. "it wasn't your fault, Trixie. Besides, no one saw all this coming. You can't blame yourself for what happened. Some things… you just can't control them."  
Trixie sniffled and wiped her eyes. "you're sure?"  
"I'd listen to Sora. She's always been the uplifting one of our little group." Ash said.  
"but I just…" the door closed, interrupting their talk as Spike walked in. "how's Twilight? How's she taking this?" Trixie desperately asked.  
"she's… she's in shock over all this. I don't think she wants to accept it."  
"none of us wants to." Rare said. Spike walked over to his and Twilight's bag and saw that everything was already packed.  
"Who…"  
"that was from all of us." Fluttershy said, gesturing to everyone in the building.  
"well, thanks, but Twilight's the one who needs help right now, not me." Spike said as he looked though it.  
"Speaking of Twi, where is she?" Req asked.  
"she, Armor, and Cadence will be meeting us at the port. Armor and Cadence asked me to pack for them. They're coming back as well."  
"what about the Slave Trade?" Whooves asked.  
"turns out the place Twilight was kept at was a… I guess you could call it a main hub or something. Had a map to all of the… un… joints all over the country. According to Jason, they should be taken out in several weeks or so."  
"well, that's one piece of good news out of this." Derpy said.  
Halo kept quiet during all this, slowly packing his bags. This was going to change everything.

The ship began to load up as the Royals, Mane6; minus Twilight, and Req said their good-byes to Gilda, Jason, and the King.  
"Sorry you have to leave. Just wish it were under better circumstances." Zaltan said.  
"you and me both." Req said. "still can't believe Twilight's pregnant. And with some perverts kid, no less."  
Dash growled in anger. "when I find that guy, I'm gonna hit him so hard, his own mother won't recognize him!"  
"when you do invite him, be sure to tell me. I want to give him a piece of my mind." Applejack said.  
"Us too." Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Spike angrily added.  
Req looked at Cadence and she back. They were both worried about what they'll do. "well… we best get going. I'm sure Twilight wants to get home as soon as she can."  
"I don't blame her." Jason said. "this place is going to be a bad memory to her now. Hope you find that creep."  
"you and me both." Armor said, angrier then all of them. They can see the fire in his eyes.  
The bell on the ship began to ding, cutting the conversation short. "well… we better get going." Req said. She, A.J., Rarity, and Spike left for the ship. Armor and Cadence bowed to the king and left as well.  
Dash, Pinkie, and 'Shy turned to leave. "Guys…" Gilda suddenly said. The trio looked back to her. "take care. Okay? And Fluttershy, again, I'm sorry for what I did 2 years ago."  
That was a surprise to them, even Jason and Zaltan.  
"Thanks Gilda." Fluttershy smiled. "and you take care too."

Begin Song: watch?v=qdrTqz8pSyQ Strange Whispers - Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep OST

The monster continued fiddling with the bracelet, not wanting to let it go. It was the only thing that reminded him of his past life.  
A flash came from his left. He slowly turned his head to see Orochi walk on thin air, out of a dark portal. "well, how's my favorite monster doing today?" his Fulmen personality asked. The monster looked away. "well, that's the hello we get? Gee, thanks Oscurita."  
"I think he's being his moody self again, Glacies." Ventus said.  
"don't worry. I'll have a heart to heart with him." Glacies said. He floated on down to Oscurita's head and sat down on a invisible chair. "Oscurita, Oscurita, Oscurita. It's been, what, 3 months since we saved you from that terrible blizzard?" the monster growled at him. "and yet… you've done nothing but cause trouble for our plans. We asked you to destroy those humans, especially the Silver Blue-Haired one, but instead you stranded them. Lady Kyra isn't exactly happy with this."  
"but, thankfully…" The Lucis personality took back over. "… you'll get another chance. The boat carrying those humans will be over us pretty soon. All you have to do is blow it up. Simple as pie."  
Oscurita looked up at Orochi with hopeful eyes.  
"of course, if you fail again, we'll have no choice but to kill her."  
"yeah. Just like what we almost did last week when that Nightmare Moon fella came back." Ignis blurted out.  
The hope turned to anger as Oscurita snarled like a Predator.  
"nice going, hot head." Aqua sarcastically said. The monster roared as he tried to bite Orochi.

End Song.

The ship sailed along to the other side of the river and to Equestria. To some, it good to be going home after half a month away. To others… well, they were just glad to be leaving. Speaking of which…  
Twilight stood on the bow of the ship, quietly and sadly looking over the edge and down at the water below.  
"well… she's taking this better then I expected." Cadence said to Trixie. Trixie didn't care as she too did the same thing. "Trixie… it wasn't your fault."  
"look back on this, Cadence. I cast the spell which forced her here. I'm the one who insisted we go for a girl's night out. I'm the one who-"  
Cadence shut her up by suddenly slapping her. "listen to yourself. 'it's my fault. It's my fault.' Listen to me, Trixie: it wasn't your fault! Someone else who had a crush on Twi would've cast the spell and someone else would've insisted on a day out. It wasn't. your. Fault."  
Trixie just stood there for a moment before reacting. "did you just slap me?"  
Cadence groaned as she hit her head on the railing. "least it got your mind off of blaming yourself.

Halo stood by himself, looking at Twi. Ash and A.J. walked up behind him.  
"you just gonna stand there or are you going to her?" Applejack asked.  
"and what would I say?" Halo asked.  
"nothing. Just be there for her. These are going to be a hard 11 months for her and she'll need someone to comfort her." Ash said.  
Halo scoffed. "she's got her brother and all you guys? Why would she need me?"  
"well, let's see, because she loves you and you love her and she could use a silver lining in all this. That say anything at all?"  
Halo blushed a bit and looked away. "what makes you think I love her?"  
"we've seen the way you look at her, Romeo." Sora said as she walked up. "We also saw how you reacted when you found out she was kidnapped, when Nightmare Moon almost turned her into Twilight stain-on-the-floor, and the fact that you're blushing. Face it, you caught the love bug."  
Halo was going to counter but didn't. he just thought for a moment before looking at Twi. Sora and A.J. nodded to each other and pushed Halo over to Twi. He sneered back at them but they just ignored it.  
"um… Twi…" Halo strained. She turned around to look at him. "un… how are you feeling?"  
"lousy." she looked back out to the water. "Lousy lousy lousy."  
"oh. Well, is there anything I can do to help?"  
"find the basterd who did this to me and kick his ass for starters."  
Halo gave a gasping chuckle. "everyone wants to do that to him." Twi gave a slight chuckle as Halo walked up next to her. "so… pregnancy. That's gonna be a tough 11 months."  
Twi gave a sad nod as her eyes watered. "you know… I wanted to become a mother someday. Have my own son or daughter with someone I love. But… " Twi held her stomach. "not like this." she softly cried. Halo comforted her by patting her on the back. She turned and cried into his shoulder.  
"well… not what someone would call a great way to start a relationship." Jax said to Dash. Dash gave her a mean glare. "okay, it's the worst way to start a relationship."  
Bahamut groaned as he pinched his eyes. He looked out over the water. Something shot out of the water in the distance. Bahamut squinted his eyes and couldn't make out what it was. "what in the world…"  
The thing flew up into the sky. At the same time, the boat began to shake.  
"whoooooooaoaoaoa!" Aura slid down and hit his head on a beam. "ow."  
"What the heck is this?" Shadow exclaimed as he fell back first into one of the masts.

Begin Song: watch?v=6tMqUYXe6VI Hade's Infernal Theme - Kid Icarus Uprising OST

0:00.  
A area of the sea beside them began to bubble and boil.

"oh, that can't be good." Spike said, hopping to avoid falling.

The area bulged upward as something rose out of the water.

0:10.  
The water fell away, revealing the shadow covered Oscurita to the group. His back was to the boat so he didn't take notice of them. He snarled up at the sky and let out a single ear-shattering roar that sounded like a distorted, demonic trumpet.  
It reared it's head back and fired a beam into the sky.

"What in Tartarus is that!?" Armor exclaimed.  
"That's the monster that stranded us!" Ash replied.

It fired another beam into the sky, which left Bahamut confused. "is he shooting at the thing that came out of the water?"  
Jax angrily snarled as she grabbed her Chakrams. "HEY!" she called out to it. Oscurita didn't hear her and just kept firing his beam into the sky. "hey, ugly! I'm talking to you!" she yelled, she threw the chakram at the monster.

0:38.  
It hit him in the neck, causing him to turn around and see who did it.  
"JAX!" everyone yelled. Jax realized her mistake too little too late. "oops."  
The monster bent over till his face was at level with the boat. Wasn't hard seeing as his head was as big as the fricken thing. It snarled, bearing his teeth. Everyone, even tough ol' Armor, was scared to the bone.  
Oscurita looked the ship over and saw someone familiar.  
"what's he doing?" a scared as hell Pinkie asked.  
He looked in her direction. Pinkie went 'eep' and jumped into a nearby barrel.

0:57.  
Oscurita backed up from the ship, about 50 feet to us but 2 for him, and loudly roared.  
He spread his wings and roared again.  
He flapped his wings once and shot up into the air, creating a big sonic boom.

1:12. End Song.

The ship rocked from the sonic boom but it didn't tip.

"anyone get the license plate on that thing?" Aura jokingly asked.  
Twi and Halo held each other close with eyes closed, even after the boat stopped rocking. "you 2 do know the thing is gone now, right? Or should I just leave you 2 like this?" Req playfully asked.  
Both Unicorns opened both their right eyes and took notice. "now we do." they both said.  
"That's the monster that stranded you here?" a stunned Cadence asked.  
"yep. Big, ain't he?" Ash jokingly asked, wringing water out of his fedora.  
"I'll say." Armor laughed. "I never saw anything that big before." he said, looking back up at the sky. Despite being in the stratosphere, Oscurita was still visible. "this is gonna be a problem for you, isn't it?"  
"yep." the humans said as they looked up into the sky. "it sure is." Sora said as they saw the monster fly off to the south.

te your document here...


	36. Welcome Home

Past

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 15

Welcome Home

Derpy and eTu`nes ran alongside a railroad track as a train rolled on by.  
eTu`nes jumped into a boxcar and helped Derpy in just seconds before the train went over a bridge.  
Both Dragon and Pegasus panted as they fell onto a pile of hay. "that… was pretty close." eTu`nes panted, holding his hand over his heart.  
"tell me… about it…" Derpy panted. "I think I'm having palpitations."  
eTu`nes looked at her suspiciously. "do you even know what palpitations are?"  
Derpy gave a fake smile. "no… I just felt like saying it."  
eTu`nes rolled his eyes with a groan. He looked out the boxcar and stared at the city built into the mountain. "What city was that?"  
Curious, Derpy looked the same direction. "oh, that's Canterlot, home of Princess Celestia."  
"Celestia? I think I heard that name before." eTu`nes muttered. He snapped his fingers in realization. "she's the one who's been ruling Equestria for 2000 years?"  
"yep. All by herself. I heard she had a sister but nobody remembers what happened to her. Well, other then Celestia herself, that is."  
"oh."

The train reached the large river separating Equestria from the Gryphon Kingdom and began it's 2 day trek across.  
Derpy looked back on the receding coastline and felt a bit guilty for leaving for parents behind.  
"you okay?" eTu`nes asked as he walked to her side.  
"no. I didn't even say goodbye to my family. They must be worried sick about me; them and my sister."  
"you have a sister!?"  
"yeah. My twin, actually. She wants to be a adventurer when she grows up. No way that will go well, I can promise you that." Derpy chuckled.  
eTu`nes looked out at the coastline. "sure you don't wanna change your mind? We got a chance. I can carry you back to shore."  
"I told you, eTu`nes. I'm not going back so those bullies will just make fun of me to the point I want to kill myself. And with these new eyes…" Derpy covered her right eye. "…I know I will."  
"that's kinda dark, don'tcha think?" he jokingly asked.  
"you haven't met those 2. They even made a royal guard cry."  
The dragon mouthed 'wow'.

Night fell as the train continued on. eTu`nes rummaged though some boxes and found some turnips. "ew." eTu`nes said as he pulled 2 out. "hope you like Turnips." he disgustedly said. Derpy took hers and took a bite out of it.  
eTu`nes sat down, sniffed his veggie, and took a small bite. He exclaimed in disgust and tossed it out of the moving vehicle.  
"Don't like Turnips?" Derpy asked with a full mouth.  
"no. can never get past the taste or the smell. Just… ew." eTu`nes shivered with that ew. Derpy chuckled. The dragon looked up at the moon and stared at the image emblazoned in it. "so… what's the Gryphon Kingdom like?"  
"I don't know. All I do know is that the capital city is a center of trade for the world. Open up a world map and, bam, dead center. I also heard that all sorts of species trade there; ponies, dragons, diamond dogs, gryphons, and species I never even heard of. And I think Zecora's species as well."  
"sounds like a big and busy place. Perfect for someone who wants to hide." eTu`nes added as he looked out the door again.  
Derpy nuzzled up next to him, which surprised eTu`nes a lot. "as long as you're with me, I'm sure we'll survive." she sleepily said.  
That line couldn't help but make eTu`nes blush. He stared back out the door and rested his head on Derpy's before falling asleep.

20 years later…

"…we'll be arriving in Ponyville in about 7 hours, give or take." Satoshi said as he read a letter sent by Cadence and Spike out loud to the citizens of Ponyville. "odds are, you're gonna want to throw a big party. Pinkie's been antsy on doing that as well. Hope to see you all soon.  
Spike and Cadence."  
Satoshi folded up the letter and gave it to the mayor. "you heard the letter, we gotta get a big welcome home party started for our heroes!" she proclaimed. The ponies cheered and quickly went to work getting a welcome home party ready.  
Satoshi walked off the stage and bumped into Lyra and Bonbon.  
"Can't wait to here their stories." Lyra said. "I mean, Nightmare Moon returning? That's something worth talking about."  
"yeah. She was tough last time but they beat her before." Bonbon said.  
"but didn't you hear the part that 'something tragic happened that forced us to cut our trip short?' part?" Satoshi asked.  
"could be anything." Bonbon muttered. Maybe one of them got a broken bone or something."  
"maybe. But I don't know." Satoshi said, not really sure. "usually, broken bones don't count as something tragic."  
"we'll find out when they get here, okay?" Lyra said. "now let's get this party goin'!" she exclaimed as she ran off. Satoshi and Bonbon shrugged and walked off in separate directions.

The train bound for Ponyville rolled over the tracks as it neared it's destination.  
Inside, there was a awkward silence as the train clicked and clacked along. Pinkie was the first to break it.  
"so… a welcome home party! That's bound to bring everyone's spirits up, right!?" she cheerfully asked.  
"if you say so, Pinkie." Dash distantly said as she laid backwards on a seat.  
Twi looked out a window at the moving country-side, still not ready to talk to anyone about this.  
"you okay, Sugarcube?" A.J. asked as she sat next to her.  
"not really, Applejack. It's just… this pregnancy was not something I expected when we left for the Gryphon Kingdom. And now that it's happening, and to me… I'm not sure what to feel right now."  
A.J. thought for a moment before thinking up a good reason. "you know, my mom always said to look on the bright side of things, even in the worst situations."  
Twi raised a eyebrow in question. "and what's the silver lining in this scenario?"  
"in 11 months, you're gonna be a mother to a bouncing baby boy or girl. And that thing about genetics? They don't say anything about personality, does it? So what if the father was a perverted creep? You can raise it to not be a creep. Personality doesn't transfer over, right?"  
Some of the mouths in the group dropped. "now why didn't we think of that?" Bahamut asked.  
That little explanation filled Twi with some hope. "you know, you're right." A.J. smiled that Twi accepted it. "yeah, yeah. He or she might grow up to be somepony important like Captain of the Wonderbolts or a royal guard."  
"maybe even a famous actor." Sora added.  
"yeah, yeah." Twi smiled to A.J. "never thought of it like this before. Thanks, A.J."  
"no prob, Sugarcube." A.J. smiled back.  
"again, why didn't we think about that?" Bahamut wondered as A.J. walked on back. "I swear, Req could've come up with it back on the boat."  
Some of the ponies groaned. Req even bonked Bahamut on the head. Everyone laughed at the sighted. Twi gave a chuckle but stopped half-way. She looked out the window again and the depressing feeling returned. Guess A.J.'s little speech didn't work as well as everyone thinks.

Edge yawned as he sat in Fluttershy's bed under being placed under 'house' arrest by Dinky. She even ordered Fenrir and Cobalt to keep an eye on him.  
Edge was so bored, he started to talk with himself. "she's just a little filly. I should be able to leave whenever I want." the wolf and eagle both gave him a confused look. "you 2 are wondering whether I'm talking about Fluttershy or Dinky, aren't you? Well, it don't matter. Dinky's got me locked up under lock and key and last time I tried, I… felt guilty. and I'm still not sure why."  
Fenrir and Cobalt looked at each other, both knowing what was really going on. "what? Why you looking at me like that?" then Reality hit him. "and why am I talking to a couple of dumb animals? And why am I listening to a school-mare? I can just leave right now."  
Edge flew out of bed and down to the door. He opened it up and flew on to the Everfree Forest.

Tables of food and drinks were set up outdoors, making this a block party of sorts. The banner, saying 'welcome home' was hung up just outside the train station.  
"this is gonna be a awesome party." Berry snickered as she put on a party hat.  
"turning us back into ponies and defeating Nightmare Moon again? It's gotta be cause this is a double hitter party." Caramel said as he put on a party hat as well.  
Satoshi put up the finishing touches on 'pin the tail on the donkey'. he got up and turned to leave, only to run into somepony's chest. He quickly pulled off and cracked his nose back into position. "hey, watch where you're going! You broke my nose." he exclaimed, unaware of who he was talking to.  
"so… you're one of the humans Twilight talked about in her letters." Celestia said with a smirk.  
Satoshi looked up with one eye open. "and… you are?"  
"where are your manners?" one of Celestia's royal guards exclaimed. "This is Princess Celestia, one of the rulers of Equestria."  
"peace, Dawn Guard. We've never met before. I'm not at all offended by this." Celestia said.  
"wait. You're Princess Celestia?" Satoshi asked. He saw ponies walk by who quickly bowed for a second before moving on. He quickly got up. "sorry for that." he nervously said.  
"it's no problem." Celestia smiled. "me and Luna are sometimes not formal ourselves. So… you are…?"  
"oh. Names Satoshi. Satoshi Tanaka. I'm the pilot of the Orion. That ship over there." he pointed to the half-rebuilt husk that was the Orion. "so… why are you here, Celeste?"  
"Celeste?" she said in surprise. She chuckled at it. "never had that for a nickname before. Well, if you must know, I am here to welcome back those who return us to our equine forms and defeated Nightmare Moon for a second time."  
"so are we, but mostly the 'turn back into ponies' part. But, truth be told, I'm more curious about that tragedy part they said."  
"I read that too. I'm also curious as to what it is."  
"Lyra and Bonbon are saying it's probably broken bones or something. But I think it's something worse. Broken bones wouldn't be 'tragedy' material and it wouldn't cut a trip short."  
"I feel the same way. I just hope it's nothing major."  
"you and me both, Celeste." Satoshi looked up at a few streamers. "say, got a free hand, err… hoof? We need some help putting up decorations."  
"sure." Celestia quickly said. She used her magic to put up a banner.

The train neared Ponyville's station as the sky turned to dusk.  
"Okay. 10 minutes till we're home. Oh, I missed my soft bed." Derpy happily said.  
"and I hope Berry Punch didn't destroy the library with a party." Spike whined. "otherwise, I'm gonna hafta rebuild it."  
"No. we'll force Berry to rebuild it." Req sneered.  
Twi thought for a moment about something different. She turned to her friends. "listen, guys. I'd appreciate it if nobody finds out about my pregnancy. Mom, Dad, and Celestia included."  
"why?" Ash asked.  
"well… I don't want them to know yet. I'm trying to figure out how to break it to them and I keep coming up short."  
"it can't be that hard." Jax scoffed.  
"really?" Twi sarcastically replied. "Well, let's see… 'hi Mom & Dad. Greetings, Princess Celestia. Listen, while at the Gryphon Kingdom, I was forced into a situation against my will and as a result, guess who's gonna be the proud mother of a bastard child of a perverted creep?'" she sarcastically and angrily played out.  
"well, anything will sound bad if you say it that way."  
Req gave a groaning scoff as she pinched her eyes. "you're not making this easy, Jax. In fact, you're probably making this worse."  
Jax rolled her eyes. "well, sorry for speaking the truth."  
"can I please hit her?" a peeved Cadence asked.  
"I'm about to let you." Sora snarled in agreement. that's when she remembered something that bugged her since they left. "did we remember Vinyl and Octavia?"  
Everyone stopped and thought back. "oh, that's right. I forgot." Halo said. "Tavi said that she got a position in the Royal Orchestra. She and Vinyl will be living there for a few months for a trial run." everyone suddenly exclaimed in agreement.  
The train slowed to a halt and hissed as it stopped in Ponyville Station. "well… we're home." Twi distantly said.  
The doors opened and the passengers departed into the surprisingly dark and empty streets.  
"Anyone else scared right now?" Zilver asked.  
"maybe there's a bla-"  
"SURPRISE!" the Citizens of Ponyville yelled as the lights snapped back on. "WELCOME HOME!" Fluttershy yelped and fainted as the banner unfurled. Sora held her heart as she faked having a heart attack as the rest looked on in shock.  
"why are they throwing a party…?" Req muttered.

In less then 10 minutes, the group was told of the letter sent by Cadence and Spike(which the group didn't know of) and the reason behind the party; returning the human-turned ponies back into ponies and defeating Nightmare Moon for a second time.

Twilight poured herself a cup of water with her magic as Lyra appeared behind her. "come on, Twi. Have some cider! It's a party, after all."  
Twi quickly told her one of many lies she had prepared. "I'm fine, Lyra. I did enough partying back in the Gryphon Kingdom. I still have a bit of a hangover."  
"that's possible?" Lyra asked. Twi nodded. "huh. I just learned something new." she said as she walked off.  
Twi breathed a sigh of relief. This was gonna be a long 11 months.

"so YOU'RE Princess Celestia!" Req exclaimed in delight as she and Aura met the ruler of Equestria for the first time. "took us a month and 1 evil villain but we finally meet face to face. And it sucks Luna couldn't come."  
"Exactly. And you're…" Celestia tried to place her face.  
"oh. Requiem." Req proceeded to introduce her friends by pointed to them. "This is Aura, Sora, Ash, Bahamut…" she looked around for Jax and found her sulking in a corner, biting into a boiled carrot. "…and the girl with the 'tude is Jax."  
"I see. I heard that she was a bit of a… horse hater?"  
"That's one way to put it." Aura said. "She was almost trampled by a herd when she was 3. But, instead of cowering in fear like most people do, she gets angry when she's around creatures of the equine variety."  
"oh. So, then this must be…"  
"pure hell for her." Req concluded.  
Celestia looked to Jax. "well, I hope she can overcome that irrational fear soon." she turned her attention back to the group. "I also heard that you were all instrumental in taking Nightmare Moon down. How can humans do that?"  
"well, it's simple if you're a Demi-Goddess." Req said.  
That part intrigued Celestia the most. "Demi-Goddess?"  
"yeah. A Demi is someone who's the mortal child of a god or goddess. We're pretty powerful."  
"That's a understatement." Aura chuckled. Req gave him a bit of a leer and bonked him on the head. He just chuckled as he took it.  
"HEY, REQ!" Derpy called out. "it's your turn at the piñata. And no powers or swordplay, got it?"  
"Coming, Derpy!" Req called out. She whispered to Celestia. "they don't know that I was beastly with this back home." she snickered as she ran over.  
Aura sighed as he put his drink down. "better go make sure she doesn't cheat." he said as he ran off.  
Celestia stood there, puzzled by what she said. "a Demi-Goddess…" she muttered. "a being with more power then anyone here on Equestria. What were they doing here in the first place?" she wondered. She looked to Req, who was playfully being put into a blindfold by Raindrops. "well, she can't be that bad."

Armor and Cadence talked with several of the background ponies when someone's unexpected arrived.  
"HI THERE, SHINY POO!" Night Light and Twilight Velvet exclaimed. Armor whinnied in surprise as he jumped out of his skin and bolted for the nearest exit. Cadence shook her head with a chuckle and used her magic to pull him back.  
"Shiny Poo?" Sparkler laughed. She and the others fell over laughing as Armor blushed in embarrassment.  
"oh, it's nice to see you again, son." Night said as he hugged his son. "and a pleasure to see you again, DAUGHTER Mi Amore Cadenza."  
Cadence bowed in politeness. "pleasure's all mine, Night Light."  
Night chuckled as he turned back to Velvet. "look at that. Married into the family and she still calls me by my name."  
"un… well…"  
"oh, and we heard. Someone in our families' pregnant." Velvet said in a sing-singy way.  
Both Armor and Cadence got nervous, both thinking that they meant Twi. "p-pregnant?" they both nervously asked.  
"yes. And we must admit, we're anxious for when the little tyke gets here. We always wanted a grandchild." Night said.  
"you are?" they both asked again, clearly surprised by this.  
"well, yeah. And knowing you 2 are going to raise it, we can't help but feel enthusiastic."  
"us?" that's when they remembered that Cadence is still 8-months pregnant. "oh, right. Us." they both nervously laughed.  
"yeah. Who did you think we meant, Twilight?" Velvet asked. Armor and Cadence stopped laughed and stood there. "she's far too young to be a mother. She's only 21."  
"and learning that you were pregnant before the wedding, well, we were surprised then as well."  
"r-right. Right." Armor nervously said. "um… I'm gonna go check on Twilight." Armor quickly bolted, leaving Cadence alone with the in-laws.  
"what did he mean 'check on Twilight?'" Night asked. Velvet shrugged but then both turned their attention to Cadence. "you know something?" Cadence chuckled nervously as she sweated up a storm.

Twilight talked with the rest of the Mane6 when Armor walked up with a worried expression. "Armor? What's going on?" a peeved Twi asked.  
"Red Alert! Mom and Dad are here!"  
A nuke may've gone off cause that would've been better then Mom and Dad in town. "oh, no. If they find out, they're gonna blab it all over Canterlot!" she whined. She looked to her friends and quickly shook their hooves good-bye. "I'm out of here, guys. I'm gonna be at the library before-"  
"TWILIGHT'S PREGNANT!?" Velvet and Night exclaimed loud enough for all of Ponyville to hear.  
The ponies stopped whatever they were doing and turned their attention to Twi. Not wanting to be judged in front of everyone, she teleported away.  
Armor face-hoofed as the humans and the ponies who knew groaned. "nice going, mom." Armor groaned.  
Celestia was in complete shock. "h-h-h-how is Twilight pregnant?" she asked Req.  
Req puffed as she tapped her fingers together. "un, well…"

Twilight depressingly laid on the carpet in her bedroom, lazily flicking a pencil around. The door to her room opened and closed. Twi looked up to see Celestia walk up.  
"Can I come in?" she softly asked. Twi did nothing for a moment but eventually nodded. Celestia walked over and laid down beside Twi. "your friends informed us all about what happened." Twi took a deep breath. "I'm so, so sorry for what happened, Twilight."  
"why did it happen, Celestia? I never did anything wrong. So why am do I have to suffer with this?"  
"well… I'm not sure." that made Twi even more depressed. "but… I have learned that everything happens for a reason. So, maybe your pregnancy will be a good thing."  
"but… I'm not sure what to do. Do I keep it or give it up for adoption or… or…" Twi didn't even want to finish that but Celestia knew where she was going. "I'm… I'm so afraid. Will the baby be like his father or will she hate me or…" Twilight began to cry. "I just don't know what to do. Applejack told me that personality doesn't transfer over from the parents but… but if she…"  
Celestia sighed as she looked away. "listen, Twilight. I'm gonna tell you something that I never told anyone. Only me and Luna know it." Twi sniffled and looked up at her mentor. "I was also a mother and it happened the same way it happened to you."  
Twilight went wide-eyed in shock. "wait… so you were…"  
Celestia slowly nodded. "it was before me and Luna became immortal. We were just normal Alicorn's living a normal life. I was dating a handsome pony named Cosmos, and when I mean handsome, I mean 'whoa momma!'" Twi raised a eyebrow in question. "un… right. Well, when I was your age, I went though same exact ordeal; I was taken advantage of and became a mother myself. Cosmos… wasn't happy at first; neither was I. I didn't know how to raise a child. But, over time, we accepted it and I eventually gave birth to our beautiful daughter Erys."  
"What happened next?" Twi curiously asked.  
Celestia sadly closed her eyes as she used her magic to summon up a white rose. She held it close to her heart as Twi got even more curious. "Discord happened. He… got rid of Cosmos and vanished Erys into thin air. The rest, as they say, is history."  
"oh, Celestia. I'm so sorry." Twi comforted her.  
"it's okay. It's been 2000 years later. I've… partially moved on." the rose disappeared. "anyway, I think I skipped over the most important part of the story. When I had Erys, both me and Cosmos were worried about what to do with her; we never even foal-sat before. But, as time moved on, Erys turned out to be the best thing that happened to us." a single tear rolled down her face. "oh, Erys…" she cried.  
"Celestia…" Twi put a comforting hoof on Celestia's. "so… what you're saying is that this could be the best thing that happened to me?"  
Celestia sniffed as she wiped her eyes. "yes. Sometimes the best things in life come from the worst events. Take the return of Nightmare Moon and Chrysalis' attack, for example. I got Luna back and you gained Cadence for a sister."  
"right." Twi laid her head down on the floor. "just… let me think about it."  
"alright, Twilight." Celestia softly said.  
She got up to leave when Twi stopped her. "please stay. I don't wanna be alone tonight."  
Celestia smiled. "All right, Twilight." she laid down beside her and snuggled up next to her.  
Twi closed her eyes and fell asleep instantly. Celestia raised her head and smiled. Her star pupil, a little unicorn she took in when she was only 7 years old; she couldn't believe that all that time had passed and that Twilight was gonna become a mother herself. She leaned in and kissed Twi on the forehead.  
"good night, my precious student..."

e your document here...


	37. Welcome

Paste your

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 16

Welcome

The train pulled into FeatherTop, the Gryphon Capital City, and hissed as it stopped. The main passenger cars opened up as it's passengers departed onto the station.  
One of the doors on the freight cars opened on the other side. A grey Pegasus and a dragon flew out of it and out though a open window.

"so this is the Gryphon Capital City. Impressive." eTu`nes said in awe as he looked up at the massive tower that stretched up before him from the center of the city.  
"I know. I'm surprised too. I didn't expect it to look like this." Derpy said. They both flew down and landed in the middle of a park. "This will be a great place for us to start a new life. We won't have to worry about bullies torturing us or beating us to near-death…"  
"right. Nobody here knows us. It'll be difficult fitting in…" eTu`nes face-palmed. "and I just spotted the first error in your plan, Derpy." Derpy looked back at him. "for starters, how are we gonna get jobs? We're both underage."  
"you clearly never been to Ponyville." Derpy snickered.  
"okay. Maybe I'm wrong on the underage thing back it EQUESTRIA but this is the Gryphon Kingdom. There's gotta be a completely different set of rules…" Derpy started groaning, hearing the truth in his words. "…and also, where are we gonna live? You have a uncle or grandpa living here or something?"  
Derpy hit her head against a tree. "I'm starting to think coming here was a ba-" something fell out of the tree and landed right on top of Derpy.  
"ow…" both Derpy and the Pegasus who fell out of the tree moaned. The Cyan colored Pegasus got up and rubbed her head. "Watch where you're hitting!" the Rainbow Mane Pegasus groaned.  
"sorry." Derpy moaned. eTu`nes helped Derpy up, leaving the other Pegasus a bit confused. "wait… you own a dragon?"  
"what?" eTu`nes and Derpy looked at each other for a moment. "oh, no. no no no. we're friends. We came here to… get away from some bad people." Derpy explained.  
The cyan Pegasus scratched her cheek in confusion. "if you say so. So, I take it that means you're new in town?"  
"you take it correct. We're from Ponyville." eTu`nes confirmed. "my name is eTu`nes, and this is… Ditzy." Derpy raised a eyebrow in confusion as she looked up at him. "what's yours?"  
"name's Rainbow. Rainbow Dash. FeatherTop born and raised." R.D. replied. "so, where are your parents?"  
Derpy's ears dropped as eTu`nes quickly came up with a lie. "we're orphans. We lost our parents to those bad people we mentioned; they hunted my parents down and for Ditzy… she lost hers in a accident.."  
"oh. Sorry." a sad Dash replied. "wait, does that mean you don't have a place to sleep?"  
"un… no. you happen to have any spare cardboard boxes? We can sleep out here." Derpy said.  
"What? No. no no no." Dash flew behind them and pushed them. "you're coming with me." she said as she pushed them.  
"Guess we're going with her." both Derpy and eTu`nes said as they were pushed who knows where.

Dash pushed them out of the park and into a fancy part of the city, where she then pushed them up the walk-way of a swank house as the sun began to set behind it.

Inside, Dash's mother was in the kitchen when she heard the door close. "I'm home mom!" Dash called out.  
"I'm in the kitchen, dear!" her mother replied. She heard footsteps approach here, as well as… claws?  
"un… mom. I gotta talk to you about something." Dash nervously said.  
"About what, dear?" Mom said as she turned around. She noticed Derpy and eTu`nes and almost blew a gasket. "oh, no. Dash, for the last time, you can't have a dragon as a pet."  
Dash turned red in embarrassment. "mom. It's not like that."  
"my name is eTu`nes, ma'am. And this is my friend Ditzy. We just arrived in town when we ran into your daughter." he explained.  
"by yourselves?" Mom wondered. "Where are your parents?"  
"they don't have any, mom. They said their parents were killed."  
"oh. Oh, I'm so sorry."  
"it's okay." Ditzy said.  
"well, do you have a place to stay?"  
"That's the thing mom. They were gonna live out in the park in Cardboard Boxes." Dash's mother frowned sadly for a moment. "so, can they stay here?"  
Dash's mother blathered a bit. "what? Here? We barely know them."  
"come on, Mom. You yourself said I should try to make more friends. And these 2 need help. Just look at Ditzy's eyes." Derpy gave a Dash a mean leer but she just shoved her away. "Please, mom."  
Mom gave a exasperated sigh. "fine. But just for one night. okay?"  
Dash happily hugged her mother. "oh, thank you mom." eTu`nes and Derpy looked at each other with raised eyebrows. Dash ran past them and out the kitchen door. "I'll show them to the guest room, mom." Dash grabbed them and pulled them out.  
Dash's mother stood there with crossed hooves across her chest. "they're lying about something. I'm not sure what but they are." she muttered.

Dash opened the door to the guest room and showed eTu`nes and Derpy in. "you'll stay in here." she said as both dragon and Pegasus walked in and looked around the bland room. "my rooms across the hall." Dash said, pointing behind her. "Dinner's in a hour. See you then." Dash walked on out and down the hall.  
eTu`nes and Derpy looked around the room. "well, beats sleeping in the cold park." the dragon said.  
"yep." Derpy glanced over at him. "Why'd you call me Ditzy again?"  
eTu`nes stopped what he was doing and quickly thought of why he did do it. "well, maybe word of your disappearance made it here someway and maybe someone will turn you in for a reward or something, then you'll go back to those mean bullies and…"  
"okay, okay. I get the picture." Derpy climbed on the bed. "well, at least 'Ditzy Doo' sounds better then 'Derpy Doo.'"  
eTu`nes mouthed 'wow' at the name. "no argument from me, Der- I mean, Ditzy."

20 Years Later…

Req yawned as she woke up. She stretched but ran into resistance. "what the…" she saw that she was under a pile of books.  
"just once I would like to wake up without a mountain of paper over me!" Req tiredly exclaimed before using her magic to blast them off. One fell back onto her and landed on her face. Req moaned before taking it off. When she saw the title, she was surprised. "how to be a single mother? She's really going though with this?" Req muttered.  
She heard commotion to her left. She looked to see Twilight reading books all about raising kids and pregnancy as fast as she could. "Twilight? What are you doing up? It's only…" she grabbed her alarm clock. "6 in the morning?"  
Twi momentarily stopped what she was doing. "it's 6? Man, time did fly."  
Req rolled out of her bed and cracked her back. "man that bed is stiff." Req silently gruffed. "so… what are you doing up this early?"  
"I've been looking though all the books I have about pregnancy, raising foals… you know… things of that nature."  
Req picked up one such book and flipped though it. "guess that means you're going to go though with it?"  
Twi softly closed a book and set it down. "yeah. It took some convincing from Celestia but I am."  
"Celestia? Applejack didn't convince you?"  
"kind of. I did take what she said about how my raising him or her can give it a personality that's not it's father's but I was, AM, still afraid. Then Celestia told me that she went though the same thing when she was my age."  
"really? She was raped and got knocked up?"  
"not how I would have put it but yeah. Like me, she was deathly afraid, but when she had her daughter Erys… it turned out the be the best time of her life. So… I figure that if the Princess, one of the most powerful beings on the planet, can see the silver lining in this, I guess I can too."  
Req looked the camera and shrugged. "if you say so."  
Twi picked her book back up. "so I'm gonna be the best mother I can be. And my son or daughter; hopefully they won't turn out nothing like their father."  
Req chuckled, seeing someone familiar in Twi right now. "if you say so, Jessica."  
Twi glanced up at Req. "who?"  
Req grabbed a book and sat down next to Twi. "Jess. Aura's little sister. 2 years younger then him. Like you and Celestia, she was also used and impregnated."  
"it's a flipping pattern." Twi laughed.  
"yeah. But Jess was strong willed about her situation. Unlike you and Celestia, she came to the same conclusion about the personality of the father not transferring over and raising the kid as best you can, all right at the beginning."  
"wow. Strong girl." Twi said with awe.  
"yeah. Stronger then me at that time." Req chuckled.  
"huh?"  
"forget about it. Let's focus on the topic at hand… MOM." Req snickered as she read though a book of baby names. Twi chuckled at that. That was gonna take some getting used to.

Fluttershy yawned as she woke up after a long night. After the party, she and Bahamut returned home. She plopped down on her sofa and Bahamut just fell onto the floor, both falling asleep instantly. 'Shy rubbed her eyes as she got up. They were watery for some reason.  
Bahamut tiredly opened his eyes, stretched and yawned, and smacked his lips. That's when he smelled something… off. "you smell smoke?" he asked.  
"mmm… yeah. You lit the fireplace?" a sleepy Fluttershy asked.  
"no."  
Tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick DING!  
"FIRE!" they both yelled.  
Smoke hissed out of the kitchen. Both flyers flew in, carrying buckets of water to put the fire out. What they saw surprised them a lot.  
A grease fire from a pan was extinguished by Edge, who was wearing a chef's hat. "dang. *cough* guess olive oil is very flammable." Edge coughed.  
"Edge?" both Fluttershy and Bahamut asked in surprise.  
Edge noticed them but didn't take his eyes off of the pan. "oh. Hey, you 2. Un…" the fire kicked back up and his instantly put it out with the extinguisher. "I didn't expect you 2 to be up so soon. I un… I hope you like burnt pancakes."  
"you're making us breakfast?" Fluttershy asked in surprise.  
"trying would be a better word for that." Edge chuckled. He put the extinguisher down to have it go off on his face. He kicked it down which sent it flying out the window.  
"but… why are you making us flapjacks?" Bahamut asked.  
"well… mostly to thank you for healing me. No pony would do that for us. Not after what we did."  
"well, most ponies aren't me." 'Shy smiled. "I always show everyone kindness."  
"yeah, I could tell that." Edge sarcastically retorted. The pancakes budged up and splattered, hitting Fluttershy on the face. "okay, how about we go out to eat?" Edge quickly said.  
"but you're a Changeling. Last I heard, you aren't exactly popular among the masses." Bahamut said.  
"un, hello? What's in my name?" one flash of green fire and Edge looked like 'Shy. "I can look like someone else. If you can show me pictures of all the stallions in town, I can make a new look that doesn't resemble any of them."  
"un… okay." 'Shy chuckled. "um… just let me go wash this off, okay?" she asked before flying off for the upstairs.  
Edge grabbed the pan, opened a window, and tossed out the burnt pancakes. He turned to head to the living room when Bahamut cut in front of him. "why'd you come back?"  
Edge raised a eyebrow in playful confusion. "come back? What are you talking about?"  
"I was still partially up last night when you came back. I heard the door close, saw you walk in, and saw you head upstairs. So I repeat, where'd you go?"  
Edge just stood there with a blank expression. "un…"

5 hours earlier…

Edge flew though the Everfree Forest for the second time, this time hoping to leave. "with those guys coming back, I don't have to worry about Dinky going all 'Chrysalis' on me this time. And goodbye, Flutters-" he couldn't bring himself to say it. Again, like before, the guilty feeling came back.  
"Damn it. Why does this keep coming back?" he snarled. He landed and kicked a rock.  
A certain zebra walked by and noticed him. "Ah. A Changeling in Everfree. Something that is very rarely seen."  
Edge looked to his left to see said zebra looking at him with a basket of weeds. "a Zebra? Here?" he thought for a moment. "oh. You must be Zecora."  
"indeed I am, young Changeling. And I must ask, why do you look so grim?"  
Edge gave a exasperated sigh. "I'm certain you know Fluttershy, right?" Zecora nodded in confirmation. "well… she's been taking care of me ever since I was critically-injured. If it wasn't for her, I would be dead and, well, for the past 2 days… I've been trying to leave, but I kept getting this guilty feeling that's been hampering me. And I don't know why."  
Zecora chuckled. "I do believe I know." Edge gave her a curious look. "you've been cared for by Fluttershy, who's been kind and helpful to a changeling spy."  
"spy? Pbbt, I'm just a drone."  
Zecora shushed him. "just making sure." she chuckled. Edge nervously chuckled back. "as I was saying, you have been cared for by Fluttershy, am I right little Changeling?" Edge nodded. "Fluttershy is a loving pony; she never sees good or evil as others do. In her loving eyes, all she sees is another being. When she took care of you, didn't you feel something different; something that was never with you before?"  
Edge closed his eyes as he looked back over the last few weeks. "yeah. This warm feeling in my chest. Started even since I saw her helping me. But… I'm not sure why."  
"It is simple, Mirror's Edge. Fluttershy openly gives her love to everyone and everything. You may be feeling excess love given by the pony, little Changeling."  
Edge couldn't help but smile. "so this is what love feels like. It's a nice feeling; I can see why Chrysalis wanted it. But… why would Fluttershy love me?"  
"didn't you hear me? Regardless of who they are, Fluttershy loves every being."  
"well… she is a good friend. And I can see why I would feel guilty for leaving without saying anything. I think maybe I'll…" Edge's wings fluttered, making him hover. "I'm gonna head back. Thanks for the talk, Zecora." he flew back the way he came. Zecora smiled before walking off.

Present time…

Edge stood there with a blank expression while Bahamut grilled him.  
"Well? Why'd you leave?" Bahamut asked.  
"un… just needed some fresh air, is all." Edge lied. "being cooped up in a house for 3 weeks would make anyone go loony, right?" Edge's wings fluttered as he took to the air. "now come on. We gotta think of a good disguise for me if I'm going out in to town." he flew into the living room, leaving behind a suspicious Bahamut.

Glasses of fruit punch clinked together as the gang gathered beneath the shadow of Orion, celebrating Twilight's life-changing decision.  
"here's to Twilight; a brave mare who's gonna do the near impossible challenge of raising a foal all by herself." Zilver announced. "Twi, here's to you and your insane little mind."  
Twilight playfully rolled her eyes and shook her head. "couldn't have put it better myself, Zilver." she sarcastically replied.  
"and you do know you have us to help you, right?" Rarity asked.  
"Guys, relax." Twi sighed. "The baby won't be here for 10 months and 3 weeks. Then you can start being worry-worts."  
"they're just worried, Twilight. You can't really blame them." Ash said as he took a drink of his apple juice.  
"I know. And I am too. But it's good to know I got friends willing to help. So, this toast ain't for me, it's for my best friends who I wouldn't give up for anything."  
"I'll drink to that." Lyra and Berry said. Everyone raised their glasses and chugged on down their drinks.  
"oh, that reminds me." Rarity said. She used her magic to summon a box. "I finished this up just last night. Hope you'll like it."  
"a little early for baby clothes, ain't it Rarity?" Trixie asked.  
"this isn't for Twilight but for you, Trixie."  
"me?" Trixie curiously took it and opened it up. She gasped when she saw that her old sorcerer's hat and cape was in it, and completely restored.  
"wha… how…"  
"Twilight brought it in not long after your caravan was… *ahem* crushed to death. She wanted it fixed ASAP, said she made a horrible mistake. Guess it was her being mean to you was the mistake."  
Tears welled up in Trixie's eyes as she looked to Twi. "Thanks."  
"what are friends for?" Twi smiled. "Consider it my way of saying I'm sorry and saying Welcome to the Group."  
Trixie tearfully smiled back as she wiped her eyes. "thank you so much, Twilight."  
"oh, I'm touched, but why does she get a 'welcome to the group' party and not me?" someone said behind them. They all looked to see a unfamiliar pony walking up to them. Fluttershy and Bahamut flew over and landed next to the group. "I mean, come on. I've been in town longer then her."  
"un… who are you?" Applebloom asked.  
Bahamut cleared his throat. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the mysterious and, until now, unseen Mirror's Edge."  
"hiya." the brown Pegasus with a red mane and mirror cutie mark said.  
"Edge!?" the CMC, plus Dinky and Pinkie, exclaimed in surprise.  
"why are you guys so surprised? You helped heal him, didn't you?" Satoshi asked.  
"well… yeah, but he looks… different now." Pinkie said. "Guess those bandages covered you up good."  
"guess they did. So, this little get-together is celebrating this Unicorn's coming into your little group?"  
"well, actually, it was Twilight's congratulations picnic on her being pregnant." Whooves explained.  
"oh, I love babies. Congrats." Edge happily said. Bahamut and Pinkie looked at each other with nervous expressions when he said that.  
"well, we were gonna throw a 'welcome back from unconsciousland' party when you woke up. Guess this is." Sora said.  
"unconciousland?"  
"her idea." the ponies all said, pointing to Pinkie.  
"and if my memories going on the fritz, I seem to remember her combining it with a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party for us." Shadow said, gesturing to him, Halo, Zilver, and Marble.  
"well, can't think of a better way to do it then with a picnic." A.J. said. "pop a squat, Edge." she said, gesturing to a empty spot near here. Edge shrugged and did just that.  
"wow. 4 parties in 1 picnic. That's a new world record." Dash snickered.  
"world record? Galaxy at least." Req retorted.  
Edge rolled his eyes at it. "so… other then the purple unicorn there being Preggers, what did I miss?"  
"well…"  
The group began to explain everything that transpired to him. Fluttershy, Bahamut, Dinky, and the CMC all breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that the disguise was working and everyone was getting along swimmingly with Edge.  
The only ones who felt that something was off was Armor and Cadence.  
"Armor, does something feel… familiar about him?" Cadence asked.  
"now that you mention it, yeah. It does feel like we met him before. Could he have been the one that… you know…"  
"nope." Before Armor could asked, she gave the reason why. "look at Twi. She said that she would recognize the voice if it was the one that used her. And she ain't reacting to Edge. So I think it's safe to say that Edge wasn't the one who used her."  
"Right. But still… I can't shake the feeling that there's something familiar about him." he looked at Edge as he tried to piece it together. "where do I know him from?"

document here...


	38. Trying to fit in

Paste your

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 17

Trying to Fit In

After being temporarily taking by Rainbow Dash and her mother for the night, Derpy and eTu`nes worked together a little story to tell them in order to let them stay that isn't too far from the truth.  
"but… do we have to lie to them? I mean, we barely know them and we're already lying to them." Derpy said, not really feeling keen about this.  
"you want to live out in the park in a cardboard box?" Derpy quickly shook her head 'no'. "well, that means we have to lie. I don't like it too but we have no choice." eTu`nes opened the door and walked on out. A torn Derpy followed behind him.

The 2 sat down to dinner with Rainbow Dash and her mother, eating corn on the cob. "Thanks, Mrs. Dash!" both eTu`nes and Derpy said as they chowed down.  
"please, call me Shine Dash." she asked.  
"okay, Mrs. Shine!" they both replied again.  
Shine gave a kind chuckle before asking what they were hoping she wouldn't; "so, I must ask, what brings you to FeatherTop, and where are your parents?"  
Both stopped eating for a moment. "they're… they're dead." eTu`nes lied. "my parents were killed by a rival family. Ditzy lost hers in a train accident."  
"oh, I'm sorry." Shine replied. Dash kept pigging out till her mother asked her to stop. "so… how'd you 2 meet?"  
Derpy took over. "well, we both ran away from our foster homes. We both got bad families. And mine was tough as I lived next door to some very horrid bullies, so… we just ran and met each other by chance in the Everfree Forest."  
"hmm. That's some good luck on your part." Shine muttered. "What happened next?"  
"Well, we stayed in the forest, glad to be away from our abusive 'families' when a Leviathan came out of nowhere." Derpy exclaimed, catching Dash's attention.  
"Leviathan?" Shine asked, having never heard of them before.  
"Big Sea Serpent, and when I mean big, I MEAN BIG!" eTu`nes laughed, stretching his arms as far as he could.  
"whoa! How'd you survive?"  
"un…" both Derpy and eTu`nes stopped and pretended to think. "how did we get rid of it?" he muttered. He hit himself in the head a few times. "Sorry, can't seem to remember how. Only thing we both remember about it is that it caused Ditzy's eyes to look like that." he said, pointing to her.  
"the Leviathan caused that?"  
"well… yes and no. the monster blinded me but we were able to heal it… with some side-effects." Derpy said, pointing to her eyes at the end.  
"well, at least you escaped with your life."  
"yeah. If only we could remember how."  
Dash sat back. "you know, the eyes make you look sort-of… Derpy."  
"Rainbow Dash!" Shine exclaimed.  
"well, she does. In fact, that sounds like a cool nickname. Yeah, from now on, I'm gonna call you Derpy."  
Shine angrily shook her head. "I'm sorry for my daughter. She's like this from time to time."  
"no no. it does actually sound better then Ditzy in some cases." Derpy said with a chuckle. "no, she can call me Derpy."  
"Cool!" Dash exclaimed. Shine rolled her eyes with a sly chuckle.  
"if I may continue…" eTu`nes interrupted. Shine gestured him to continue. "… well, not knowing if the monster is dead or not, and wanting to get away from our foster families, we came here, and you know the rest."  
"right." Shine said, believing every word. "that is quite a story."  
"so… if you know how bad we had it, can we please stay here?" Derpy asked. She and eTu`nes gave big grins.  
Shine looked at them suspiciously. Both foreigners nervously gulped. Dash looked between them both, still munching on the corn cob.  
"let me think about it. I'll give you a answer in the morning. For now, however, you can stay."  
Derpy breathed a sigh of relief. "thank you, Mrs. Dash." eTu`nes said.  
"call me Shine. Mrs. Dash is my mother." Shine smiled.  
"all right!" Dash cheered. "Come on, I'll show you guys my room." she said as she pulled them upstairs.  
Shine couldn't help but smile. "well, at least Rainbow Dash is making friends." she chuckled.

Dash showed her new friends into her room and they couldn't help but get a little bit freaked out.  
Hanging on every wall was a Wonderbolts poster; she had Wonderbolt figurines, she had Wonderbolt key chains. She even had a Wonderbolt bed sheet.(sounding familiar to anybody?)  
"wow. Guess someone's REALLY into the Wonderbolts." Derpy said, not breaking character.  
"And why wouldn't I? they are just the most awesomest, most spectaculerist, most amazingist team of flyers out there! And when I get older, I'm gonna join 'em!"  
"join the Wonderbolts?" Derpy scoffed. "Keep dreaming. I hear that club's so exclusive, you need to be invited by a Wonderbolt in order to join."  
"and how do you know?" eTu`nes asked.  
"un… I know someone who knows someone who's in the Wonderbolts." Derpy quickly made up. There's one thing she wants nobody to know.  
"if you say so?" Dash shrugged. She yawned and smacked her lips. "guess it's getting late. Catch you guys in the morning?" she asked as she jumped onto her bed.  
"Sure thing. Getting sleepy myself." eTu`nes yawned. He and Derpy left and closed the door behind them.  
Dash squealed in excitement as she hugged a pillow. "woo-hoo. I got honest to goodness friends." she silently cheered. "and one of them is a Dragon. How awesome is that?"

Derpy and eTu`nes walked into the guest room, both starting to get really tired and wanting to go to bed now. There was just one problem.  
"there's only one bed." Derpy quietly said. "how is this going to work?"  
eTu`nes shrugged. "I'll take the floor. I'm comfortable on hard surfaces." he said. Before Derpy could argue, eTu`nes laid down on a rug and fell asleep.  
"if you say so." Derpy tiredly and sadly said. She climbed into bed and went out like a light.  
She just laid there for a few moments before… "no. you know what. No." she suddenly said. eTu`nes opened his right eye and lazily glanced up. "you're getting into bed with me."  
"wait, what?" eTu`nes exclaimed in surprise.  
"I'm not letting you sleep on a hard floor. I wouldn't feel right for letting it happen." Derpy grabbed his hard and tried to pull him up.  
"you're really serious about this, aren't you?" eTu`nes laughed.  
"you're darn right I am."  
eTu`nes couldn't help but chuckle. He decided to humor her by getting up and getting into bed with her.  
"okay, but will this be…" he saw the full size of the king bed. "WHOA that's big."  
Derpy pulled back the covers on the left side. "you stay on the right side and I'll stay on the left. Deal?"  
"Deal." he laughed. There was certainly enough room for them both. They both climbed onto the bed and stayed on their sides. Derpy even arraigned some of the pillows to make a effective barrier.  
"night, eTu`nes." Derpy yawned before nodding off.  
"night, Derpy." he replied before catching the bedbug himself.

20 years later…

A new day, a new chance to fit in with the Pony-folk. At least, that's what Edge kept telling himself. It's only been a day and he's already feeling like a outsider. And why should he be surprised? He is a Changeling, after all. But he's hoping to fix that today. He's gonna go out and try to find something he can help; making up some phony story about how he can't make mirrors anymore; and why Fluttershy and Bahamut went with that for his false Backstory, he'll never know.

Edge yawned as he woke up. Since he was able to move and all, he relocated himself to the floor downstairs, letting Fluttershy have her bed back. It felt too soft, anyways. He was used to hard surfaces; grew up in a hive, after all.  
Edge cracked his back; literally, as he yawned again. "don't wanna try and make breakfast again; that went bad last time." he muttered to himself.  
He got up, only to have something leathery fall off him. He noticed this and gave it a look. "a blanket?" Bahamut yawned and plopped his head on top of the couch. "you put a blanket over me?" Edge asked.  
"no. when I hit a pillow, I go out like a light." Bahamut yawned.  
"so, it was…" Edge smiled as he looked up the stairs.

Fluttershy stretched as she, Bahamut, and Edge walked out of the house. "another perfect fall day." she pleasantly sighed.  
"it's fall? guess that explains why it was getting cold." Edge muttered. "well, I'm gonna go see if there's anything I can do in town. I need to do something or else I'm gonna go crazy!"  
"if only you could go by your name and be a mirror maker." Bahamut chuckled.  
"if only." Edge playfully replied.  
Fluttershy put on a saddlebag and stretched her wings. "I got something to take care of in town. Will you be alright by yourself, Edge?"  
"I think I can manage." he said. He concentrated and changed into his pony-sona. "long as I keep this up."  
"and Bahamut…"  
"I know. I know. Take care of the little woodland creatures; I know the drill." Bahamut distantly replied. He heard this over and over.  
Fluttershy chuckled as she moved her attention to Edge. "ready to go?" she asked.  
"ready." both took to the air and headed for Ponyville.  
"if he wasn't a changeling, those 2 would make a good couple." Bahamut muttered as he went back.

'Shy and Edge flew though the air, Edge having the time of his life.  
"oh, this feels nice. I haven't been able to fly this high in FOREVER!" he happily exclaimed. He performed a loop-de-loop with flare and style.  
Fluttershy watched him with a smile. "Good to see your feeling much better. Seems like it was yesterday that me and Bahamut found you near death."  
"and I thank you for that." Edge said.  
"so… what are you going to do next?"  
"well, find a way back to the hive."  
That piece of news hit 'shy hard. "oh."  
Edge noticed this. "but… probably not until I feel stronger. I mean, I'm a Changeling all by himself in a love-filled town. This is a smorgasbord for me."  
"I've been curious, how do Changelings feed?"  
"oh, a plethora of ways; bite like a vampire, suck it out though a hole in the head though a straw, suck it though your eyes…" Fluttershy was clearly freaked out by this. Edge couldn't help but laugh. "Hahaha. Oh, ponies are so easy to freak out." he sighed. "no, we just absorb it, like how plants absorb oxygen or sunlight or whatever it is they absorb. The problem is if there's enough and if the subject is willing to do it. Like you."  
"like me?"  
"yeah. When you were taking care of me, you were giving me your love willingly. That helped heal me. And before I leave, I wanna repay that somehow. Hence me staying and trying to find a job."  
"oh. Well, good luck with that."  
"thanks. I'm gonna need it."  
The 2 went their separate ways when they entered the town. 'Shy stopped for a moment and looked back at Edge with a smile.

Edge's first stop was Carousel Boutique. Rarity's gotta have a opening, right?  
Nope.  
"really? Not even a sweeper?" Edge asked.  
"sorry, no. I don't hire anyone." Rarity explained.  
"yet… you got Ash working for you." Edge smirked.  
"he's living here. I figured I might as well get some free labor out of it." Rare said while making some last minute modifications to a drawing of a future suit.  
"right. Well, thanks." Edge turned and left. "(well, that's one down, 4 more to go.)" he thought to himself.

Speaking of labor, Edge went to the library next, hoping Twilight is hiring now that she's with child. Even if she's just starting, she's gotta be hiring for some strenuous tasks, right?  
WRONG!  
"I'm sorry, Edge, but I'm not really hiring. Library's don't need much attention." Twi explained, reading 'how to be a single mother'.  
"They don't?" Edge dejectedly asked. Twi shook her head 'no'. "aw, man. First, Rarity, now you. Hopefully Pinkie's got a free spot." he said as he left.  
As Edge left, Twi couldn't help but feel sorry.

Sugarcube Corner. For a Ponyville Hotspot, Mr. and Mrs. Cake have got to be hiring, especially with Nightmare Night around the corner.  
Apparently not.  
"Oh, sorry Edge darling but with Marble and Sora with us, we're actually making more then we can sell." Mr. Cake said as he cradled Pumpkin Cake back and forth.  
Edge's head hit the counter. "you gotta be kidding me!"

Next was Sweet Apple Acres. She had to have a job, right?  
Well, she did.  
"oh, sorry Edge but we just picked the last of the apples for the year. And Zap Apple season doesn't start for another 3 months." A.J. explained.  
"oh, come on!"

All that was left was Rainbow Dash but that was gonna be a problem.  
He couldn't find her.  
"I'm really starting to hate this town." he grumbled.

"wow." Berry muttered as she looked a drawing over. "this looks like it's going to be expensive, 'Shy. You sure you want me to make this?"  
"of course, I'm sure Berry." Fluttershy said. "you're the best jeweler in Ponyville. There's no one else I would give this task to."  
"if you're sure. You can probably expect it ready in time for Hearth's Warming Eve."  
"that's prefect, Berry. Thank you."  
Berry spotted something outside. "well, speak of the devil." 'Shy turned around to see Edge slowly walk by.  
"See you later, Berry." Fluttershy said as she headed out.  
"See ya, Fluttershy." she replied. She turned her attention to the drawing. "quite a interesting design choice, Fluttershy." she muttered.

Edge slowly walked on down to the center of town after being turned down everywhere he went.  
"hey, Edge. How'd the job hunt go?" Fluttershy said as she approached him. He sadly glanced up. "That bad?"  
"yep. Nobody had a job opening. And before you ask, I wasn't able to ask Rainbow Dash. I haven't been able to find her all day."  
"oh. Well, I could always use a helper with the animals. I don't get paid much but…"  
"I'm afraid I'm gonna have to decline, Fluttershy. I want to pay you back in my own way. I'm sure I can find something."  
"oh. Well, if you say so."  
The 2 reached the fountain in the center of town. Edge stepped on something cold and looked down. he found a bit of the lowest value and flicked it up and down.  
That gave 'Shy an idea. "you know, they say that this is a wishing well."  
"wishing well?"  
"yeah. They say if you flick a bit into it and wish for something with all your heart, it'll come true."  
"That so?" Edge muttered. He looked down at the bit. "I take it I have to be silent about it?" 'Shy nodded in confirmation.  
Edge stared down at the bit with a curious look. He looked up at the fountain. He sighed and closed his eyes. He held the bit close for 10 seconds before flicking it in.  
"what did you wish for?" 'Shy curiously asked.  
"sorry, but that…" Edge tapped his forehead. "is a secret. But… I will tell you this. It's ¼ true already."  
Now she was curious. "Come on. Tell me. I promise I won't tell."  
Edge turned around and playfully crossed his arms across his chest. "sorry, but my lips are sealed."  
Fluttershy ran around to the other side. "oh, tell me." she whined.  
"nu-uh."  
"Please?"  
"no way, José."  
Fluttershy kept on pestering him but he held his ground.

Edge had 4 wishes on that single bit that are connected into one: to find a work-place to pay back Fluttershy, to find a way back to the Hive, to reveal the truth to everyone and hope they don't go ballistic, and probably the most important one; to stay with Fluttershy.

document here...


	39. Nightmare Night

Paste your d

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 18

Nightmare Night

Derpy soundly slept as eTu`nes snored up a storm. She had gotten used to it after 3 weeks in the Everfree Forest and found it quite pleasant. Now she has trouble going to sleep without hearing it.  
The door to their room creaked open. Dash tip-toed on in with a snicker. "This is gonna be good."  
She softly flew up onto their bed and landed between them both. She tapped them both on the shoulders. "Derpy. eTu`nes. Wake up." Dash sing-songed.  
Both groaned as they grudgingly woke up to the sight of a VERY SCARY mask.  
"AHHHHH!"  
They both yelled as they fell out of bed. Dash cackled up a storm as she fell over and held her sides. "oh, man. Oh. Ho. Ho. Ho. Oh, that's priceless."  
"DASH!" Derpy and eTu`nes angrily exclaimed as they snapped up.  
Dash flipped the mask up. "oh, lighten up, you guys. It's all in the spirit of Nightmare Night."  
"Nightmare Night? What's that?" a curious eTu`nes asked.  
"oh, brother. Do dragons not have holidays?" a peeved Dash replied. "Nightmare Night is a time of the year where we dress up in costumes, go door to door, and get candy."  
eTu`nes wasn't exactly sure about that part. "oookay. But… why would you do that?"  
"because it's fun!" Derpy replied. "you get to dress up and scare ponies and get some goodies in the process. Although, to be frank, I'm surprised that the Gryphon Kingdom does this." she muttered as she looked at Dash.  
"They don't celebrate it themselves but they acknowledge that we do. Most participate all over the city so we got chances to score big tonight."  
"we?" eTu`nes asked.  
"Oh, yay. I love Nightmare Night!" Derpy exclaimed, bouncing up and down. "it's one of my favorite holidays. I better go see if there's a costume store."  
"I know just the place. Follow me."  
Dash and Derpy flew out, overly exited for tonight. eTu`nes just watched as they flew out. He had a good idea for revenge on Dash.

'2 months. That's how long we've been here in FeatherTop. 2 long months. Felt like a whole lifetime ago. I wonder how my friends and family back home are doing; if they're worried about me at all. I sure do miss my sister. She's only 2 years younger then me and never really got to know me. I wonder if she's even worried about me. I miss her.  
'well, I can only live as well as I can. After all, tonight's Nightmare Night, after all. Gotta be festive for Dash or else she'll notice. We've only known her for 2 months but she and her mother are starting to feel like family to us; like our distant relatives or something. Still, gotta get prepared. They might figure out the truth and kick us out.  
'well, better close this up. Dash is calling us down. Got a good and scary costume. Sure to scare some little foals good.'

Dash jumped down the stairs and showed off a Wonderbolt costume to Derpy, who was in a skeleton outfit, and eTu`nes, who was going as himself.  
"Ta-Da! What do you guys think?" Dash asked.  
"quite a costume, Dash." Derpy said with admiration. "wish I got it instead of this stupid skeleton one."  
"it's not all that bad." eTu`nes said. He looked her body up and down. "besides, you fill it out good." Derpy and Dash looked up at him with very weird expressions. eTu`nes finally heard what he had said. "did I say that?"  
"you did." they both said.  
"you better hurry up, you 3." Shine said as she opened the door. "or else all the candy will be taken."  
Dash and Derpy smiled widely as they flew out the door. eTu`nes sighed as he followed behind them.  
Shine smiled as the trio walked off. "the first friends Dash had in forever. So why can't I shake the feeling their's something they're not telling me?" she muttered to herself.  
eTu`nes joined the 2 outside as they went on to get some candy.  
"So… what do we do when we get up to a house and we ask for candy?" eTu`nes asked.  
"Simple." they both replied. "we yell…"

20 years later…

"…Nightmare Night! What a fright! Give us something sweet to bite!" the CMC, + Dinky, exclaimed to Wonderbolt Derpy.  
"oh my! Such scary costumes." Derpy playfully replied to the goblin Applebloom, the 'gryphon' Scootaloo, daring Sweetie Belle doo, and skeleton Dinky. "you're gonna get quite a haul tonight, I can assure you of that." Derpy smiled.  
"We know!" all 4 replied.

All over Ponyville, Nightmare Night was in full swing. Everyone were dressed up in costumes, the attractions were all set up, and Satoshi & Shadow snuck off to a corner of the town to set up a movie projector.

Satoshi grumbled as he looked though a box he had recovered from Orion. "let's see… Gremlins or the original Wolfman?" he grumbled as he pulled out a couple of DVDs.  
"What'cha doing, hefe?" Shadow asked as he walked up. "ain't it a little early in the day to be working?"  
"hey, Shadow." Satoshi said without looking away from his task. "and no, I'm not working. just looking though our movies."  
"you have movies as well? I thought you all said you lived on a backwards world in what you call the medieval era?"  
"Well, that is true but 100 years ago, our world was very advanced. Not space-age but still advanced. Anyway, we were sent back in time to about 4 months before the world changed back from advanced back to medieval. We lived it out and teleported back to our time just 2 hours before the change began."  
Shadow scratched his head. "un… I don't get it."  
Satoshi leaned forward on the box, thinking of a easier way to explain it. "we time traveled back in time to our world's golden years and spent time among them, eventually picking up their mannerisms and even getting a few goodies."  
"Ah." Shadow still had trouble wrapping his head around it. "So, what are you looking for?"  
"Well, turns out tonight is Nightmare Night; your worlds version of our Halloween, and I'm trying to find a scary movie- but not too scary -to show the kiddies."  
"oh. I love scary movies." Shadow walked on over and started rummaging though the box.  
"remember, nothing too gory or bloody."  
Shadow pushed some movies aside before pulling out a 2-VHS box. "how about this one?"  
Satoshi looked up at the cover. "Jaws? Hmm…"

"Come on, Twilight. We're gonna be late. Again." Spike groaned as he waited impatiently at the bottom of the stairs, this time in a cyborg costume.  
"I'm hurrying, I'm hurrying." Twilight called from above.  
Spike paced back and forth, getting impatient. Twi walked down from the stairs in a sorceresses outfit that even ponies would find hot. "Wa-ha-how!" Spike exclaimed. "not bad, Twi. No one's gonna tell you're pregnant in that getup."  
"That's what I was going for." Twi chuckled.  
"knock knock. Anypony home?" Rarity cheerily asked from the other side. Spike slid on over and opened the door to see photo finish Rarity standing on the other side with mummy Zilver and Scarecrow A.J. "oh, Spike. Going as a cyborg this year?" Rare asked.  
"Yep. Trying something different." Spike said.  
"it shows. It really brings out the cutsey-wutsey chubbiness of your cheeks." Rarity said in baby-talk while squishing Spike's cheeks together, much to his embarrassment. Zilver and Applejack couldn't help but laugh.  
"Sorry we're late." Trixie said, walking up in her performance garb with Edge, now in his original Changeling form, and Pinkie, once again in her chicken costume, walked on up. "we tried to get Fluttershy to come out of her house but she's being so stubborn."  
"I can bet." Twi snickered. She noticed Edge and initially freaked out. "WHOA! You guys know you have a Changeling with you, right?"  
"wh… it's a costume, Twi. I spent quite a long time making it myself." Edge lied, wanting to hide his true identity.  
"oh. Well, it's pretty convincing."  
"I know. You weren't the first to freak out and you possibly won't be the last."  
"wow. Twi, you look good." Trixie chuckled. "sure you're not a Filly-Fooler, cause you're turning me on."  
"Trixie…"  
"what. I'm just saying."  
Twilight rolled her eyes and chuckled. "whatever. Let's get going. The others should be waiting for us at the gaming booths."

"we are the deadly shades of the night…"  
"…we are the beings from your nightmares…"  
"…and we're sexy as hell."  
Requiem, Jax, and Sora turned around to reveal themselves in sexy witch outfits. "we're the hot witch trio!" they all said.  
"you need to come up with a better name for that." Cadence said, dressed up as a mummy as well.  
"we're trying but it's difficult." Sora shrugged. "we tried Spellful Talented Darlings but it… well, it didn't bold over well."  
"how so?"  
"Try abbreviating it. That's the problem." Jax said with a half-smile.  
stormtrooper Halo thought it over. "S…"  
"Whoa! Shut it Halo. This story's rated PG, not R." Req joked. That couldn't help but leave Halo as confused as hell.  
"there you guys are." Twi said as she and the others walked up.  
"hey, Twi. Wow. Nice dress." Req whistled.  
"I try to impress."  
Jax took notice of something beside her and snickered. "someone did more then notice. He's turning as red as a strawberry." she pointed to Halo, who was blushing so red, he could become Rudolph.  
"well, well, well, Bro. You have a thing for this kind of clothing?" Trixie snickered. A.J. and Sora snickered as well.  
Halo stuttered as he tried to say something. Twilight couldn't help but giggle.  
"so, we ready to go?" Req asked.  
"wait. Where's Aura, Ash, Bahamut, and Dash?… And I did not mean for that to rhyme." Spike asked.  
"Aura and Ash are helping Satoshi and Shadow set up the movie." Sora explained. "and Bahamut, Fenrir, and Cobalt are keeping an eye on the kids. Not sure where Dash is, though."  
"Fenrir and Cobalt? Who're they?" Zilver asked, having never heard of those names before.  
"they're pets of Ash's. Fenrir's a wolf while Cobalt's a eagle." Req explained. "they're pretty lazy animals. Spent a good chunk of the time here on this planet sleeping."  
"Lazy." Sora and Jax playfully said.  
"so. We ready to go?"  
"yep!" they all replied.

Satoshi tinkered with the projector as Ash and Shadow got the screen up.  
"So, what movie did you choose?" Aura asked, getting seats ready.  
"a classic." he tossed the case over to Aura, who caught it in one fluid motion. "Gremlins."  
"Not too scary and not too disturbing for kids. Good choice. Although, personally, I would've gone with Gremlins 2. That one's the more comical and… less disturbing on the death scenes."  
"couldn't find it." Satoshi flipped the on switch, well, on and the projector worked like a charm. "perfect. This is gonna be a cool scare for tonight."  
"BOO!" Luna screamed, her head coming from above while looking like Nightmare Moon. Satoshi yelled as he fell over, crashing into a trashcan. Luna laughed at the sight. "oh, I am good." she laughed as she spit out fake teeth and turned back to her normal self.  
"LUNA!" Satoshi yelled.  
"What? Can't take a good joke, Satoshi?"  
"not if it ends with me face-first into garbage." he groaned as he got up and wiped off the rubbish. "What are you doing here anyways?"  
"I always stop by Ponyville for Nightmare Night and it's festivities. Seeing the mother of the holiday sends some young foals into a panic."  
"so I heard." Satoshi muttered.  
Luna sarcastically scoffed as she turned her attention to the little project Satoshi had going on. "So, what are you doing?"  
Satoshi returned his attention to the projector. "Setting up a movie. A scary one, at that. But not too scary where the kids will scream in fear."  
"you mean this 'Gremlins' movie?" Luna asked as she looked the cover over with her magic.  
"yeah. That's the one. Anyways, It won't be ready for another hour or so, so you'll have time to find everyone."  
"I believe I shall." Luna snickered. She turned back into Nightmare Moon and popped the fake teeth in.

"NIGHTMARE NIGHT! What a fright! Give us something sweet to bite!" the CMC, with Dinky, Pipsqueak, and Featherweight, chanted with a smile as they each carried quite a haul.  
"you guys have that down pat, don't ya?" Bahamut asked, being the unfortunate pack mule.  
"we sure do, B." Scootaloo excitedly said.

Begin Song: watch?v=J1qfX9q_S0M This is Halloween (Kidz Bop version)  
OOOOOORRRRRR:  
watch?v=Hqotjvlvhd8 This is Halloween (Original Version)  
Take your pick.

"in fact, I feeling like singing it."  
"same here!" the other 6 excitedly replied. Bahamut rolled his eyes.

(not even going to attempt to describe this so just use your imagination.)

{The CMC plus Dinky, Pipsqueak, and Featherweight.}:  
Boys and girls of every age  
Wouldn't you like to see something strange?

{the foals} + Bahamut:  
Come with us and you will see  
This, our town of Nightmare Night.

{…}:  
This is Nightmare Night, this is Nightmare Night  
Pumpkins scream in the dead of night

{…} + Rarity:  
This is Nightmare Night, everybody make a scene  
Trick or treat till the neighbors gonna die of fright

{…}:  
It's our town, everybody scream  
In this town of Nightmare Night

Bahamut:  
I am the one hiding under your bed  
Teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing red

Aura:  
I am the one hiding under yours stairs  
Fingers like snakes and spiders in my hair

{…}:  
This is Nightmare Night, this is Nightmare Night  
Nightmare Night! Nightmare Night! Nightmare Night! Nightmare Night!

{…} + Trixie:  
In this town we call home  
Everyone hail to the pumpkin song

Aura and Satoshi:  
In this town, don't we love it now?  
Everybody's waiting for the next surprise

{…} + Applejack:  
Round that corner, man hiding in the trash can  
Something's waiting no to pounce, and how you'll...

Cadence and Armor:  
Scream! This is Halloween  
Red 'n' black, slimy green

Bahamut and Spike:  
Aren't you scared?

Requiem, Jax, Sora, Twilight, and Pinkie:  
Well, that's just fine  
Say it once, say it twice  
Take a chance and roll the dice  
Ride with the moon in the dead of night

Ash + {…}  
Everybody scream, everybody scream

In our town of Nightmare Night!

Mayor:  
I am the clown with the tear-away face  
Here in a flash and gone without a trace

Fluttershy (still hiding in her house) and {…}:  
I am the "who" when you call, "Who's there?"  
I am the wind blowing through your hair

Luna (appearing as Nightmare Moon):  
I am the shadow on the moon at night  
(spits out fake teeth and turns back to Luna)  
Filling your dreams to the brim with fright

All:  
This is Nightmare Night, this is Nightmare Night  
Nightmare Night! Nightmare Night! Nightmare Night! Nightmare Night! Nightmare Night! Nightmare Night!

{…}:  
Tender lumplings everywhere  
Life's no fun without a good scare

Halo and Zilver:  
That's our job, but we're not mean  
In our town of Nightmare Night!

Edge + {CMC}:  
In this town  
Don't we love it now?  
Everyone's waiting for the next surprise.

Ash, & Cadence:  
Skeleton Jack might catch you in the back  
And scream like a banshee  
Make you jump out of your skin

{…} + Shadow and Armor:  
This is Nightmare Night, everyone scream  
Wont' ya please make way for a very special guy

All:  
Our man jack is King of the Pumpkin patch  
Everyone hail to the Pumpkin King  
This is Nightmare Night, this is Nightmare Night  
Nightmare Night! Nightmare Night! Nightmare Night! Nightmare Night!

Scootaloo and Dash:  
In this town we call home  
Everyone hail to the pumpkin song

All:  
La-la-la-la-la-la! Nightmare Night! Nightmare Night!

Everyone cheered and laughed as the song came to an end.

End Song.

Satoshi frowned as he watched on. "how come I wasn't in on this?"  
"you were busy, Satoshi. Now get the movie ready. I'll be back with Fluttershy." Dash flew off to get her, leaving Satoshi to get it all ready.

An hour later, everyone began to gather at a field outside of Ponyville. The entire town showed up for the feature presentation.  
Dash dragged Fluttershy to the field by her tail, Edge pushing her.  
Satoshi walked out in front of the projector and onto a murmuring crowd. "hello, Mares and Gentlecolts. How we doing this fine Nightmare Night?"  
"We're doing good." a single voice replied.  
"heh…. So, anyways, tonight feature presentation is a right good scare but not as bad to where it'll give you all nightmares."  
"what is it?" another voice asked.  
"if you'll give me a minutes, I'll explain." Satoshi cleared his throat. "The movie's I have selected for tonight is Gremlins, a Dark Comedy about creatures with the same name, and the MST3K version of Godzilla vs Megalon. I must warn, however, that some parts of Gremlins are not for the squeamish. You'll know what parts soon enough. So, without further ado, let's begin the flick."

(throughout Gremlins)

"listen to the rules, Billy. It'll save you… and you already did it." Aura groaned.

"Oy. That guy got Gizmo for barely 14 minutes and he already exposed it to bright light and got it wet. Talk about poor pet ownership." Rarity said.

"ew. Those are some gross pods." Twi said with a disgusted expression.

"What in Tartarus is that gremlin doing to that guys arm?" Sweetie exclaimed not out of fear but of surprise.

"insert Psycho Music here."

"Gross death by Microwave!"

"and Stripe jumps into a pool and creates a horde of evil deadly monsters. Oh joy." Edge sarcastically said.

"No, not Santa!" Req groaned. "we never knew him and he was already my favorite character."

"And the mean lady goes flying! About dang time!" Luna said as she popped in some popcorn.

watch?v=BcWJaHZBEw0 Gremlins Bar Scene

0:00.  
"sorry Dorry. Don't think the Gremlins are going to pay for damages." Req joked.

0:04.  
"Anybody up for hockey?" a random pony asked.  
"I'm more curious about the Gremlin swinging from the fan. Think he'll let me on it?" Sweetie Belle asked.

0:18.  
"Barkeep! More. More! MORE! Give me more!" Ash exclaimed, mimicking a Gremlin.  
"hey, leave the poor lady alone. She had a tough night last night. The last Superman movie was terrible and she won't get her money back." Aura jokingly added.

0:23.  
"Oh, lidy lidy lidy lidy lidy lidy lie!" Ash, Aura, Satoshi, and Bahamut mimicked the Whose Line crew for this scene.  
"popcorns here." Aura said.  
"thank goodness, I'm starving." Zilver joked.

0:30.  
"hey. Think my barmate drunks off his plot." Luna joked.

"1...2...3... Trapeze gone bad!" Trixie exclaimed.

0:36.  
The guys chanted "CHUG CHUG CHUG CHUG CHUG CHUG CHUG CHUG CHUG CHUG!"

"hey. Dude. Guy broke his teeth on his mug." Shadow said.  
"hehehehehe!"

0:49.  
"Bite? We don't bite! WE FLASH!" Satoshi joked.

1:01.  
"that Gremlins gonna explode from a beer belly if he doesn't stop." A.J. said.  
"he don't care."

1:06.

"FORE!" Armor exclaimed.  
"Shards in the eye! Shards in the eye!"

1:13.  
"All right! High Score!" Dinky exclaimed.

1:17.  
"if they replaced the Gremlins with canines, this would be that painting of dogs playing poker." Ash said.

"is one of the Gremlins cross-dressing?" Twi asked.  
"yep."

1:26.  
"Dude! You sneezed in my eye. Not cool! Now I must hit you." Marble said.

1:31.  
"he's got a card up his sleeve. Shoot him." Derpy joked, mimicking the cross-dressing monster.  
"done. BANG!"

1:50.  
"welcome to Gremlins at Night." Satoshi said in a smooth voice. "where it's nothing but smooth tunes for our favorite hell-raisers.

1:57.  
Aura pretended to smoke for this scene.  
"the life of a private eye is a tough life, especially if you're a Gremlin. I don't get hired because of my hell-raised life and when I do get hired, it's to complete morons… like this kook. Oh, the life of a private eye is tough. Now, if you'll excuse, I gotta bash this idiot on the head with a hammer. Bang."

2:30.  
"WHOA WHOA WHOA! That's a part of the Gremlin body we don't want to see!" Dash exclaimed, covering Scootaloo's eyes.

Req couldn't help but sing along with the song. "Super madness. Super madness."

"I'm hanging upside-down and I don't care! Hehehehe!" Luna joked.

2:40.  
"EW!" the foals exclaimed.

"stop the noise, man. Stop the noise." Zilver joked.

2:48.  
"Heyheyhey. Guess the life of a Private eye isn't so bad aft- oh, I got hit. Gremlin down! Gremlin down!"

2:54.  
"Tea's done!" Cadence joked.

3:01.  
"aaaaaaand I'm out!"

Aura couldn't help but imitate the girl. "Ah. Darn monsters. Can't even go home to reflect on my stupid decision to watch Superman IV. Oh, and this loon needs a rematch, guess I'll… come on, I gotta relight your cig…"

3:16.  
"take that away, lady. I hate fire. Even the smell!" Applebloom joked. "what part of no don't you… and I fall."

3:29.  
"Paparazzo! Gimme your picture." Jax joked.

"Paparazzi!" Edge playfully yelled.

"She got our picture!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"crap. She's a member of the press!"

3:44.  
"oh, he's gonna get dizzy!"

"Stop taking our picture, you soulless beast."

3:52.  
"Whee whee whee whee whee whee whee whee whee!"  
"I'm getting dizzy!"

"BULLS-EYE!" all exclaimed.

4:01.  
"Gimme all your love and nobody get's hippied!" Edge joked.

"oh, he hit the Enola Gay. Still a stupid name for a plane." Satoshi said.

"AH! HERBIE THE LOVE BUG! RUN AWAY!"

End Clip.

(skip ahead 10 minutes)

"Who doesn't love a good movie? What's playing?" Req playfully asked.  
"Snow White."  
"crap."

watch?v=RN16Wgp48MI Gremlins Watch Snow White

0:00.  
"Whee whee whee whee whee!"

Twilight and Halo couldn't help but have a fake argument.  
"you have it in upside-down!"  
"I do not have it in upside-down!"  
"you do to. I see Dopey diving up into the trough!"  
"It's not upside-down."

"oh, bright light!"

"Roll film!"

0:11.  
"Well, at least it shut them u- dang it!"

0:19.  
"oh, no. I hate this song." Requiem groaned.  
"Hi Hoe! Hi Hoe! It's off to work we go!" her human friends sang, much to her dismay.  
"hey, it's Pedo-Gremlin."

"Come on, everyone, sing along!" Sora called out.

0:30.  
"Hi Hoe! Hi Hoe! It's off to work we go! *Whistle*" everyone sang, pissing Requiem off.

"I have Popcorn in me ears!"

"I don't wanna watch Snow White, mommy!" Spike playfully whined.  
"you're gonna watch it even if I have to hit you!" Luna replied.  
BONG!  
"ow."

"Hi Hoe! Hi Hoe! It's off to work we go!"

0:54.  
"even Gizmo loves the songs. So shut it, Req."

End Clip.

"Texas Chainsaw Massacre was the best movie of all time!"

"ew. What a gross way to go. Hope nobody's squeamish!"

"AH! Old Chinese man!"

"Oh, man. He took away Gizmo! I loved him! He was my fave character."

End movie.

The crowd applauded. Satoshi stood up from his seat and took a bow.  
"you guys want the next movie in our double feature now?"  
"YES!" they all replied.  
"okay." Satoshi playfully grinned.  
"This is turning into the best Nightmare Night ever!" Pipsqueak said to Luna.  
"no argument here, Pipsqueak." she replied. She put some popcorn in her mouth and offered some to Pip as Godzilla vs Megalon, the MST3K version, began playing.

watch?v=OvKQ4cpwKos MST3K - Godzilla vs Megalon  
(this is the full 'movie' so enjoy it while you can until it's taken down. It's on Youtube, you know it's gonna be. Let me know when it's taken down and I'll replace it with a best of MST3K GvM video.)

ocument here...


	40. Chchchchchanges

Paste your

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 19

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

eTu`nes softly snored as the day reached noon. That was quite a night last night. They splurged into so much candy, they all felt sick. Well, Derpy and Dash felt sick but eTu`nes felt fine, A little bit of a headache but he's fine.  
Derpy walked into the room, carrying a box. She set it on the cabinet as eTu`nes woke up. "Derpy. What are you doing?" he sleepily asked.  
"oh, sorry eTu`nes. Didn't mean to wake you up."  
"I was already up." he replied. He took notice of the box. "what is that?"  
"oh, Shine asked me to bring it in here. Not sure what it is myself." out of curiosity, she opened it and looked in. "oh. Jewelry." eTu`nes rolled his eyes. Figures girls would care for this. "ruby necklaces. sapphire bracelets. emerald brooches…"  
"Pokemon reference." eTu`nes muttered in the same tune as Derpy. Derpy dug deeper in and found something that wasn't jewelry. She pulled it out and looked it over. "What is it?" the dragon asked.  
"a picture… of my mom." Derpy said. eTu`nes crawled on over and peered over her shoulder. The ol-timey looking picture was a group shot of 4 ponies, 2 of which are Derpy's mother and Shine.

Dash snored as she slept on a tree branch when the sound of laughter woke her up. She opened one eye and looked down to see a Pegasus, a Gryphon, and a Bat-Pony, all her age, playing soccer. She grumbled as she stuck her head into her pillow.  
5 seconds later, she fell out of the tree, the soccer ball right behind her.  
"ow." Dash groaned. The ball rolled up beside her. In anger, she got up and kicked it with all her might, right into the goal, which was 30 yards away.  
"whoa!" the Gryphon whistled. He turned his attention to the cyan Pegasus. "hey, kid." he called out, getting her attention. He bounced the ball in his claws. "you want to play?"  
"me?" curious, Dash flew on down. "you want me to play? With you guys?"  
"yeah. We need a 4th anyway." the Pegasus said.  
Without thinking it thought, Dash nodded. "Sure. I'm game." the 3 all went 'yes.' "my name's Rainbow. Rainbow Dash."  
"I'm Zatch." the Gryphon replied. "this is Lightning…"  
"hey there." the Spunky Pegasus replied.  
"and this is Gothic."  
"hey." the brooding Bat-Pony replied.  
"and right now…" Zatch tossed the ball over to Dash. "you got the ball."  
Dash smirked. She kicked the ball up into the air and jumped up after it. She flipped over and kicked it right towards the goal.

"your mom?" eTu`nes asked. "Shine knows your mom?"  
"it looks like it, but how…"  
The dragon leaned forward, checking the other side. He saw writing. "check the other side." he said. Derpy flipped it, saw the words, and read it.  
"' Comet Skies, Shine Dash, Golden Day, and May Gray. BPFF's forever'"  
"my parents names are May Grey and Comet Skies." Derpy muttered.  
"then that means the unknown is Golden Day." eTu`nes muttered. "I'm gonna assume that he's Dash's father."  
"why didn't my parents tell me they knew Shine or this Golden Day guy."  
eTu`nes shrugged. "my guess is that they had a falling out of some kind. Even Best Friends can have bad arguments. But what is a good question." Derpy sighed. She put the photo away back in the box and closed it. "Derps?"  
"I don't want to know. If I ask Shine, she might piece it together and kick us out. And I DO NOT want to go back to those bullies."  
"right. Those bullies tortured you so bad, you wanted to kill yourself. I remember. But, maybe she'll-"  
"no, eTu`nes." Derpy exclaimed, surprising him quite a bit by how forceful she was.  
She looked away and sadly looked to the floor. "okay." eTu`nes softly said. "I understand. I don't like it but I understand."  
The 2 silently sat there as a certain grown Pegasi heard everything from the other side of the door.

19 Years Later….

Spike slowly opened his eyes as he groaned. It was one hell of a Nightmare Night last night. "That's the last time I eat 20 pieces of candy before bedtime." he groaned as he rolled out of his bed.  
Something hurt on his back, shocking him awake. "what the?" he looked back and saw small wings sprouting out of his back. "What the hay?" he silently exclaimed. He concentrated and pulled the wings back in. "why does this keep happening? Was it something I ate?" he got up and walked over to the stairs.  
Twilight stirred in her bed as she woke up. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Spike. Where are you going?" she asked as she got out.  
"Bathroom. Had to much candy." he groaned, holding his belly. He looked up at Twi and noticed something. "looks like you had a lot to eat too."  
Twi raised a eyebrow in confusion before looking down at her stomach. It was slight but there was a bump. "I didn't eat any candy last night, Spike, except for a candy apple but that wouldn't give me a…"  
it didn't take long for those 2 to piece it together. "Oh, Twi. Twi, that's gotta be your foal. Oh, what did Sora call it? Eh… that's your baby bump."  
There it was. Definitive proof that there was life growing inside her. That couldn't help but bring a tearful smile to her face.  
Spike noticed her eyes watering and got worried. "Twi? You okay?"  
"Yeah." Twi sniffled as she looked up. "Just can't believe it. Until now, I was kinda hoping that it was just a mix-up with someone. But now…" she looked back and smiled again. "guess I am going to be a mother after all."  
Spike couldn't help but smile as well. His right arm shook and grew larger, which frightened Twilight. He quickly shook it and it went back to normal size. "Not again." he groaned.  
"Spike. What's going on?" Twi nervously asked.  
"I don't know. It's been happening since we reached Nightmare Moon's fortress. Parts of my body started getting… bigger. Not sure why but it's really annoying. And I know it's not greed taking over again; I still remember my last birthday and I ain't gonna repeat history."  
Twi thought for a moment. "Sounds like Puberty to me."  
"Puberty!?" Spike exclaimed.  
"yep. Puberty."  
"but It can't be. I'm only…" Spike counted with his fingers.  
Twi rolled her eyes. "you're 13, which is when Puberty kicks in for Ponies and I'm guessing Humans as well."  
"but I'm a Dragon, not a pony. No. no no no. I can't be growing up. I don't wanna grow up!" Spike exclaimed. "I'm still a baby in Dragon years."  
Twi gave a sighing chuckle. "(I wonder how long it's going to take him to figure out he can legitimately be with Rarity this way?)" she thought to herself.  
A sudden explosion from the apple farm interrupted their talk about genetics. "oh, that can't be good." they both muttered.

Begin Song: watch?v=yw7nliZc5uc Ice-Hot Lobster - Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance OST.

Aura fell down from the air and landed right near A.J. as something off-screen snapped.  
"this is unexpected." he said.  
A massive claw came and tried to slice them both in half. They both dodged in time. The massive overgrown lobster, who looks a lot like Ebirah from Godzilla, gave it's version of a roar.  
Aura landed near the entrance where Trixie and Pinkie were watching. "you didn't have anything to do with this, did you Trixie? This sounds like your kinda handiwork."  
"it wasn't her. We were at Sugarcube Corner when this happened." Pinkie explained.  
Aura lowered his left eyebrow and pointed between them and the lobster. "So… if this wasn't you… who was it?"

Take a wild guess who it is.  
"oh, this is so much better then quelling a insurrection." Orochi's Ignis personality ecstatically said, holding a card with the crustacean's picture on it.

Aura whimpered as he used his lance to keep the lobster's claws from crushing him. Unfortunately, he was right in the middle of it.  
"Did I ever tell you how much I hate Lobster!?" he exclaimed. "I hate the taste, hate smell, and I hate all those little bones."  
The ponies and lobster looked at the camera with confused expressions. I don't think crustaceans have bones. And if anyone get's that reference, huzzah.  
Twi, Spike, and Req ran up to see Aura in his little predicament. "well, this is a guaranteed wake-up call." Req joked.  
"NOT FUNNY!" Aura yelled as the Ebirah look-alike swung his claw, trying to get him out.  
"I thought it was." Req shrugged.  
The lobster brought up his other claw towards Aura. His reaction was quickly wrap around his lance, hope it won't get to him. Yea-no. that didn't work. "Someone mind helping me out here before I TURN INTO A SHISH-KA-BAB!?"  
"Not really a morning person, is he?" Spike asked.  
"nope."  
A yellow chakram flew though the air and sliced off both lobster claws. Aura yelled as he fell with them and hit the ground. "ow."  
The chakram returned back to Jax, who had a serious case of bed-head. "Anyone up for Crab Cakes?" Jax grabbed her other chakram and lit it on fire.  
She threw her other chakram and hit it right on the back shell. It hit and lit the over-sized Sebastian on fire.

"uh-oh. SHE's here." Terra said.  
"there goes our fun for the day." Fulmen sighed as their human body closed the deck of cards up. "What now? Just kill them now?"  
"no. not yet." Glacies said. "Lady Kyra wants the 'cowboy' alive and Tsylatac wants to have a 'chat' with Serenity before we kill her."  
"in short, do nothing."  
"just be patient. We'll have our chance soon enough."  
The rest of the personalities just scoffed as the body disappeared in black fire.

The lobster gave a guttural roar as he swung his stumps where the claws were at Req. She ducked underneath and ran under the thing. She wrapped Bind around it's front legs and pulled them as she ran out the other side. The lobster shrieked for a second as it flipped over onto it's back.  
Aura yelled as he jumped down from above and stabbed his lance into his chest. He flipped onto the top of the lance and jumped off it into the air. "All your's, Jax." he said as he jumped past her.  
"Be glad Fluttershy's not around to see this." Jax said as her chakrams glowed purple. "THUNDER BOLT!" she swing her chakrams at the monster, sending out bolts of electricity it's way.  
The bolts hit the lance, followed it down into it's body, and electrocuted the beast from the inside out. After a few seconds of pained yelling, it gave up and died.

End Song.

"wow. That must've been some fight. Sorry we missed it." Sora said as she bit into her seafood.  
"Yeah. But I'm still trying figuring out how it got here." Aura said as he looked what remained of the lobster. "Trixie's got a solid alibi so it wasn't her trying out a growth spell and we're nowhere near the ocean."  
"so… you don't know where it came from." Dash asked, hovering right beside him.  
"unless it was brought here by someone, no. it's gonna be bugging me for quite a while."  
Spike just shrugged and bit into his lobster claw. Pain suddenly hit his right leg as it grew larger. He quickly shook it and made it smaller before anyone took notice.

Orochi reappeared on top of the mountain where he was before and scoffed. "just like with the raven, they're eating the corpse of the lobster. Savages." Aqua said.  
"they're humans." Tenebrae said. "They were born savage and they'll die savage. You're really surprised by this?"  
"not really. Just felt like saying it."  
Glacies moaned. "unbelievable. My other's are a bunch of idiots." he muttered as their human body disappeared in black fire.

Later in the day, everyone went their separate ways. Spike went with Rarity to help her out with… whatever.  
Spike groaned as he went cross-eyed and held his stomach. "Spike. Are you feeling okay?" Rarity kindly asked.  
"no." he gagged as he held his mouth. "I think all that candy last night is getting to me. You happen to have any antacids?"  
"I think so." Rarity left and headed downstairs. "let me see if I can find some."

"let's see…"  
Rarity reached her bathroom and started looking though the cabinets. "antacids… Antacids…" she heard hoof steps behind her and immediately recognized them as her sisters. "Sweetie Belle. Do you know where the antacids are?"  
Belle thought for a moment. "no. not really. I never know where anything is in this house, anyway. You keep changing it up."  
"well, I-"  
Screaming came from above. Painful screaming.  
"Spike!" they both exclaimed.

Twi hummed as she dusted off a shelf when someone screamed behind her. She turned and saw Rarity and Sweetie Belle carrying Spike in, who was screaming in pain.  
"What's going on?" Twi asked.  
"We don't know." Rare said. "Spike said he wasn't feeling well and when I went to get some antacids, me and Sweetie Belle heard him screaming. When we came to see to him, it looked like he was having a seizure."  
"oh, no." Twi gasped. "quick. Take him upstairs." the sisters nodded and quickly ran on up when several of her friends walked in.  
"what's going on, Twi? Why's Spike screaming Bloody Murder?" Zilver asked.  
"I don't know, Zil. But I do have a good idea of what's causing it."  
"I hope so. We heard him all the way at the river." Bahamut said, picking his ears. Jax just stood there in silence, still eating her lobster claw.  
"Twilight! You better get up here!" Sweetie Belle called from above.

Spike held himself and shook as his body began changing. (this suddenly got dark, didn't it?)  
The others came up and saw this and kept their distance.  
"what the hay is happening to him?" Zilver asked.  
"I think he's going though a Metamorphosis." Twi explained.  
"a what?" Bahamut asked.  
"he's changing form. And it looks pretty bad."  
"looks it too." Jax said.  
His body pulsed from his OG form to his new look more times then one can count.  
"Do all dragons go though this?" Sweetie Belle asked Bahamut.  
"well, I didn't." he replied. "my guess is Dragons on this world do but on the other ones we visited, no."  
Rarity couldn't help but feel sorry for little Spikey-Wikey. The little drake she knew was going to change. "Spike…" she slowly walked over to him.  
"Rarity, be careful. He's totally unpredictable right now." Twi warned.  
"Pbbt. I think I'll be all right, Twilight." Rare said, not taking in the risks. Spike's left foot suddenly grew large and slashed down on her face, cutting her left eye. She reacted and held her eye.  
"Rarity!"  
"Sis!"  
Rarity groaned as she held her eye. "I'm fine. But Spike…"  
The rest of Spike's limbs suddenly grew larger, same with his body. Wings sprouted out of his back in a painful matter. His snout grew longer as fangs came down. His frills grew longer and more spiky. His eye's snapped open and went reptilian for a moment before changing back. His tail grew longer and thrashed about for a moment.  
After a few painful moments, the new teenage Spike stopped shaking and just laid there.  
"That looked like it hurt." Sweetie Belle said out loud.  
Jax smacked her upside the head. "of course it did. Never heard of changing forms being a pleasant experience."  
Spike stirred and started getting up. "oh. Oh, my head. And my stomach. I don't think lobster agrees with me." he groaned in a mature voice. He held his head and looked up at the immediate gang, who were looking at him with shocked expressions. "Guys. What's going on?" he instantly took notice of Rarity's eye, which was starting to bleed. "Rarity! Are you okay?"  
"yeah. I'm fine. Just a scratch. I can still see out of this eye. I'm fine."  
"what happened?"  
Zil and Jax looked at each other. "you don't remember what happened these last few minutes.?"  
"no. I remember having a bad stomach ache at Rarity's then… nothing. Complete blank. Why? Did something happen?"  
"un… I'd say so." Twi said. She used her magic to pull a life-sized mirror in front of Spike. He looked at it and saw his reflection. He yelped when he saw that he had grown up.  
"is that… me? I have wings… and-and fangs?"  
"yep. You grew up. And not though magic or greed. That's all you, buddy." Zil said.  
"I'm… a teenager?" Spike muttered, still not believing it.  
"yep. You're not a cute baby anymore." Twi smiled.  
Spike pouted his lips to the side. "And I liked being cute."  
"I don't know." Rarity said, stilling holding her eye. "I think you look handsome." that made Spike blush.  
"we should really get Requiem to look at that." Jax said. "I'll go get her." she departed to go get her.  
"I really did that?" Spike asked.  
"but it wasn't by choice. You were going though a very painful metamorphosis." Twi explained. "although I don't know why you don't remember it."  
Spike sadly looked to the ground for a moment. "I didn't mean to do it, Rarity. I'm sorry."  
"It's okay" Rarity sighed, starting to get a little impatient that he's still on that. "besides, I hear some stallions like girls with scars. And vice-versa."  
Sweetie Belle face-hoofed. "figures she'd find some way…"

document here...


	41. Unexpected Result

Past

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 20

Unexpected Result

"Kick it over here, eTu`nes!" Zatch yelled out as he ran down the field.  
Using all the power in his leg, eTu`nes kicked the soccer ball as hard as he could towards the Gryphon.  
Zatch stopped it with his chest. "here's to you, Gothic!" he called out as he kicked it towards her. Gothic ran down the field, jumped up, and spin-kicked it towards the goal Dash was covering. She jumped to try and catch it but failed miserably.  
The dragon, the gryphon, and the bat-pony cheered as the 3 Pegasi frowned.  
"No fair. You guys are all tough creatures." Lightning pouted.  
"Tell it to the hand." eTu`nes snickered, holding up his left hand.  
"real mature, drake-boy." Dash said with a sneer. She picked the ball up and held it close. "how about we switch up the teams. We get Zatch while you guys get Lightning?"  
eTu`nes raised a eyebrow in amusement. He walked on over and grabbed the ball. He bounced it like a basketball for a few moments before replying with a snicker. "No dice." he tossed it up into the air, jumped up, and kicked it towards the Pegasi goal.  
"HEY! No fair!" Derpy exclaimed as she flew after it. Everyone else took to the sky and flew after the ball as well.

Shine watched them play from her study with a smile. That smile quickly turned south as she walked back to her desk.  
"why would Derpy lie to me?" she said as she sat down. "surely no bullies could be that horrible. I mean, I had my fair share but no ponies that cruel." she glanced out the window and continued to watch them play. "the daughter of Comet Skies and May Grey. Is it just a coincidence that she showed up here? And that dragon that came with her. What's his story? I swear I saw him before."  
She thought it all though her head but couldn't get anywhere. She reached into a drawer and pulled out a picture; the same group shot as before but in color, and more modern. "oh, Golden. You could've told me what to do. I was never any good at these situations." she set the picture down and silently sobbed. "Why did you have to disappear?"

Everyone sat under a tree in the park, all tired from playing soccer for 3 hours straight.  
"I don't think I'm ever gonna walk again." Zatch groaned as he rubbed his feet.  
"ditto that." Derpy and Lightning replied, tired as hell.  
Dash got up and cracked her back. She looked back at them with a wide smile.  
"you okay, Dash?" Gothic asked.  
"just never had friends before. Then you 5 come along and… well, I'm just glad to have met you all."  
Derpy thought for a moment before getting up. "you know, we should make a pact or a club. Something that means we'll always be together."  
Everyone looked at each other with surprised looks. "that just come from Derpy? Cause that's a good idea." Gothic said.  
"yeah it is." Dash smacked her front hooves together. "I got it."  
"Got what?" Lightning asked.  
Dash flapped her wings and took to the air. "meet me down at the creek in 15 minutes. I'll be back with our club name and motto." she took off for her house, leaving everyone else behind.

Shine had her right hoof in her hair when the main door below slammed shut, getting her attention. Curious, she got up to look.  
She walked downstairs to see Dash rummaging though a drawer, taking out a pencil and paper.  
"Dash? What are you doing?" Shine asked.  
"getting some paper and a pencil. Me and the guys are forming our own club."  
"you are?" Shine asked in surprise.  
"yeah. We're-" Dash was interrupted by her mother suddenly hugging her, softly crying. "m-mom? You okay?"  
"yeah. I am. I just never thought you would make so many friends so fast. You make me proud, Dash."  
Dash started blushing in embarrassment. "Glad my friends aren't here to see this. But… why are you reacting like this?"  
Shine broke the hug and smiled. "when I was your age, I never had any friends of my own, except for…" she shook her head and returned to the topic at hand. "…no matter. You just hold onto them as long as you can, okay? Can you promise me that, Rainbow Dash?"  
Dash wasn't sure what was going on but she went along with it anyway. "Sure mom. Of course I will." she held up the supplies. "now. If you'll excuse me, I got a club to put together." she said with a smile as she flew out.  
Shine watched her fly out with a smile. She thought back to the picture. "maybe…"

The group gathered at the creek. A made-up sign place was placed on a nearby tree showcasing a thunderbolt with wings.  
"So, we all agree?" Dash asked. Everyone nodded without hesitation. "alright then. From this point on, we are known as the Daring-Flyers. Hands and hooves in."  
Everyone put their hands or hooves in front of them in a circle. All at once, they recited their motto.  
"No matter which way the wind will blow, no matter how far the distance, we Daring-Flyers will always stick together though thick and thin!"

19 Years Later…

Req's hand glowed green as she cast a healing spell over Rarity's left eye.  
"Again, Rarity, I'm sorry for scratching you." the now teenage Spike said.  
"for the umpteenth time, Spike, it wasn't your fault." Rare reassured.  
"ee… by the sounds of it, it must've been one hell of a change." Req chimed in.  
"I guess. I don't exactly remember it." Spike mentioned.  
"must be a dragon thing." Zil said. "but we remember it. You were screaming Bloody Murder when Rarity and Sweetie Belle brought you here."  
"So I heard. But not remembering it is killing me."  
"whatever you say, Urkel." Jax said as she laid back on the stairs.  
"Who?" everyone asked.  
Req rolled her eyes. "oh, brother."  
"Urkel? From Family Matters?" everyone just gave her confused looks. "Spike sounds a lot like Jaleel White now?" again, confused as hell. Jax gave a groaning sigh. "I'll be back, Req. I'm gonna go to the ship and grab a few DVDs." she left the library and headed up to Orion.  
"no hurry." Req joked. She stopped the healing spell and got up.  
"Well?" Rarity asked.  
"I ain't gonna lie. It's gonna scar." Req said as she wiped her hands.  
"Great." Rarity said with sarcastic enthusiasm. "that's something every girl needs."  
"I'm so sorry, Rarity." Spike said once again.  
"Spi- ugh. He's gonna be stuck on this for awhile." Rarity groaned. She quickly thought something up to get him out of this little rut. "Say, Spike. I'm feeling a bit peckish. You mind running out and getting me something?"  
"un… sure." Spike said. He got up and turned to the door. "anything in particular?"  
"mmm…. Some taffy, please?"  
"Chocolate Coins for us." Zilver and Bahamut said.  
"and some caramel for me." Twi added. Req kept silent. She wasn't that hungry.  
Spike lifted up a plant, took some bits hidden underneath it, and headed out. Twilight was appalled. "I knew he was taking from my secret stash!" she exclaimed.  
"you have money hidden?" Zil asked.  
"for emergencies, not candy runs." she angrily said. She walked over and grabbed the rest. "Now I gotta hide them again."  
They all rolled their eyes in amusement. Sweetie Belle, however, kept looking out the door, watching Spike walk away. "he got cute…" she muttered.  
"Wait a moment." Zil said. "we're sending Spike out on a candy run after he just turned into a handsome dragon. If there's any pony in town who's single…"  
He let the silence set in as they all figured it out. Then Req and Bahamut performed a MASH moment.  
"Bahamut, go…after Spike"  
"…I'm going after Spike." Bahamut took off after Spike.

Spike walked though town, heading for Bonbon's candy shop, counting the money he took with him. As he passed by, everypony stopped and watched him walk by. The females thought he was HOT! The guys, meh.  
"…22...23...24... Only 25 bits. Mmm… guess Bahamut and Zilver are sharing their chocolate coins."  
"we're what?" Bahamut asked as he flew beside him.  
"whoa!" Spike jumped up a bit in surprise. "don't scare me like that."  
With half-closed eyes, Bahamut looked towards the camera. "he's a teen now and he's still prong to be freighted easily."  
"some things are hard to outgrow, Bahamut." Spike said as he leaned in.  
"yeah, tell me about it." Bahamut flew in front of him and flipped onto his back. "So, what's it like being a teen?"  
"not that different, actually. I'm just taller, have wings that I have no clue how to use, and my voice is a bit different."  
"A bit?" Bahamut exclaimed. "you sound like a smooth black guy, like Jaleel White or or or Barry White without the deepness."  
Spike raised a eyebrow in confusion. "I have no clue who any of those people are."  
"Right. Forgot. Different world. Sometimes I completely forget about that part." Bahamut chuckled nervously as Spike rolled his eyes.  
The duo arrived at Bonbon's Candy Shop, completely unaware that everypony was looking their way. "it's true. I always do." Bahamut kept saying.  
"okay. Okay. I'm starting to get a headache from all this." Spike groaned as he grabbed the door handle.

The jingle of bells rang as the door opened, getting Bonbon's attention.  
"hi there. Welcome to…" she noticed the grown-up Spike and was immediately surprised by it. "whoa! Who are you?"  
"calm down, Bonbon. it's me. Spike."  
Bonbon couldn't believe it. It was in front of her but she couldn't believe it. "no. no. no way you're Spike."  
"he's Spike." Bahamut said, coming around from behind.  
Bonbon still didn't believe it. "how…?"  
"Puberty." Spike said, scratching the back of his head. "about a hour ago."  
"oh. Well, it's… unexpected. To be honest, I liked you better as a baby."  
Spike chuckled a bit. "you and me both, Bonbon. You and me both. But, can't change what happened."  
"that's true." Bahamut and Bonbon agreed.

"thanks Bonbon. See you later." both Dragons said as they left, each carrying a bag.  
"See you later, Spike, Bahamut." she replied. When the door closed, she gave out a chuckle. "so… little Spikey-Wikey's all grown up. And into a handsome drake at that. Hmm. Rarity is sure to go nuts over that."

"ugh. Only 2 Chocolate Coins?" Bahamut huffed as they left the Candy Shop. "this sucks."  
"I only grabbed 25 Bits. You can't expect me to count them as I grab them." Spike said.  
Bahamut stuck out his tongue, causing Spike to laugh a bit.  
"Who's the dragon?" Raindrops muttered. That little quip got the drakes attention as they looked up and saw almost every pony in Ponyville looking right at Spike.  
"he's SO handsome." a random girl pony said.  
Bahamut and Spike looked at each other. "un… this is Spike." Bahamut nervously said, fearing he said something stupid.  
"SPIKE!?" Everypony exclaimed in surprise.  
"nice going, genius." Spike groaned at Bahamut. B sheepishly hovered down to the ground.

"SPIKE!?"  
That outburst reached all the way to the library.  
"Something tells me they found out." Zil said.  
"you think, Zilver?" Req asked as she walked to the door.  
"What are you doing, Requiem?" Twi asked. Req just stuck her pointer finger up, shushing her. She wait by the door and counted down with her fingers. "5...4...3...2...1..."  
"OPEN THE DOOR!" Bahamut yelled out.  
Req gracelessly reached down, pulled the handle, and opened the door wide. Spike and Bahamut came running though as a throng of ponies came after them. Req kicked the door shut and quickly locked it.  
Spike tripped on something and rolled right into Rarity, making them both roll into a bookcase. They hit it hard enough to make every book on it fall on top of them.  
"First a scratch, now asphyxiation and crushed bones." Rarity said from underneath all the books, sounding like someone wearing a mask. "if you're trying to kill me, Spike, there are better ways to do it."  
"It's not like it was on purpose."  
Twi used her magic to clear away the books to find the two in quick a interesting position; Spike is right on top of her with their lips SO close to each other. Zilver and Bahamut wolf-whistled as they both blushed.  
"un… sorry, Rarity." Spike said as he got up. Rarity still laid their for a moment, a bit stunned by it.  
"eh…" she shook her head, snapping out of it. "no problem." Spike helped her up. She dusted herself off.  
"What exactly happened out there?" Twi asked.  
Bahamut tried to sneak away but Spike stepped on his tail and pulled him back. "well, genius here told everyone that I was, well, me. Before you know it, everyone started coming up, asking all these questions, and I could swear that a couple of mares pinched me."  
"welcome to bachelorhood, Spike." Bahamut snickered. "you're gonna have a lot of single and desperate girls coming after that hot bod of yours."  
Spike looked down at his new body, wondering what he meant by that. "beg pardon?"  
"if this was Warfang, all the dragoness' would be fawning all over ya; Cynder and Sapphyre included."  
Spike looked down again and even at his back. "yeah, I don't see it." Twi rolled her eyes as Zil face-hoofed. "oh, the sweets." he grabbed the bag, only to see that everything was crushed and melted. "oh, man. How'd this happen?"  
Requiem chuckled. "who knows? Never mind that now. I can make some pancakes if anyone wants some."  
"Pancakes!" Everyone exclaimed in excitement. Spike and Bahamut immediately bolted for the kitchen.  
"glad to see some things didn't change." Twi joked as she, Req, and Rarity walked in.  
Zil followed but noticed they were short one filly. He looked back and saw Sweetie Belle just standing there.  
"S.B? what are you doing?" he asked as he walked over.  
That snapped her out of some sort of trance. "huh? Oh. Nothing. Just thinking about Spike." she almost immediately hit herself in the face when she realized she said it.  
"Spike?" Zil looked to the kitchen and back to Belle a few times. "OH-ho-ho-ho. Sounds like Sweetie Belle has a sweetie crush." he joked.  
She immediately turned red. "n-no I don't." she squeaked as she got up and walked away.  
"yeah, you do." Zil smirked as he walked towards the kitchen as well.

e your document here...


	42. Prelude to Trouble

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 21

Prelude to trouble

'Dear Diary,  
Derpy suggested I write this. Not sure what the reason is, but I'm doing it.  
It has been 8 months since me and Derpy arrived in FeatherTop, the Gryphon Kingdom capital and already we've been making friends. We met Rainbow Dash, a local Pegasus who wants to join the Wonderbolts in Equestria. That's quite the noble goal. Not long after then, we met Lightning, a fellow Pegasus, Zatch, a Gryphon, and Gothic, a bat-pony. Together, we formed a group called a group called the Daring-Flyers. We are committed to do what we can to help the other and help the ponies find their cutie-marks. But… that's not the reason I'm writing this entry.  
It's about me. Whenever I'm around Derpy, I… I feel weird. I'm not sure why. It always happens when she's around, even when there's others present. Also, I feel anger when someone else is with her, particularly a guy. I have no clue why I am acting like this.  
What is going on in me?'

'hey, Diary. Derpy here.  
Boy, a lot of things have happened since the last time I updated. For starters, I met a Dragon named eTu`nes, my eyes got messed up by a creature eTu`nes calls a Leviathan, we leave and arrive at the Gryphon Capital City of FeatherTop, and we meet a Pegasus named Rainbow Dash, who's mother, Rainbow Shine, took us in. I think she knows my parents; I found a picture of her, them, and some other Pegasus named Golden Day. Why didn't Mom or Dad tell me about Shine?  
Anyway, there's more then one reason why I'm writing this. It's eTu`nes. He's been acting weird lately. Well, weirder. But the thing is, it's always around me. I asked him what it was but he didn't say. I think he's hiding something. Wonder if it has something to do with what I'm feeling.  
There's been this… strange tingling in my chest. And that pops up whenever eTu`nes is around. It's odd and I can't understand why it's happening. Maybe I got heartworm or something.  
But still…'

"What'cha writing?" Dash asked, popping out of nowhere. Derpy yelled and quickly put her diary behind her back. "what is that?"  
"oh, nothing." from behind, Derpy opened a desk drawer and stuck her diary in. "Nothing to important for you, Rainbow."  
Dash bought it hook, line, and sinker. "okay."  
Derpy breathed a sigh of relief. "So, what do you want?"  
With a wide smile, Dash held up a letter. "I got excepted into Equestria's Summer Flight Camp. I leave first thing next week."  
"Oh, congrats Dash. I know how much you wanted to join."  
"Thanks. Oh, this is so exciting. I gotta go tell mom." she jumped up in excitement and flew on out. Derpy smiled. This was good for Dash.  
She thought for a moment and looked back to her diary. She opened it up to the first page and looked at a picture of her and her sister. She felt bad for leaving without telling her. She grabbed a pencil and paper and began writing.

The group arrived at the train station 1 week later to say their goodbyes to Dash.  
"be safe, Dash." Shine said.  
"And don't do anything stupid." Derpy and Lightning said at the same time.  
"Guys. It's Equestria." Dash insinuated. "Last time they had anything remotely dangerous was 1000 years ago with that Nightmare Moon character. I think I'll be fine."  
Shine walked over and handed Dash a saddlebag. "here. I made you some sandwiches for the trip. I also put in plenty of pencils and paper for you to write letters." Shine suddenly hugged Dash and began kissing her.  
"Mom!" Dash exclaimed in embarrassment. The guys silently chortled. Dash reacted as she tried to get loose. "ah-je-ba-ta-ze-bi-di-ba." Dash got loose and wiped her face off. "thanks, mom, but I can handle it."  
Dash walked over to the nearest train car and jumped on. "I'll be back at the end of summer."  
Shine tearfully nodded. She knew.  
"Good luck, Dash!" everyone called out, waving goodbye. Dash waved back and jumped on in.

Rainbow walked though the aisle, trying to find a open seat. There wasn't much. Most these ponies or gryphons were going on trips with their families. Finding a seat was going to be murder.  
Or not. She found a open seat right across from a Gryphon. "this seat taken?" Dash politely asked.  
"no. not really." the Gryphon replied as she lazily looked out the window. Dash tossed her saddlebag into the overhead compartments and sat down in the seat across from the Gryphon.  
Somepony knocked at the window, getting Dash's and the gryphon's attention. "Derpy?" Dash muttered, seeing the gray Pegasus hovering on the other side. She opened the window. "what do you want, Derpy?"  
"I just remember…" Derpy panted as she held up a letter. "when you get to Ponyville, can you give this to my sister?"  
"un… sure." Dash reluctantly took it. "but, why?"  
"well, when I left, I didn't have much of a chance to say goodbye to her. You might see her there. She's got a golden yellow body and her mane looks like yours, only gray. She usually goes by the nickname D.D."  
"Got it, Derpy. Now can you get out of here. I think you're not supposed to be doing that near a train."  
"oh. Right. See ya in 3 months, Dash." Derpy flew away before she could get into trouble.  
Dash looked at the front of the letter. She flipped it around and found a note but she didn't have time to read it because the Gryphon threw out a twist of fate.  
"you know that ditzy looking Pegasus?" the Gryphon asked.  
"Well… kinda. It's a long story."  
"we got plenty of time."  
The train sputtered and began to move. "Guess you're right. Name's Rainbow. Rainbow Dash, by the way." she said, offering her hoof in friendship.  
The Gryphon look down then looked at her claw. "odd Pony custom but okay." she took it and they shook hoofs… er, claws… eh… you know what I mean. "Name's Gilda."

18 Years Later…

Spike grumbled as he rolled around in his old bed. Clearly, trying to sleep in it was a bad idea. He needed a new one and Twi and Req knew it; they even offered their beds for the night, which Spike declined. Twi needed her's since she's pregnant and Req because he heard Humans have very bad backs. And Spike wasn't the only one losing sleep.

Rarity rolled around in her head, having trouble falling asleep. Whenever she closed her eyes, she saw herself and Spike in that precarious situation underneath that pile of books. And her mind took it further then she wanted to go so she opened her eyes whenever it… went further.  
She got up, went into the bathroom, and splashed cold water into her face. "what is going on here?" she asked her reflection. "Why can't I get Spike out of my head?" she shook her head, trying to get him out. "this hasn't happened before. So why now?"  
A sleepy Sweetie Belle walked in. "Rarity… what's going on?" she tiredly asked.  
"oh. Un, nothing Sweetie Belle. Just thinking about something. What are you doing up?"  
"I had a VERY weird dream. And Spike was a part of it."  
"Spike? Why were you dreaming about Spike?"  
"I don't know. Maybe it's because he's SO cute! He was cute as a baby but now… OH. He's so dreamy."  
Rarity raised a eyebrow in surprise. "really? You have a thing for dragons? Well, different strokes for different blokes, as Ash eloquently put it once. And I supposed there are weirder relations like a Pony and a Gryphon, Gryphon and a Bat-Pony, a…"  
"okay, okay. Me and everyone reading this story got it, sis." Belle exclaimed. She yawned loudly. "guess I'm still sleepy. I'm hitting the hay." she tiredly said before walking off. "night, sis." Sweetie Belle called out.  
"night, Sweetie Belle." Rarity called out. Rarity returned her attention to the mirror and sighed. "Guess I'm just feeling jittery. Like Sweetie Belle said, Spike was just a baby yesterday. Guess I'm still surprised by his new look, is all." she said to herself, trying to convince herself that that was it.  
Ash heard this all from below in the main shop and put it in the back of his mind for now.

Spike yawned as he rested underneath a tree at midday. He had a rough day, running more errands then usual. Just because he was older doesn't mean he was any more dexterous. That and nearly every pony in Ponyville was asking him what it's like being a completely different person. Kinda. He also had a few mares, all of whom single and COMPLETELY desperate, batting him goo-goo eyes.  
"no no no no no no no no no no. bring it to the right. THE RIGHT!" he heard someone yell from a distance, waking him up from his nap. He got up and went to investigate.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders struggled as they pulled on a kite's rope, trying to get it out of a tree.  
"you had to get it up in a tree, Dinky." Scootaloo strained as she pulled with her teeth.  
"blame Applebloom. She's the one that distracted me."  
"no it wasn't!" Applebloom retorted. "blame Sweetie Belle. She was distracted by something."  
"Was not!" she squealed.  
Spike arrived and saw them pulling the rope. He followed the rope and spotted the kite. He chuckled as he looked back to the CMC.  
"COME ON! Just a bit… more…" the rope suddenly went limp and the CMC fell backwards. "… power."  
The foals mumbled as they got up. Scootaloo's eyes followed the rope and found the kite in Spike's hands. "thanks for the warning, Spike." she groaned.  
"Sorry. Thought you would've notice." he said as he walked over. He tossed the kite over to Dinky, who barely caught it intact.  
"thanks. Really appreciate it." Scoots sarcastically replied.  
"I'm gonna venture a wild guess and say that you're trying to find your cutie-marks in Kite Flying?" he asked as he pulled some leaves out of Applebloom's hair.  
"no, we were just playing." A.B. replied. Sweetie Belle got steamed when Spike helped Applebloom instead of her. "but now that you mention it, I think we should've tried that."  
"now you tell us!" Dinky and Scootaloo exclaimed. Applebloom chuckled as she sheepishly scratched the back of her head.  
Spike chuckled as he face-palmed. "oh, brother."  
Sweetie Belle got steamed even more. She stormed on over and, just before she came between Spike and 'Bloom, she went back to her kind demeanor. "So, Spike… you want to help us get our un… our cutie-marks?"  
"un. Sure. I got a hour free."  
"YES!" Sweetie happily exclaimed. Everyone looked at her with a weird expression. Belle realized what she had done and started blushing in embarrassment. "un… l-l-let's go find out cutie marks!" she exclaimed before walking off in complete embarrassment.  
The other 3 ponies and the dragon just looked at each, shrugged, and walked off after her.

Sora yawned as she rested her head on a table in Sugarcube Corner.  
"Tough day?" Req asked as she and the other humans sat down at the table.  
"tough night. Pinkie kept me up, asking Marble about every little detail about his old home. I think she's smitten with him."  
"smitten? As in 'in love?'" Bahamut asked.  
"mmm… yeah. I think she is."  
"well, Twilight had a dream last night. Apparently, in her mind, Halo is VERY well-endowed."  
"well, that's fantasies' for ya." Aura chuckled. "and you know something, I heard Applejack mention something about Zilver. And him with her. They both talked about 'fine curves' or something like that."  
"That's nothing compared to what I heard last night. And it was quite juicy." Ash snickered.  
"oh, really?" Satoshi said with intrigue. "Do tell."  
"Well, it seems that Sweetie Belle has a little crush on a certain purple drake." he calmly said before taking a sip of his drink. "And a certain fashionista is trying to hide her feelings."  
"wait wait wait. Are you saying that Sweetie Belle AND Rarity are in love with Spike?" Bahamut asked.  
"Seems that way."  
Everyone chuckled. Req stopped and thought for a moment. "huh. Ha. Hmm… you know, that gives me a idea." she got up and went back to Mr. and Mrs. Cake. Everyone looked at her suspiciously as the bakers handed her a calendar. She walked back over as she flipped to November. "look. In 2 weeks is Hearts and Hooves day, this world's version of Valentines-"  
"And I'm guessing Thanksgiving, since it's on the same day as it." Sora interrupted. Req sneered at her. "sorry."  
"oh, no." Jax groaned. "Req, please tell me you're not thinking what your thinking."  
"I am." Jax groaned out loud before slamming her head into the table. "I think that we should set these poor lovebirds up." Req said with a smile.  
Everyone's reaction was the same; with fazed eyes and not that much eagerness in their voice. "what?"  
"yeah. Look at the evidence. They love the other and vice versa but both are either too stubborn or too scared to admit it. Twi and Halo came close but they had to deal with Trixie, Nightmare Moon, and Twilight's pregnancy at the time. So, I think-"  
"we should play matchmaker?" Bahamut asked. "Req, setting up two people never works out. NEVER!"  
"oh, such a nit-picker. One would think you'd be excited for another couple seeing as how you're in a relationship." Aura said. That shut Bahamut up.  
"So, with that out of the way…" Req sneered as she bonked Bahamut's head. She gestured to the others, everyone leaning their heads in. "… here's my plan on how to get these lovestruck fools together…"


	43. Sister Sister

Paste your d

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Matchmaker

Chapter 1

Sister Sister

Sora yawned as she rested her head on a table in Sugarcube Corner.  
"Tough day?" Req asked as she and the other humans sat down at the table.  
"tough night. Pinkie kept me up, asking Marble about every little detail about his old home. I think she's smitten with him."  
"smitten? As in 'in love?'" Bahamut asked.  
"mmm… yeah. I think she is."  
"well, Twilight had a dream last night. Apparently, in her mind, Halo is VERY well-endowed."  
"well, that's fantasies' for ya." Aura chuckled. "and you know something, I heard Applejack mention something about Zilver. And him with her. They both talked about 'fine curves' or something like that."  
"That's nothing compared to what I heard last night. And it was quite juicy." Ash snickered.  
"oh, really?" Satoshi said with intrigue. "Do tell."  
"Well, it seems that Sweetie Belle has a little crush on a certain purple drake." he calmly said before taking a sip of his drink. "And a certain fashionista is trying to hide her feelings."  
"wait wait wait. Are you saying that Sweetie Belle AND Rarity are in love with Spike?" Bahamut asked.  
"Seems that way."  
Everyone chuckled. Req stopped and thought for a moment. "huh. Ha. Hmm… you know, that gives me a idea." she got up and went back to Mr. and Mrs. Cake. Everyone looked at her suspiciously as the bakers handed her a calendar. She walked back over as she flipped to November. "look. In 2 weeks is Hearts and Hooves day, this world's version of Valentines-"  
"And I'm guessing Thanksgiving, since it's on the same day as it." Sora interrupted. Req sneered at her. "sorry."  
"oh, no." Jax groaned. "Req, please tell me you're not thinking what your thinking."  
"I am." Jax groaned out loud before slamming her head into the table. "I think that we should set these poor lovebirds up." Req said with a smile.  
Everyone's reaction was the same; with fazed eyes and not that much eagerness in their voice. "what?"  
"yeah. Look at the evidence. They love the other and vice versa but both are either too stubborn or too scared to admit it. Twi and Halo came close but they had to deal with Trixie, Nightmare Moon, and Twilight's pregnancy at the time. So, I think-"  
"we should play matchmaker?" Bahamut asked. "Req, setting up two people never works out. NEVER!"  
"oh, such a nit-picker. One would think you'd be excited for another couple seeing as how you're in a relationship." Aura said. That shut Bahamut up.  
"So, with that out of the way…" Req sneered as she bonked Bahamut's head. She gestured to the others, everyone leaning their heads in. "… here's my plan on how to get these lovestruck fools together…"

watch?v=pTPqjKk_xCo Equrestria Girls extended version

It was a normal day in town. A peaceful and serene day. A day you would find only in fairy tales. That is, until…  
"YYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAA-HHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOO!"

Dash cheered as loud as she could as she bounced around the library, which was setting up for something. "this is the best day ever!" she happily exclaimed.  
"we heard." Twi groaned, picking her ear. Spike and Requiem included.  
"I mean, I never thought I would be able to meet her! Oh, this is so cool!" she squealed.  
Shadow, who had just arrived, stood in the doorway with a confused expression. "did I miss something?"  
Dash bounced on over and leaned in close, kissing close. "guess who's coming to Ponyville?"  
Shadow pretended to think about it. "George Clopez?"  
Dash chuckled. "no." she flew back and picked up a book. "the author of the Daring Do series herself is coming into Ponyville for a book signing! I plan to be the first one in line!"  
"you like Daring Do?"  
"why not? It's only the greatest, epicest, most bestest series out there!" Shadow replied with a 'meh'. "Meh? How can you think Daring Do is meh?"  
"well, I'm not a big fan of action titles. In fact, I was pushing my luck when Satoshi showed Gremlins and Godzilla back at Nightmare Night."  
Dash's mouth dropped in shock. "how can you not…? You think you know somepony then they drop this big a bombshell." she jokingly said. "well, I'm outta here. Gonna be late for the book signing." Dash moved Shadow to the side and flew on out.  
"she really likes those Daring Do books, doesn't she?" Req asked.  
"A LOT!" Twilight and Spike said in unison.  
Dash squealed as she held the book close. "this is gonna be the best day of my life!"

"This is the worst day of my life."  
Derpy groaned as she laid her head on a table at Silver Tavern, feeling bad from the cider. Pinkie bounced on by, took notice of Derpy, and bounced in.  
"heya, Derpy. What's shaking?" a cheerful Pinkie asked.  
Derpy glanced up at Pinkie and groaned. "my sister is coming to town."  
"I didn't know you had a sister." Pinkie said.  
"and I didn't want anyone to know." Derpy groaned. "She was so pretentious, so arrogant. I liked her better when she was a kid."  
"so, what's wrong?"  
"nothing. Except there's a 10-year gap from when we last saw each other. She wasn't there when I met my husband Time Turner, when I adopted Sparkler, when I gave birth to Dinky. She wasn't there when… my best friend in the whole wide world disappeared. And that moment… I could've used a sister."  
"oh." Pinkie muttered, figuring it out. "So your worried about catching up all of that time apart. She left and did pony knows what while you settled down and had a family. I guess seeing each other after 10 years would be a bit nerve-wracking."  
"you have no idea." Derpy joked. She took one last swig of her cider and slammed the mug down. "Well, better go pick her up at the train station. She's coming in in about a hour." she got up, left money, and walked off.  
Pinkie thought something thought, something she never considered since moving to Ponyville. "huh. I wonder if I should contact Inkie."

Dash squealed in admiration as she flew though town. "Daring Do's coming to town! I can't wait!" she ran into somepony without looking. She pulled her head back with her eyes spinning around and around. "hey, watch where your…" she looked up and saw somepony she never expected to see.  
"hey, you okay?" Soarin' asked.  
"you're s-. you're soar-a-" Dash couldn't speak. She's in the presence of one of the Wonderbolts. This was mana from heaven.  
"you okay?" Soarin' asked.  
"you're gonna have to forgive her, cous. She's a big fan of the Wonderbolts." Scootaloo said, walking up to him, carrying a couple ice-cream cones.  
Dash shook her head in realization. "you mean your…" she shook her head again. "your cousin is a Wonderbolt?"  
"well…"  
"YES!" Dash squealed. "I meet Soarin' alone in the streets AND Daring Do's coming to town. Oh, I can die a happy mare."  
"did you say Daring Do?" Soarin' asked.  
"Yeah. She's coming to town for a book signing." Scoot's explained.  
"oh. I did not know that." Soarin' muttered. "if I had know, I would've broght my copy of Gryphon's Goblet."  
Dash's ears perked up. She pulled a Pinkie and leaned in. "Did I hear that right? You like Daring Do?"  
"it's only the best book series out there. Harry Trotter can't even come close to how awesome Daring Do is." Dash gave a wide smile before fainting. "She okay?"  
"She's fine. This is just turning into a good day for her." Scootaloo joked.  
"Daring Do coming to town, Soarin' actually talking to me, Squirt actually related to a Wonderbolt. I can die happy now." Dash said with a high voice. She looked back in the direction of Soarin'. the way the sun's reflection off a window was hitting him, he looked like something out of a dream. Dash fainted yet again, this time out of pleasure.  
She dreamily opened her eyes to see Derpy right over her. "you okay, Dash?"  
"Derpy!?" Dash suddenly sat up, hitting Derpy in the head with her own, causing Soarin' and Scootaloo to wince. Both exclaimed in pain as they rubbed where they hit.  
"ow." Derpy whined. "Why'd you do that?"  
"It wasn't on purpose, Derpy." Dash groaned. "why are you doing here, anyway?"  
Derpy sighed as she stopped rubbing her head. "I need your help with something. It's important."  
"if you say so but I'm talking with someone." Dash said, pointing to Soarin'.  
"it's okay, Derpy." Soarin' said.  
"Thanks, Soarin'." Derpy grabbed Rainbow Dash and pulled her along. Dash sat there, dumbstruck that a Wonderbolt knows the world's biggest klutz.  
"I'm sorry about Rainbow Dash, Cous. She's usually not like that." Scootaloo said.  
"It's okay, squirt. She was actually kind of cute." Soarin' said as he and Scoot walked off.

"what problem is it, Derpy, cause you pulled me away from probably the only chance I had of getting into the Wonderbolts." a annoyed Dash said as the 2 walked though town towards the Train station.  
"you remember my sister D.D., right?"  
"un… yeah, partially. We barely knew each other. Think I only met her when I dropped off that letter you had me deliver. and She disappeared 10 years ago, right?" Derpy nodded in confirmation. "what about her?"  
"I just got a letter from her. She's coming to town."  
"well, that's great, right?"  
"not really. We haven't spoken to each other since she left. I'm worried about how she'll react to some aspects of my life."  
Dash partially nodded in confirmation. "I can see that. It's hard talking to anyone after a long time. Just look at what happened when I met back up with Gilda after 2 years."  
"but that was just a couple of years. This is a decade we're talking about here, Dash. How would you react if you were close to someone then they disappeared for… 20 years then they come back and everything's changed?"  
"now we're getting to the root of the problem." the 2 reached the train station a few minutes before it came in. "you're worried she changed too much."  
The train rolled in as the 2 walked up onto the station floor. "don't worry, Derpy. I'm sure she'll be the same as when she left."  
As soon as the train hissed to a halt, a door burst open wide in smoke and confetti. A silhouette of a Pegasus appeared in the smoke. "traveling to distant corners of the world, seeking treasures long hidden and forgotten…" the Pegasus flew on out on a epic matter and landed on her hind legs. "… only for the great Daring Do to find!" Daring proclaimed to the crowd at the station.  
Dash's mouth dropped in excitement as Derpy looked on with a half-fazed look.  
"It's Daring Do!" Dash excitedly exclaimed. She flew up into the air and pulled some loop-de-loops. She stopped down in front of Daring Do and began shaking her hooves rapidly. "It is so nice to meet you, Daring Do. I am such a big fan of your books! I'm in the middle of your latest adventure, 'the Book of Disaster' and so far, I'm loving it!"  
"thanks. Always nice to meet a fan." Daring said. She took her hoof away.  
Dash squealed in excitement until she remembered what she and Derpy was doing there. "oh, sorry, Daring, but I gotta find someone. Derpy, we better find your sister. What does she look like? I only met her when I delivered that letter and it was dark out. Plus, it was 10 years ago." Derpy raised a eyebrow in surprise. The fact that Rainbow remembered all that after 10 years was nothing short of amazing. "So… what did she look like?"  
Daring rolled her eyes and chuckled. "you mean you don't remember from that night, Dash?"  
"beg pardon?"  
Daring walked past Dash and over to Derpy. "I never really had a chance to thank you for giving me that letter. Really saved me a whole world of trouble."  
A brick just shattered Dash's 'expectations' window. "s-s-sister? You… are… Derpy's sister?"  
"did I do something wrong?" Daring asked.  
"Wait for it." Derpy replied.  
"this is now officially the best day of my life. I know a foal who's cousin's with a Wonderbolt and one of my friends is related to Daring Do!? OH, I love my friends!" Dash exclaimed, pulling multiple loop-de-loops in the air.  
"I did something wrong, didn't I?"  
"no, she's always like that with celebrities."

The trio walked though Ponyville, heading to the book signing and Dash still reeling over the fact that Derpy's sister is Daring Do. Well, guess that explains D.D.  
"so, Daring, I see you made quite a name for yourself." Derpy joked, holding one of the Daring Do books.  
"oh, that. Well, ya see, when I left, it was not long before that that I discovered my Cutie Mark." she said, looking down at the compass. "who knew I had a knack for exploration?"  
"Who knew?"  
"the book ideas hit me when I found that sapphire stone in the jungles of South Amareica. I would star in perilous adventures that took me to all corners of the globe. Me going and finding them; all true. It's just the situations, the monsters, the traps, everything I made up, though I did have some inspiration for some of them."  
"like how?" Dash asked with eagerness in her eyes.  
"well, you know Ahuitzotl, the bad guy from the first book?" Dash nodded as fast as she could. "well, there is a god of that name back where I found the stone. Of course, the god is avian, not a cat."  
"Oooooh."  
Derpy rolled her eyes.  
The trio walked in front of the Library where the Book-Signing was gonna take place. "Well, got work to do."  
"oh, I better get in line!" Dash exclaimed. She bolted inside, leaving behind a trail of smoke and leaving the 2 sisters spinning.  
They stopped spinning but their eyes kept going. Those eventually stopped as well.  
"well, I…" Daring shook her eyes, snapping out of that dizziness. "I better get going."  
"have fun, Daring. You got quite a fan base here." Derpy said as she took off.  
"what's your address?" Daring asked, making Derpy stop in mid-flight. "I'll come over later."  
"have Twilight or Dash show you the way." Derpy said as she flew off.  
Daring turned to enter the library but stopped for a moment. "who's Twilight?"

Derpy entered her house and sighed. "she did change. She changed a lot." Derpy sighed. "I don't remember her being that adventurous." She heard sobbing coming from the couch. She looked to see Dinky crying her eyes out. "Dinky? What's wrong?"  
"Tiara said that *hic* the reason Dad disappeared *hic* was because he hated me." she sobbed.  
"oh. Dinky. Now that's not true. Your father loved you as much as he loved me, loved Sparkler, loved Carrot Top, loved his brother…"  
Dinky's sobbing lessened but it was still there. "then… why did he leave?"  
Derpy sighed and looked away for a moment. She didn't know what Time Turner disappeared. He just went *poof* about a dozen days before the humans came. "I'm sure he'll turn up someday. Just have faith that he'll return, okay Dinky?"  
Dinky sniffled. She wiped her eyes and stiffened a sob. "if you say so, Mom." she couldn't hold the tears back and started crying again. Derpy held her daughter close and just let her cried.

"thanks for coming. Glad you enjoy the series." Daring said as she handed the last book to the last fan who was the last to leave.  
Daring groaned as she rubbed her hooves. "4 hours signing books. Times like this make me wish I was a unicorn."  
"well, you are big. Fans probably converged onto Ponyville when they heard your in town." Twilight said as she started taking down a pin-up of Daring Do.  
"So I saw." she smirked, looking over to Rainbow Dash, who was still reeling over the fact that she got Daring Do's autograph.  
"well, she is your biggest fan in in this town." Shadow joked as he took down another pin-up.  
"so I saw."  
Dash walked over to the door with a wide smile when it opened wide. "sorry I'm late. I was busy." Soarin' said as he and Scootaloo walked in.  
"we're not late, are we?" Scootaloo asked.  
"I'm afraid you are." Twi said. "we just finished up."  
"It's okay, Twi. I can give out one more." Daring said.  
Scootaloo smiled as she skipped on over and handed her book to Daring.  
"you guys cut it kinda close, don'tcha think?" Dash asked.  
"well, it was my fault. I ran into a few fans of the Wonderbolts on the way. They had me perform a few tricks that took longer then a hour." Soarin' said with a slight blush.  
"I can bet. You're… you're Soarin'!" Dash exclaimed with delight. "one of the best flyers EVER! You're strong, you're kind, you're HOT!"  
"well, thanks for that. You're making me blush." Soarin' said. Dash smiled as Shadow looked at them both with intrigued and a bit of worry. "you… you want to get some Cider?"  
"I would like that." Dash said as giddy as a school-girl. She collected herself and cleared her throat. "I would like that, Soarin'." Dash said calmly.  
Soarin' smiled and offered his hoof. Dash took it and they both playfully walked off.  
"oh, Celestia. This isn't gonna go well." Scootaloo muttered to herself.  
Shadow watched them both as Soarin' and Rainbow walked off. He felt a small pang in his chest but shook it off.

Daring sighed as she took off her hat and walked into Derpy's house.  
"hey, Derpy. Twi showed me home. Dash went out with a Wonderbolt, of all ponies." she chuckled. "so how are you…"  
She saw Derpy asleep on the couch, holding a equally sleepy Dinky close. When she saw this, only one thought entered her mind; "Derpy's a mother?"

ocument here...


	44. Exposition Picnic

Paste y

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Matchmaker

Chapter 2

Exposition Picnic

Requiem whistled a tune as she pulled a few plates out of a cupboard and but them into a basket.  
Twilight stood in the doorway, suspicious. "What are you doing, Req?"  
"oh, Twilight. Thank goodness you're here. Can you grab a few cups?"  
"For what?"  
"I'm planning a picnic for you, me, the rest of the gang."  
"A picnic? Huh. That seems almost kind of you."  
Req closed her eyes half-way as she looked to her. "what do you mean almost?"  
Twilight laughed as she walked over and grabbed a few cups.  
"not using your magic?" Req asked, grabbing some napkins off the rack.  
"well, I read in a book that if a Unicorn overuses magic while pregnant, the baby will turn out mean and obnoxious."  
Req looked to the camera. "Guess we found out why Diamond Tiara is such a meanie head." she went back into character. "so, you're gonna be cutting back on the magic?"  
"down to once or twice a day." Twi put the cups into the basket. "Any more and I run the risk of my foal turning into someone like… like…"  
"Nightmare Moon?"  
"bingo."

Jax snored as she slept in her bed in a hap-hazard way. She snorted as she opened her eyes. She rolled over to the side to see a golden-yellow Pegasus right beside her. She opened her eyes and saw Jax.  
"AAAAAHHHHH!"  
They fell out of the bed and onto their backs.  
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY BED!?" they both yelled. "YOUR BED? IT'S MY BED!" Derpy and Carrot Top ran in to see both Jax and Daring on the side of the bed. "WHAT IS SHE DOING IN MY BED!?" Both Jax and Daring yelled.  
"oh." Derpy face-hoofed. "Knew I forgot something last night."  
"you think!?" Jax exclaimed. "Who is this anyway?"  
"oh, Jax. This is my sister Daring Do. Daring, this is Jax."  
Daring looked over to her. "a human? Thought you guys were myth."  
"we seem to be getting that a lot on this world." Jax muttered. "but but but why is she in my bed?"  
"Eh… well, I was half-asleep at the time so I guess I gave her your bed without knowing it." Derpy nervously chuckled.  
Jax pouted angrily and pointed up to her face. "see the face. See the face. Not amused." she groaned as she got up. "if that's the case, I'm gonna take the couch." Jax walked out of the room, leaving behind a confused Daring.  
"What's her problem?"  
"she's not a… big fan of ponies." Carrot Top explained. "She was almost trampled to death when she was 3."  
"oh. So wait, she redirects it to anger?"  
"yep." both Derpy and Carrot Top said.

Requiem fanned out a picnic blanket and put it to the ground of a nice smooth field.  
"there. Starting to get good." she sighed. She reached back into the basket and pulled out a couple of glasses. She went to put them down only to see her friends suddenly right in front of her. "Ah!"  
"Req… what are you doing?" Jax asked.  
"I'm just setting up a picnic for us and our Equestrian friends. What's so bad about that?"  
"yeah, we're not buying it." Bahamut said. Req glanced over to him. "ever since Lylat, you've always been trying to set up couples."  
"Well, Fox and Krystal were already in love, I just moved it along. As for Falco and Katt…"  
"and what you said yesterday confirmed it; when it comes to love, you go to far." Ash said.  
"what? Hehe. Who say's I go too-" everyone gave her suspicious looks. "okay okay, fine. Maybe I do go a LITTLE bit to far. Just a little."  
"just a little?" Aura and Sora asked.  
"okay, fine. I'm Cupid in girl form. I'm Aphrodite but hotter. So what?"  
"just cut it back, okay? There's helping then there's going too far. Just try to cut it back, okay?" Satoshi asked.  
"fine. I promise." Req said, crossing her fingers behind her back.  
"Without crossing your fingers." Jax and Bahamut said.  
Req rolled her eyes and held up her hands, uncrossed, as she promised yet again. "now can we get this ready? The others will be here any minute."

Before long, the gang all arrived for the 'picnic of love', as Requiem called it. But since she promised her friends, she ain't gonna do a thing to move along relationships. Well, not while their around, anyway.  
"oh, it is simply gorgeous out. Just gorgeous." Rarity said while wearing a sunhat.  
"Anybody else experiencing déjà vu?" Applejack joked. Twilight silently chuckled at that.  
"This was a good idea, Requiem. With all that's been happening, we all could've used a relaxing break." Halo said.  
"ti nada. ti nada." Req said. "just wondering where Rainbow is."  
"give her time. She always runs late for things." Lyra said.  
"True. And speaking of missing ponies, where's Armor and Cadence?"  
"They had to go back to the crystal kingdom."  
"ah. Okay. Could've said good-bye or something."  
Daring looked between Req and Lyra, a bit surprise that they knew each other. "so it's true. You all are really friends with humans."  
Ash gulped down a watermelon. "and who are you?"  
"the name is Daring Do, world-famous sister to your beloved mail mare here." she announced, pointing to Derpy in the process.  
"sister?" Pinkie and Barry exclaimed in surprise. "Derpy has a sister?"  
"yep." Derpy smiled. "but this is the first time we've seen each other in 10 years."  
"oh. So what did you do for 10 years, Daring?" Trixie asked.  
Daring's eyes half-closed. "you serious? Read my books, you'll get a good idea of what I did for the better part of a decade."  
"yeeeeah, I don't read books."  
"that explains a lot." Marble whispered to Pinkie.  
Daring just looked at Trixie with those half-closed eyes for a moment before changing the subject. "so, Derpy, you were quite busy during my time abroad? I mean, kids? You never struck me as a mother."  
Derpy chuckled. "yeah. Well…" she looked to Dinky who was playing with Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. "…don't tell her this but… but Dinky was a accident."  
Twi spit up her drink and coughed. "a accident?"  
"yeah. Me and her father had a moment of weakness and we didn't use protection." she looked over to her daughter. The CMC dog-piled onto Dinky and all began to laugh. "but that accident turned into the best thing that happened to me."  
"no argument. You deserve a 'mother of the decade' award or something like that." Carrot Top said. Cheerilee and Sparkler nodded in agreement. Derpy blushed in embarrassment.  
"I'm gonna have to take mothering tips from you when Starlight comes." Twi said.  
"Starlight?" Bahamut asked as he bit into a chicken leg he made especially for him and the rest of the meat-eating humans. He made sure it wasn't any of Fluttershy's, though.  
Twilight gulped down a daisy sandwich. "that's what I'm gonna name the baby when he or she comes."  
"and you're, what, 2 months along now?" Sora asked, sipping a milkshake with a crazy straw.  
"just about. I won't feel the baby kick for at least another 3 months. And I won't know what the baby's gender will be until my first doctor's appointment in next month."  
Edge chuckled. "I still find it hard to believe that new life can be made inside a girl. I mean, it's gotta be weird knowing that something's growing inside ya."  
"well, it is at first but knowing that you're giving life to something so small and loveable… there's just no other feeling like it." Derpy explained.  
"wow. The way you put it, I can't wait till I have kids of my own." Sora said.  
"me too." Rarity, Pinkie, 'Shy, A.J., Lyra, and Bonbon all said.  
Req sighed in the same manner they did but had something else on her mind. "(this isn't what I planned. I was hoping to get them in love, not talk about the reproductive process. Hmm… where's Dash when we need her? She would have a game at the ready. Wait… I got a idea.)"  
She got up and asked; "Who's up for a game of soccer?"

That was a good idea as they started a game and it got intense. It was the humans vs the ponies. The ponies were up 5-4 but the Humans let them have the first 5 in order to boost their confidence. That and they aren't using a goalie.  
Twilight was sitting out for obvious reasons; Marble was sitting out because, well, he's not a people person. And Cheerilee is also sitting out for some reason she won't explain.  
"overhear, A.J.!" Shadow exclaimed. Applejack kicked the soccer ball over to Shadow. He stopped it with his head and balanced it on his horn.  
"Show off!" Applebloom exclaimed.  
Spike leaned on the edge of their goalpost, waiting for something to happen, like the soccer ball to come his way.  
Sweetie Belle edged on up next to him. "so… nice day, right Spike?"  
"if you say so. Just waiting for something to happen."  
Sweetie took that as incentive. "like, say, waiting someone asking you out on a date?"  
Spike looked up from her to Rarity, who currently had the ball. "yeah. Or maybe I should ask."  
Sweetie looked at his face then followed his vision to Rarity. She silently snorted as she slammed her hooves together. "(dang Rarity. She's trying to steal my Spike away from me. I hate that she gets more attention then me. Time to take drastic measures.)" Sweetie tapped Spike on the knee, getting his attention. "um, Spike. I have something I need help with on Saturday. Can you help me?"  
"un… sure, I guess. But why not have Rarity help you?"  
"This requires strength, not magic. Besides, Rarity's not as skilled as me for this."  
Spike raised a eyebrow in confusion. "iiiiif you say so."  
Sweetie smiled as she dreamily looked up at Spike. "(yes. If everything goes as plan, I'll have Spike for a coltfriend. Oh, this is gonna be GREAT!)" she squealed in her mind.  
"Ha. Take this!" Daring exclaimed as she kicked the ball with all her strength. It went the wrong direction and towards Twilight. "Caution: Runaway Ball!" she yelled out.  
Twi noticed it and ducked at the last second. The ball, instead, hit Marble and sent him down to the ground.  
"Marble!" Pinkie exclaimed as she ran over.  
Marble's eyes spun as he saw stars. He shook his head and snapped out of it. "that hurt." he groaned. He got up as Pinkie neared him. She tripped on a exposed tree branch and ran right into Marble.  
Both fell down a hill and rolled right into a creek bed.  
"you guys okay?" Twilight asked as she looked down to them. The gang ran over to see if they're okay.  
When the water splashed back down, they saw Marble and Pinkie holding each other close, though not intentionally; that's mostly the vines fault. And their lips were right against the others. Both opened their eyes and saw them VERY close to another.  
Requiem and Sora went "OOOOOH!"  
Marble and Pinkie stopped kissing and looked at their situation. "eh… it's not what it looks like!" they both said.  
"we know. It's the vines. Hold on." Aura grabbed his lance and slid on down to them. With one swipe, he cut though the vines.  
Pinkie and Marble got up and wiped the water and excess vine off. "that was embarrassing." Pinkie muttered.  
"you're telling me, Diamond." Marble said.  
That surprised Pinkie and looked over to him. "Diamond? Who's Diamond?"  
Marble heard what he said and tried to think of something else. "eh… eh… did I say Diamond? Sorry but that gem is on my mind for some odd reason. Guess it slipped out."  
Pinkie raised a eyebrow. She didn't believe it but went along with it. "if you say so, Marble."  
A couple of familiar Pegasi landed right behind them and looked down from behind Bahamut and Edge. "what happened here?" Dash asked.  
"a little accident concerning a soccer ball and Daring's dangerous legs." Ash said.  
Dash and Soarin' looked at each other with confused looks. "un, beg pardon?" Soarin' asked.  
Twi looked back and actually took notice. "oh, hey. Glad to see you finally arrived, Dash. And who's your friend?"  
"who's my- she doesn't know who you are. How sad." Dash joked. "This is Soarin' of the Wonderbolts."  
"Wonderbolts?" Rarity exclaimed in surprise. "well, it is certainly a honor to make the acquaintance of a powerful flyer such as yourself."  
"please, stop. You're gonna make me blush." he chuckled.  
"but wait, I thought Wonderbolts didn't talk to common folk." Marble said as he walked up.  
"no, we're just like you." Soarin' said.  
"So how'd you 2 meet?" Fluttershy asked.  
"2 ways." Dash said. She grabbed and pulled Scootaloo over. "turns out Squirt here is cousins with Soarin'."  
The CMC were clearly caught off guard. "What?" the trio exclaimed. "and you didn't tell us?"  
"Didn't think it was relevant." Scoot's chuckled while shrugging. The CMC gave her scolding looks.  
"you said 2 ways, Dash. What was the other?" A.J. asked.  
"well,…" Soarin' began. "…turns out we're both HUGE fans of Daring Do; the book series, not you personally…" Daring shrugged in agreement. "…and he came to Ponyville for the book signing. After that, we went out for Cider and, well, I guess we're dating now."  
"wait, what?" Scoots suddenly asked. "you're- you're-" she shook her head, trying to process it. "you're going out with Rainbow Dash?"  
"how come all the good stuff happens to her?" Zilver joked. A.J. shrugged.  
"Oh, wow. This is SO COOL! My cousin, the Wonderbolt, is going out with Rainbow Dash, one of the coolest ponies who lived. Oh, this is a good day."  
The ponies kept on talking about Dash and her new Boyfriend. Shadow, clearly hurt, backed up and walked away. Req stepped back a few feet to think to herself. "(so, Dash has a boyfriend now so she's out of the plan. Marble and Pinkie looks like a good couple; they say opposites attract. And Twilight and Halo are gonna be trouble; we know they like each other but he's too afraid to make any kind of commitment. Guess that leaves Applejack, Shadow, Trixie, Fluttershy, Spike, Zilver, Rarity, and Edge. This may be simpler then I thought.)"

our document here...


	45. Sweet Jealousy

Paste y

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Matchmaker

Chapter 3

Sweet Jealousy

Sweetie Belle hummed a all-too familiar theme tune as she tried to think of a way to get Spike over.  
"(I had to say something that required Strength instead of Magic. Stupid, stupid me. Well, let's think…)"  
Sweetie Belle looked all over the Boutique, hoping to think of something and her face making the notions as she thought her plan though. "(Rarity's Magic isn't as strong as Twilight's but still pretty good. It would have to be something big that she can't do. Raising the floorboards to find house keys? No, sis is bound to have spares somewhere. Moving around the furniture? No, she could do that. Wait. Wait. Un-Huh! That'll work. Hehe. This is too good.)"  
she was so giddy, she sing-songed the next line. "oh, Ground Control to Major Tom!"

Twilight laid in her bed, slowly rubbing her preggo belly while reading a book, was ruined when sudden explosions came from below.  
"HAHA! Take that, Darth Canter." Req cheered.  
"oh, man." Spike groaned.  
Twi chuckled. "Guess their playing Star Hooves or something." she muttered. She placed a bookmark where she left off, got up, and headed downstairs.

"HAHA!" Requiem cheered as her game avatar of Obi-Mane Kenobi defeated Spike's Darth Canter.  
"oh come on. I had you with that combo move." Spike exclaimed.  
"yeah but there's a little trick to dodging it. It's called ducking. Very simple, just press down." Req said with a laughing sneer. Spike sputtered as he put his controller to the floor.  
"got your tail handed to you again, Spike?" Twi asked as she walked on down.  
"she cheats. I sweat, she cheats." Spike insinuated.  
"nope. Just more skilled." Req snickered with a wide grin.  
Twilight chuckled. She remembered something from the other day. "aren't you supposed to be helping Sweetie Belle with something at Carousel Boutique, Spike?"  
"Oh, crap. I completely forgot!" he exclaimed. He got up and ran on out.  
"he's gonna get in trouble." Req said in a sing-songy matter. Twi chuckled in agreement.

Sweetie Belle struggled as she both pushed with her hooves and pulled with her magic the large rock Rarity thought was a Diamond back when Discord turned her.  
"Come on, Tom. Twilight was able to move you with ease. Why can't you move now?" she strained. With one last push, she was barely able to make it inside. She panted as she rest on the rock and slid down to the floor.  
Spike knocked on the door and entered to see Sweetie on the floor and Tom right behind her. "this is why you needed my help? To move Tom?"  
"yeah. Rarity brought him in for… some kind of sculpting thing. Think she's trying something new." Sweetie panted.  
"you try to move him by yourself?"  
"yeah. It's a LOT harder then it looks. Not sure how Rarity got him in. It's heavy as Tartarus."  
"hey. Language." Spike sneered. Sweetie Belle chuckled. "so… this should be easy. Just a big ol' boulder. Should be easy." he cracked his knuckles and his neck before walking over.  
Without giving him notice, Sweetie snuck over to the other side and put down a couple of small wedge's beneath the rock, keeping it in place. "(this'll work.)" she snickered to herself.  
Spike pushed against 'Tom' to try and get it to move. It was firmly stuck. "wha…" Spike snorted smoke out of his nose and pushed again. Still nothing.  
"Ugh. I don't remember it being this tough to move. Twi was able to move it with ease." Sweetie Belle shrugged. "why not ask Rarity for help? She could move it with magic and-"  
"NO!" Sweetie suddenly exclaimed. Spike's reaction is what you would expect when someone suddenly yelled. Belle immidatly calmed down and coughed. "er, I mean no. we don't need Rarity's help. Besides, she's gonna be gone all day. We'll have it out by then, right?"  
Spike rubbed his neck as he looked at the rock. "hopefully." he spit into his hands, rubbed them together, and pushed on the rock again.  
Sweetie Belle watched Spike push against the rock and dreamily sighed. "(he's just too cute.)"

Marble sat behind the counter of Sugarcube Corner, flicking a pencil up and down the table as he thought about the other day.  
"(what was I thinking? Why'd I say Diamond's name out loud? Now everyone's gonna get suspicious.)"  
His mind raced back to 5 years ago.  
"Diamond! Look Out!"  
"AHH!"  
"Diamond! DIAMOND!"  
Marble snapped back to reality and shook his head. "I was hoping I buried that." he groaned as he held his head.

Pinkie also thought back to that day as she laid in her bed, holding a pillow close, but was thinking about something else.  
"(we kissed? It was a accident but we kissed. His lips felt… so soft. And the way he looked at me… oh, boy. My heart's beating a mile a minute just thinking about it. Maybe… I'm falling in love… with Marble?)"

Spike grunted as he pushed against the rock for the umpteenth time. He had been at it for a whole but it didn't budge a inch.  
Spike stopped and panted. "man. This is heavy."  
"I know." Sweetie Belle dreamily said, still watching him with bright eyes.  
Spike took notice of this and got curious. "eh… you okay, Sweetie Belle?"  
"Yeah… I'm more then okay…" she dreamily said.  
Spike raised a eyebrow in confusion. The door opened as Rarity walked in carrying a saddle-bag filled with groceries. "Spike? What are you doing here? And why's that rock in here?"  
Sweetie tried to choke Rarity with her mind but kept up a silent pleasant front.  
"Rarity? Sweetie Belle said you were gonna be gone all day. And as for Tom…"  
"Tom? The rock Discord made me think was a Diamond? What of it?"  
"well, Sweetie Belle said you moved to sculpting and were trying out on Tom."  
"Sculpting? I'm not doing sculpting. I just went out to get groceries."  
Both looked to Sweetie Belle, or rather where Sweetie Belle was as she was long gone.  
"why do I have the feeling that this was her fault?" Spike asked, still looking where Sweetie was.  
"because it probably was." Rarity sighed. She looked around Tom and found the wedges she put beneath it. "yep. This was her doing." she used her magic to hold the wedges up for Spike to see.  
"no wonder it was taking forever for me to move this thing; Sweetie Belle made sure it wouldn't move." Spike kicked the boulder. This time, it worked and it was went rolling right out the door. They both leaned to see the boulder run right into a stand, instantly destroying it. Both Spike and Rarity winced when the stand turned into splinters. "sorry." Spike called out.  
"guess you gained quite a bit of strength when you grew up." Rarity said. Spike shrugged in agreement and chuckled. Rarity noticed a wound on his left hand. "oh, Spike, you're hurt."  
"huh?" Rarity pointed to it. Spike looked and found it. "oh. When did that happen?"  
Rarity used her magic to pick up the saddlebag and set it down. "Come on. I'm sure I have something to help with that."  
"it's no big deal, Rarity. It's just a scratch."  
"I insist." Rarity walked off. Spike slowly followed, still insisting that it's nothing.

Sweetie Belle repeatedly hit her head against a wall in her room.  
"damn, damn, damn, damn!" she yelled. "why did Rarity have to show up now of all times?! I was SO CLOSE! Damn it, Rarity!"  
She glanced to the side and found some child's paint. "hmm… that gives me an idea."

Rarity wrapped a bandage around Spike's wounded left hand with her magic.  
"I still can't place where I got this scratch. Don't even remember scratching my left hand."  
"This things happen, Spike. I mean, I get scratches all the time and I don't know where I get them."  
"speaking of which, I'm sorry for scratching you when I turned into a teen."  
"you told me that a thousand times already and I said you have nothing you have to apologize a thousand times. Trust me, it's okay. You weren't in control of yourself. As Aura would put it, you were spazzing out of control."  
"I know, I know."  
"you should really learn to let stuff like that go."  
"I'm sorry. I'm just like that when it's with ponies I love."  
"I can bet. Twilight and the others, myself included, are lucky to have a friend like you."  
Spike's chest tightened. Friend? He didn't want to be a friend. He wanted something more with her. "r-right."  
Rarity stopped bandaging the hand and cut off the cloth. "there we go. All fixed."  
"Thanks."  
Rarity smiled and turned to put the bandage up. She stepped onto a roller-skate and fell back. Spike was able to catch her. "Dang it. I kept telling Sweetie Belle to put her toys up." Rarity shook her head at it. She looked up at Spike and felt weird. "I mean she… she…"  
The light was hitting him just right, making him look dashing. The light was also hitting Rarity just right, making her look like a angel in Spike's eyes.  
"she… doesn't matter right now…" Rarity dreamily said as she looked into his eyes.  
They both closed their eyes as their lips moved closer and closer to each other. They were just about to touch when…  
"AAAAHHHH!"  
Sweetie Belle let out a blood-curtailing scream, ruining their moment.  
"Sweetie Belle!?" Rarity called out, worried about her sister. She ran out to her, Spike not far behind.

The 2 ran into Sweetie Belle's room to find her covered in blood.  
"SWEETIE BELLE!" Rarity yelled in fear as she ran to her side. Spike followed not far behind.  
"Rarity… a Timberwolf… came in and…" Sweetie Belle couldn't find the strength to speak.  
Spike looked at Sweetie suspiciously as Rarity just blubbering. "it's gonna be okay, Sweetie Belle, it's gonna be okay. You'll be okay. You'll be okay."  
"un… Rarity…" Spike said, not even fazed by this.  
"why aren't you getting help, Spike? Sweetie Belle's dying!" Rarity cried.  
Spike walked over and kneeled over. "you want me to get help…" Spike wiped some of the 'blood' off of her back. "…for red paint?"  
"Paint?" Rarity took a sniff of the stuff on Spike's finger. Sure enough, it was paint. Both gave Sweetie Belle suspicious glares. Sweetie Belle chuckled nervously as her trick was revealed.

"unbelievable, Sweetie Belle." Rarity angrily said as she washed the paint off her sister. "What possessed you to do such a thing?"  
She wasn't speaking. She was staying tight-lipped on the whole subject.  
"forget about it, Rarity. I don't think she's gonna say anything." Spike said as she handed her a soap bottle. Rare took it and poured the whole thing onto Sweetie Belle's hair.  
"now you wash up. Me and Spike are going to clean the mess you made." Rarity got up and walked out behind Spike.  
Sweetie Belle snarled as she gave Rarity the evil eye and sank into the water.

Spike put a mop to the paint on the floor and began, well, mopping.  
"I have no clue what got into Sweetie Belle, Spike." Rarity said as she used her magic on a mop. "she never did that before."  
"maybe it's a phase. Give it time." Spike assured.  
"if you say so, Spike, but I'm worried about her."  
"you and me both." Spike stopped for a moment and thought for a moment. "do you want to get something to eat when we're done?"  
Rarity thought for a moment. "Sure. I'd like that."  
"Great. It's a date." he said. That caught Rarity off guard. "oh, man. I forgot to grab steel wool. It helps with paint." Spike got up and headed out of the room. "I'll be right back."  
Rarity stood there with surprise in her eyes. "a… date?" she touched her lips as she thought back to the kiss they almost had. Her mind also flashed back to the day Spike went on a greed-filled rampage and that she was the thing that snapped him out of it. "am I… special to him?"

Sweetie Belle heard all of what had transpired though a crack in the bathroom floor.  
"(RARITY! She's trying to steal MY boyfriend. Well, I'm gonna have to make sure their date goes bad. Spike is mine and mine alone!)"

our document here...


	46. Blossoming Love

Paste your docu

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Matchmaker

Chapter 4

Blossoming Love

Luna depressingly sat at the edge of her balcony, using her magic to spin a coin. This has been going on for 2 nights now and it's starting to make Celestia nervous.  
"what's wrong, Luna?" she asked.  
"*depressing sigh* nothing much, Tia."  
Celestia raised a eyebrow and adopted a harsh tone. "Lulu?"  
Luna gave in. "Fine." she stopped spinning the coin. "I just learned that Heart's and Hooves is in 12 days and… I don't have that special somepony to call my own."  
"oh. You're sad because you don't have someone to love. I can see how that can bring someone down."  
Luna scoffed. "Easy for you to say. You probably had suitors over the 1000 years I was moon-bound. Had to have been more then that Cosmos guy, right?"  
"y-yeah. Sure there was." Celestia stuttered. Truth be told, she had none. Her heart belonged to Cosmos and Cosmos alone but she didn't want to make this situation more sad. Although, that did give her an idea.  
"Say. That gives me an idea." Celestia snickered. Luna got both curious and fearful. "how about we find you a Colt or Mare?"  
"how? I'm a Princess. You need to be of high-upbringing to date or even marry a Princess."  
"I could've sworn I abolished that little ruling." Celestia muttered. "batabatabatabata. it doesn't matter now. We gotta find you your special somepony. Can't have you being depressed while your on duty, right?"  
"I guess."  
Celestia thought for a moment and remembered a trick. "I know something that may help you." Celestia turned to leave. "Follow me." she said as she left. Luna sighed as she got up and followed.

Trixie sighed as she tossed a coat onto the couch in her apartment and fell onto her bed, head first into the pillow.  
Zilver, who was reading a comic, looked up from his bed. "Everything okay, Trixie?"  
"no. everypony has some special for Heart's and Hooves day and I have no one. And it turns out there's not as many Filly-Foolers in Ponyville. So far, it looks like Vinyl, Octavia, Lyra, Bonbon, and a few other's are the only ones in town and they're all taken. Everyone else is straight or taken."  
"then broaden your horizons. Go to…" Zilver tried to think of a good place. "Canterlot. There's bound to be one of two Filly-Foolers there."  
Trixie sighed as she looked out to the stars and the moon. "Guess I could give it a try. Better then doing nothing."

Celestia lead Luna into her quarters. Celestia went to her bookcase as Luna just sat on a pillow.  
"okay, Tia. What oh so magical plan do you have for me to get a special someone?" Luna sighed.  
"well, for starters, look at me." Celestia said. Luna rolled her eyes and turned to Celestia. Using her magic, Celestia took off her crown, her necklace, and those… things on her hooves; slippers, shoes, whatever.  
Her body glowed and shrinked right in front of Luna, surprising Luna quite a bit. The glow stopped and a much different Celestia stood in front of her. Celestia is now the size of a normal pony but still has the horn and wings and her mane stopped moving and turned pink.  
Luna was shocked by this new look. "Celestia…"  
"surprised, no? I discovered this about 400 years ago. Turns out a majority of our powers are connected to our attire."  
"like our looks?"  
"indeed. With them off, we can look the same as we did 2000 years ago."  
"As we did…" Luna looked down at her necklace. "2000 years ago?"  
Luna thought for a moment about it. She used her magic and took them off.  
A glow engulfed her and shrunk her to the size of a normal pony. Her flowing mane was gone and just turned light blue. "wha… this is the same as my day form." Luna pointed out.  
"True, but nobody's seen that since Twilight and her friends broke Nightmare's hold over you. Ask me, how many people have seen you in your day form since you came back?"  
Luna thought it over. "mmm… Nopony, I guess." Luna looked at herself in the mirror. "though I think Twilight and her friends will recognize me."  
"True." Celestia looked her room over. A light bulb went off in her head. She grabbed a lily with her magic, enchanted it, brought it over to Luna. "put this in your hair." Luna shrugged as she used her magic to put the lily in her mane. The lily gave off a soft glow and turned Luna's dark-blue body light-blue and her hair white. "don't think anyone will recognize you now… Lily." Celestia said with a hint of playfulness.  
"wow. Guess this will work." Luna… I mean Lily said as she looked her body over in front of the mirror. "now I just resemble Luna rather then being Luna."

The next day…

The train from Ponyville rolled into Canterlot's station and hissed to a halt. Trixie was among one of the first one's off.  
"okay. A new city, a new chance at love." she told herself as she looked up at one of the towers. "hopefully there is a single Filly-Fooler in this town." she took a deep breath and walked into town.

Luna looked down at the streets of Canterlot from atop a tall tower. Celestia stood right beside her.  
"I don't know about this, Tia." Luna gulped as she rubbed her necklace.  
"you want to find that special somepony, right? Well, can't think of a better town then this." Celestia said. "besides, nobody ever fell in love without being a little brave."  
Luna blinked and looked back down to the bustling streets. "Guess you're right."  
Celestia lightly tapped Luna's shoulder. Luna looked at her sister and smiled. Celestia smiled back. "now get out there and find yourself a nice Mare or Stallion."  
Luna looked down and slowly nodded. Using her magic, she took off her accessories and put in the flower, transforming her into Lily. "here goes." Luna breathed. She spread her wings and flew on down  
Celestia smiled as she teleported back to the castle.

Zilver snored underneath a apple tree when A.J. walked up and kicked him in the shins.  
"Ow!" he shouted, rubbing his shins. "what was that for?"  
"For sleeping on the job, Zilver." A.J. scolded.  
"I wasn't sleeping. I was resting my eyes." he grunted as he got up.  
"Call it what you like but sleeping is sleeping."  
Zilver rolled his eyes. "you gonna keep going on this?"  
"yes I am, Zilver. Cause you need to learn how to be responsible. You can't just keep living life, hoping something good will happen every time you open that mouth of yours."  
Zilver got angry and opened his mouth to speak.  
*one quick-wipe later*  
"how did we end up here?" Applejack asked as both she and Zilver laid in her bed, hair and sheets messed up.  
"I honestly have no clue." Zilver said.

Rarity and Spike laughed in the middle of a restaurants outdoors area as he told a joke.  
"And then… and then…" Spike stopped as he tried to think of the rest of the joke. "oh, dang it, I forgot the rest of the joke."  
Rarity hiccupped. "It was still funny." Spike laughed at her hiccupping. Rarity took a drink of water, stopping the hiccupping. "I had a good time, Spike. This was a great idea."  
"Thanks." Spike tapped his fingers on their table for a moment. "listen, if you're not doing anything later tonight, would you like to have dinner?"  
"Dinner? You already bought lunch." Rarity started to get curious. "what's this really about?"  
"nothing. I just want to pay you back for the 2 years you were nice to me. And I was… I was…" Spike started choking up. Rarity softly smiled. She instantly knew where he was going though it and liked it. "oh, forget it. Never mind. Just meet me at Lookout Hill tonight at 8, okay?"  
Curious as to what he has plan, Rarity nodded in agreement.  
Sweetie Belle saw this from behind a bush and growled before storming off.

Marble sat alone alone, looking at a picture of him and several other ponies. His attention was focused on a Pegasus.  
"Diamond! Look out!"  
"Ahh!"  
"Diamond! DIAMOND!"  
Marble shook his head as he tried to get the memories out.  
"Someone you know?" Pinkie asked from outside his room.  
"n-no. not anymore." Marble put the picture away. Pinkie looked at where he put it and committed it to memory. "y-you want something, Pinkie?"  
"un… (I want to talk about the kiss from the other day) …nothing. Nothing at all." Pinkie left as quickly as she came in. Marble's face twisted in curiosity.  
Pinkie hit her head against a wall in her room. "Stupid. This should've been easy." she plopped down on a beanbag and starting thinking; first it was a plan to find out who was in that picture but it switched to a episode of G1 MLP.

"Dang dang dang dang!" she yelled with each step inside Carousel Boutique. "Dang Rarity, swooping in and stealing my guy. He deserves a real pony, not some mascara wearing dingbat."  
Sweetie hit her head against a wall. The force shook open a small trapdoor, forcing a small black book to fall out. Sweetie noticed it and picked it up.  
"what's this? Rarity's address book?" Sweetie opened it up and flipped though it. "there's Applejack, Lyra… Blueblood!? Guess that was when she was still fawning over him." she flipped another page and found a familiar name. "oh. Fancy Pants." she quickly thought up a devious plan. "I think Rarity needs to go out of town for awhile."

Applejack buttoned on a pretend shirt, then remembered that she doesn't wear shirts and stopped as Zilver stuttered.  
"I'm… still not sure how we got here." Zilver said.  
"me neither." A.J. said. "but we never speak of this to anyone ever again."  
Zilver nodded in agreement. They won't admit it but they had a good time. This won't bite them in the ass, right?

Edge, back in his Changeling form, struggled to get a pair of socks off.  
"Edge? What happened?" Fluttershy asked as she walked into the living room of her cottage.  
"some pranksters did this to me while I was resting under a tree. don't worry, nobody saw the true me."  
"I should hope." Fluttershy flew over and started helping him take the socks off.  
"Thanks. Next time I see those foal's, I'm gonna deck them good."  
"don't hurt them." Fluttershy suddenly blurted. "I'm sure they were just having fun."  
"yeah, some fun." Edge sarcastically said. "some mares were even making googliy eyes at me. Turns out socks are quite the turn-on for some ponies."  
"I never figured out why." 'Shy said as she took off the last one.  
"neither will I." Edge got up and put on his pony disguise. "and I just remembered I forgot something. Be right back." he flew on out.  
Fluttershy looked at the socks, wondering who would consider these turn-on's. she tossed them into the garbage.  
Edge returned, carrying a small box.  
"Edge? What is this?" she curiously asked.  
"a gift for you; for helping me out when I needed it." he replied.  
Fluttershy took it and opened it. Simple yet elegant music began playing out of it. "A music box?" she gasped in surprise.  
"yeah. Rainbow Dash told me how much you liked them and I saw that you had none so, I figured, 'hey, get the girl who healed you a music box. That'll cheer her up.' did it?"  
"that it did, Edge. Thanks for the gift." Fluttershy closed it and set it down on one of the shelves. "I also have a present to give to you but I'm afraid it's not ready yet,"  
"it's okay. I can wait. I ain't gonna be leaving for quite some time."  
"Why not?"  
"why not? Ponyville- no no no, every town in Equestria is just overflowing with love. I ain't gonna be leaving, not when one of the biggest romantic holidays is nearing. I'm gonna feast till I pop."  
Fluttershy chuckled as she shook her head. "just don't go overboard. Remember that some ponies need love more then you."  
"I know, I know."

Twilight sleepily sighed as she woke up from a nap.  
"man. Being pregnant makes you tired a lot." she joked as she got out of her bed.  
She walked downstairs to get a glass of water to see Halo looking though some maps. "Halo? What are you doing?"  
"just going though the maps again, checking to see if I missed something."  
"you double-checked and triple-checked them. I told you, there is no map of the Everfree Forest. You're going to have to talk to Zecora if you want one."  
Halo sighed as he rolled up the maps. "Fine. Guess I'll have to ask her. But you're gonna have to show me where she lives."  
"sure." Twilight turned to enter the kitchen but stopped. She glanced back to Halo. She wanted to say something, anything, but didn't. she just walked into the kitchen, quietly crying.  
Halo heard the crying and set the maps down. "what am I doing?" he sighed. He rubbed his hooves over his eyes and sighed again. His heart was aching for not doing anything. He wanted to do anything, he wanted to say his feelings to her, but just couldn't. his nervousness was overpowering everything else in him.

Trixie sighed as she sat on a bench beside a fountain. "town of 4000 and they're all taken. I have the worst luck." she looked up to the sun, seeing that it was nearing 3 o'clock. "maybe I should try San Fransiscolt."  
On the other side of the fountain, Luna… I mean Lily, sat on a bench on the opposite side. "man. Who knew love was hard" she sighed. "and who knew companions were mares who offered… special loving?" she shivered at the memory. "Celestia really let some things slide."  
Both got up and walked to the southern exit of the fountain park, both having giving up on finding someone to love in this town.  
A dove's feather flew down from nowhere and landed right in their paths. Both walked over to grab it, not even noticing each other. Both reached to grab it… and their hooves met.  
Both looked up at each other and their eyes met. It was love at first sight as both turned a dark shade of red.  
"h-hi." Trixie nervously said.  
"hi." Lily replied in kind.

Zilver washed his hooves for the 10th time in his apartment when the main door closed. He peeked out to see Trixie humming up a tune as she pranced about the room.  
"I take it it went well?" he asked as he dried his hooves off.  
"more then well, it went great." Trixie dreamily said. She spun around once and fell back onto her bed. "I met the most beautiful mare; she's more beautiful then Twilight." she grabbed a pillow and held it close. "Her name's Lily and we really hit it off. she's got the most dreamy eyes and the most amazing laugh and…"  
Zilver chuckled. "sounds like you got hit by more then one arrow of love."  
"yeah. My Lilypad." she dreamily sighed.

Luna danced in the main ballroom while singing 'once upon a dream.'  
"Sounds like you had fun." Celestia said, watching her dance.  
"yes I did. I met the most AMAZING Unicorn. Her name is Trixie and she is just SO BEAUTIFUL!"  
Celestia playfully chuckled. "First love is always the best. I felt the same with Cosmos."  
"now I finally get all those sappy romance songs." Celestia chuckled as she shook her head and started to leave as Luna began to sing the song again. " I hold you the way you did, once upon a dream. I hold you… "

Celestia walked out of range of Luna's singing and sat down at a balcony. A white rose appeared beside her. She took it and held it close to her heart. "I'll find a way to save you and Erys, Cosmos. I swear with all my love." Celestia looked up to the rising moon, hopeful that someday, she'll see him again.

ment here...


	47. Problem

Paste your document h

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Matchmaker

Chapter 5

Problem

Trixie lovingly sighed as she played with a flower lily in the library.  
"Never saw you this love-struck when you were pining after me." Twilight joked.  
"that's because I wasn't this much in love. Oh, Lily is so lovely. She's so beautiful, kind, caring…"  
"that's ¾ of the pony population." Requiem joked. Trixie's response was a ball to Req's head, without breaking pose or character.  
"so… when do we meet this Lily?" Halo asked.  
"I don't know. We were so smitten, we didn't think that far ahead."

Spike skipped on up the walk-way to Carousel Boutique with a smile on his face and flowers in his hands. He took a big whiff and smiled. "(This is great. I keep this up and Rarity will be my marefriend. And that surprise I have planned for tonight is sure to win her heart.)" His left hand hurt again. He put the flowers in his teeth and rubbed the blisters. "I should've put some aloe on before I left."  
He knocked the door before entering. "hey, Rarity. You want to-" he stopped to see her lying on the floor with a wet mane and tail.  
"oh, hey Spike." Rarity called out as she normally would. Spike stuttered humorously. "you're probably wondering why I'm on the floor." Spike nodded like a puppet. "well, I just got out of the shower and found that I didn't have any towels handle so I came down here to grab some but I slipped and twisted my ankle." Spike babbled like a idiot. "Are you okay?"  
"I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I…" Spike shook his head. "I'm fine. We should probably do something about that ankle." Spike put the flowers down and picked Rarity up.  
"Thanks." Rarity rested her head on his chest and snuggled in. "I'm so lucky to have a friend like you."  
Spike's heart sank a bit when she said friend. "no prob."

Luna lovingly hummed as she brushed her mane.  
"guess this Trixie really got you good." Celestia said, watching from the doorway.  
"oh, she's got the most wonderful sense of humor. Did you know she's a traveling performer?"  
"Really?"  
"well, was. Her wagon was destroyed so she's staying in Ponyville with her brothers."  
"oh."  
Luna stopped brushing for a moment and thought about a big question. "Tia…"  
"hmm?"  
"is it… weird that I'm in love with a mare."  
"no. it's not. Half of the couples out there in Equestria are Filly-Foolers." Luna cocked her head, wondering what that means. "Mares who love Mares."  
"oh. You'd figure with a name like Filly-Foolers…"  
"I know I know I know. I didn't choose the name."  
Luna chuckled. Her mind went back to Trixie who, in Luna's mind, is lieing down in a seductive pose.

Rarity dried off her mane as Spike bandaged her rear left ankle.  
"thanks, Spike. Huh, I bandage your left hand and now your bandaging my left ankle."  
Spike gave a gasping chuckle. "irony." Rarity nodded. Spike finished wrapping the ankle.  
"thanks, Spike."  
"my pleasure." Spike put the bandages up and spotted a bag on the floor. "what's with the luggage?"  
"oh, I'm going to Canterlot for the day. Fancy Pants wants to talk business."  
"Fancy Pants?" Spike tried to hold back laughter. "What kind of name is Fancy Pants?"  
"don't laugh. He's a kind and sophisticated pony, unlike a certain prince."  
"if you say so." Spike choked, still trying to not laugh.  
Rarity rolled her eyes. She got up with a noticeable limp. She used her magic to grab a sunhat and hover it beside her. "well, better hurry. I'm supposed to meet him at noon." she walked to the door. "mind grabbing my bag, Spike?"  
"Already got it." he said as he walked after her, carrying the bag.

The door to Marble's room creaked open.  
Pinkie poked her head in. she looked around the room to see if the coast is clear. It was. She tip-toed in and closed the door behind her.  
"Okay. Where did Marble put that picture?" she muttered to herself. She went back into her memories (literally) and remembered that Marble put the picture under a flower pot. She tip-toed over and carefully lifted it up. Using her teeth, she bit down on the very tip and pulled it out. She set the plant down and zoomed on over to a covered window. She furled it up and took a look at the group-shot of 4 different ponies.  
"that must've been Marble before the coat, glasses, and emo personality." she compared both looks, her eyes ringing like a pinball machine. "Current Marble's cuter." she flipped the picture over and saw names on the other side. Diamond's name fell under a Pegasus mare around Marble's. "so… is Diamond a ex-marefriend? Did that kiss remind him of her?" she hoped not but that didn't stop that thought from sinking into her heart. "Celestia, I hope not." she looked at the words again and found that Diamond and the other 2 ponies lived with Marble in Manehatten.  
"maybe they can tell me what happened between these 2." she closed the curtains and tip-toed out of the room with the picture.

Spike walked to the boutique, having promised Rarity he'll keep an eye on it while she's away. He opened the door and walked in to see Sweetie Belle with one of the flowers he was going to give Rarity in her mouth.  
"Sweetie Belle?" he closed the door and picked up a cup of water he had set down earlier. "What are you doing?"  
"just being sexy for my favorite Drake." she said in a seductive tone.  
Spike spit up the water and coughed. "you're being what?!"  
"oh, brother." she spit the flower out and walked over. "Did Rarity make you that dense?" she brushed her hair out of her face and suddenly kissed him.  
Spike went wide-eyed and muffled yelled as he pushed her away. He spit out the kiss and wiped his lips. "Are you crazy!?"  
"yeah. Crazy in love for you."  
Spike gave a sighing scoff as he brushed his spines. "Sweetie Belle… I'm in love with Rarity. You know that."  
"so? I love you too."  
"b-but you're younger then me. A lot younger."  
"no, I'd say we're about the same age. You just look older. Besides, Rarity doesn't love you like I do."  
Spike scoffed. "Yes she does."  
"are you sure?" Sweetie insisted. "did you read the letter that came for her?"  
That drove a nail into the 'Rarity doesn't love me' coffin. He shook his head 'no'. Sweetie walked back to grab a letter. Sweetie Belle grabbed it and brought it to him. Spike took it, eager to prove Sweetie Belle wrong, but what he read just added another nail to the coffin.  
'My Dearest Rarity.  
Your bewitching form haunts my night and day equally. We simply must meet and discuss our future. I shall wait for you in Canterlot.  
Fancy Pants.'  
Spike didn't want to believe it but it was there in black and white. "no. no no no. this is a fake. It has to be."  
"Tsk. I'm afraid it's real. And that ain't even the real hard-hitter." Sweetie said. Spike didn't want to know more but he felt like he had to. Sweetie Belle headed on upstairs, Spike not far behind.  
Back downstairs, a piece of paper fell out of one of the mannequin dresses and landed with the words facing up.  
'Rarity.  
I know this is unexpected but I have a business proposition for you. I would like to open a boutique modeled after your own in Canterlot. My Fiancée, Fleur Di Lis, was quite taken with your style and wants to open one of her own. Please come to Canterlot at your earliest convenience so we can discuss it.  
Fancy Pants.'

Zilver slept beneath a tree, just like last time, snoring up a storm. A.J. emptied a bucket of water on him. Zilver sputtered as he snapped awake. "What was that for?"  
"We need to talk. In private." she angrily said. Zilver, not wanting to have his life shortened, agreed.

Sweetie Belle lead Spike into Rarity's room. He sensed that nothing was off but his heart was telling him otherwise. "Okay. I'll bite. What?"  
Sweetie Belle pointed to the garbage can. Spike walked on over and peered in. what he saw just put in the final nail.  
In the garbage can was the Fire Ruby he had giving Rarity a week before his birthday and what had changed him back from his greed. He couldn't bear to look at it anymore. He unfurled his wings and flew out the window as fast as he could.  
Sweetie Belle ran to the window and watched him fly away. She couldn't help but worry. "Maybe I went too far." she winced as she used her magic to put the Fire Ruby back top of Rarity's dresser.

Applejack closed the barn door, giving her and Zilver time to talk.  
"we need to talk about what happened the other night." A.J. sighed.  
"I thought we agreed never to speak of it again."  
"Zilver…"  
"okay. Okay. So… what's the problem?"  
"well, ever since we… you know…" Zilver nodded in acknowledgement, knowing what she meant. "I…I couldn't stop thinking about you."  
Zilver felt honored. "well, thanks."  
A.J. smacked him in the back of the head. "not that way, you perv." Zil chuckled as she rolled her eyes. "well, I thought back to it and I was thinking and… every time I thought back to it, I kept thinking about you."  
"what are you getting at, Applejack?"  
A.J. took a deep breath. "I think I have the same thing that Twilight has for your brother."  
"what?" Zilver's eyes got tiny. "you mean… You're in love with me?"  
"I hoped not but… I couldn't stop thinking about you. I just… feel flustered around you, I have trouble breathing, my heart beats fast, I…"  
Zilver interrupted her with a kiss. "just shut up, okay?" A.J. leaned in to kiss again but Zil stopped her. "but… I'm not looking for a relationship right now. I got out of a pretty dicey relationship and I'm just not ready and…" Zil pecked her on the cheek and turned to leave. "…I hope you can understand."  
Zilver began to leave when… "There's more, Zilver." Zilver stopped and looked back to her. A.J. sighed as she said it. "I'm pregnant."  
That news hit Zilver like a ton of bricks. "you're p-p-p…" he couldn't say it. "you're preaaaa…" Applejack started to get annoyed. Zilver laughed as he fell backwards and fainted upon hitting the ground.  
"don't blame ya for doing that."

Halo sat on the bed at his apartment, not exactly eager to do this. Twilight walked in and closed the door. "you wanted to see me, Halo?"  
"Twilight. We need to talk." he said in a stern tone.  
"about what?"  
"About us."  
Twi got a little worried as she sat down. "w-what do you mean?"  
Halo sighed as he rubbed his eyes. "we both know you love me and nothing is going to change that and I… *Sigh* I hate to say it but I love you too."  
"well, if you feel that way, why are we having this talk?"  
"Cause I… I don't want to."  
"Don't want to?"  
"I know nothing about love and I'm worried about what will happen. Plus there's all that history between us such as Trixie and… Starlight."  
Twilight looked down at her pregnant stomach then back up at him. "So, what are you saying exactly?"  
"I'm saying…" Halo sighed. "I'm saying that you're probably better off being with someone else. I'm not suitable for you or anypony. I'm just… I'm sorry."  
Halo walked to the door and almost left but was stopped by Twi. She pulled him close and tearfully kissed him square on the lips. She broke it and sniffled. "at least… think about it." she tearfully said. She walked on out, leaving behind a confused Halo. Now he felt bad as his heart felt like it was being tightened in a vice.

A disoriented Zilver woke up to the distorted sound of Applejack's voice. "Zilver. Zilver." his vision and his voice eventually cleared up. "Zilver, you okay?"  
A dizzy Zilver got up. "I… I could've sworn you said you were pregnant."  
"I am." Zilver swooned but A.J. stopped him. "Okay, enough is enough, Drama Queen."  
"a-a-are you sure you're pregnant?"  
"well… no. all I know is I missed my p-"  
"Ah. Nobody needs to hear that."  
"right. Well, I also had butterflies in my stomach and felt sick every morning. Twilight told me she's going though the same things so I know it has to be that."  
"y-y-you sure it's that? M-m-maybe you just have the flu or something."  
Applejack sighed. "well, we'll know next week. I took this to the doc and he's checking to make sure I am or ain't with child."  
Zilver kept looking for a way out of this. "a-and you're sure I'm the father?"  
"you're the first pony I slept with so… yeah."  
Zilver held his head as he began to freak out. "no no no. I'm not ready to be a parent."  
"Neither am I! but we're gonna have to deal with this in one way or another."  
"Says you!" Zilver panted. "I'm outta here." he walked to the barn door and opened it.  
"Zilver! This is your responsibility too. You can't run away from this."  
Zilver sarcastically laughed. "watch me!" he said as he closed the barn door.

Shadow wrote his words down onto a piece of paper to give to Rainbow Dash. This was letter 22. The rejects littered the ground beside him.  
"dang it. How do I word this?" he groaned. He snapped and crumbled up the letter. He tossed it aside with the others.  
He looked up and saw Rainbow walk by outside, carrying a box on her back. Shadow put down what he was doing and ran out.  
"hey, Dash. What'cha doing?" he asked as he ran out of his apartment to join her.  
"hey, Shadow. Nothing much. Just gonna join Soarin' on a party." she then got overly cheerful. "he's gonna introduce me to Spitfire, Fleetfoot, and Rapidfire. I think he's trying to induct me into the Wonderbolts! I'm so excited!"  
"congrats. I know how hard you were wanting to get in."  
"AAAAAND…" Dash snickered. "… I think he's gonna move our relationship ahead."  
That hurt Shadow. "Relationship?"  
"yeah. We've been dating since we met. Maybe, after tonight, we'll move things to the bedroom."  
"oh. I see." a defeated Shadow looked away for a moment.  
"well, I gotta get going." Rainbow said as she unfurled her wings.  
Shadow turned to leave but stopped half-way. "Rainbow…" Dash stopped in mid-flight and looked down to Shadow. "(tell her. Tell her, you idiot. Tell her you love her.) I… I…" Dash cocked her head to the right, wondering what he was talking about. Shadow gave a defeated sigh. "I… want to wish you good luck."  
"Thanks." Dash called back before flying away.  
Shadow headed back to his place, defeated and sad. "(what would I have said? She was in a relationship with a celebrity. Guess some things…) were never meant to be."

Spike sat on the hill he had chosen to reveal his feelings to Rarity thanks to something he worked hard on. The sun had begun to set when he heard panting behind him. He looked to see Rarity running up the hill to him.  
"Sorry I'm late." Rarity panted. "but Fancy Pants and Fleur De Lis never shut up. They just kept on talking. Gobble gobble gobble gobble gobble." she chuckled. Spike didn't buy it. "so… what did you want to show me?"  
Spike took a deep breath and got up. "it doesn't matter now."  
"'doesn't matter now?' what are you talking about?"  
Spike turned and left. "why do you care?"  
A very confused Rarity ran out in front of him. "what are you talking about, Spike?"  
"I know you went to Fancy Pants so you can get back together with him."  
"What!? No no no. I went to see him because Fleur wanted to open up a copy of my boutique there and-"  
"stop lying!" Spike roared. Rarity stepped back in fear. Spike sighed as he looked to the ground.  
"Spike… what's going on?" Rarity asked.  
"it's too late now." he softly said. "you already stomped on my heart and shattered it to pieces. Can't believe I went out of my way to make it." he unfurled his wings and took off. Rarity looked up in confusion.  
"What is he talking about?" she wondered as she sat down, looking in the same direction. She then saw what Spike was looking at. She held her hooves to her mouth as tears began to form in her eyes. "oh. Oh, no…" she gasped. She fell forward to her hooves, which shook rapidly as tears fell. "Spike…"  
Across from her, made out of shaped rocks, were words that read:  
'you will be in my heart eternally, my one and only love.'

ere...


	48. Pinkie & Marble: Memories of the Past

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Matchmaker

Chapter 6

"wow. Zilver really said that?" Ash asked. The humans gathered at Orion's engine room when they learned of what had transpired hours earlier to the guys.

"yep. The Scumbag said that he was gonna have nothing to do with Applejack or their foal." Aura angrily said.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"yeah, but Spike and Rarity have a big problem." Ash said. "thanks to Sweetie Belle and her love for Spike, there's a chance that their relationship is over and done with before it began. And he had such a good plan to win her love."

"well, you haven't keep keeping an eye on Shadow." Satoshi said. "he's in love with Dash but since she's going out with Soarin', he's keeping his feelings bottled up. Eventually, they're gonna explode out."

"well, Twi and Halo are reaching a breaking point. Literally. I think if they don't talk soon, they won't have a chance to reconcile this." Req muttered.

"well, me, Bahamut, and Sora can safely say we don't have to worry about this." Jax said as she leaned back.

"aren't you guys lucky?" the rest sarcastically replied.

"but seriously, we need to do something for them.' Sora said. "If not, this could cause a lot of damage to them."

"especially Starlight." Req added. "If a expectant mother gets under a lot of pressure, it can have very bad consequences on the baby. I'm glad Jess was strong willed when she was pregnant."

The gang looked at each other and nodded. "well, I can't believe I'm saying this, but… Requiem, time to unleash the romance monger."

Requiem disappeared for a moment and reappeared dressed as Cupid. "I'm ready to go to work." she jokingly said. A arrow tipped with the heart symbol fell out of the plastic bow she held. Everyone gagged at the outfit and instantaneously came up with the same reaction:

"Lose the outfit!"

Pinkie & Marble

Memories of the Past

Pinkie copied the address from the back of the group-shot photo of Marble, Diamond, and 2 other ponies onto the front of a envelope.

Sora walked in to see her hard at work. "Pinkie? What are you doing?"

Pinkie yelped and tried to hide the photo but noticed it was Sora. "oh. It's just you. Knock next time."

She went back to work, leaving a confused Sora in the doorway. "un… okay." she walked in and looked over Pinkie's shoulder. "sooooooooo… what are you doing?"

"you know how Marble said that name back at the picnic, Diamond?"

"un… I think so. Why?"

"well, I found a picture of him with that Diamond character and 2 other ponies." Sora grabbed the picture and looked at it. "Turns out Diamond was a female Pegasus. So I'm writing to her to see if she's his marefriend or not."

"why would you care?"

Pinkie stopped writing and sighed. "because I think I'm in love with him."

"in love!?" Sora exclaimed. Pinkie shushed her. "sorry." Sora whispered. "why?"

"well… ever since that accidental kiss back at the picnic, my heart's been beating like crazy, whenever I tried to sleep he always appears in my eyes, my hooves get sweaty…"

"mmm-hmm-hmm-hmm. Sounds like puppy-dog love to me. And what does this have to do with Diamond?"

"well, I think she's Marble's marefriend, or Ex, which I'm hoping… ah…I don't care. I just need to know."

Pinkie went back to writing as Sora thought. "huh. Usually, you're just a random-sprouting crazy pony, but now, you're serious, And that's only because you're in love. I'm afraid to see what you'd be like if you got pregnant." she shivered at the thought. "scary." Pinkie put the letter in the envelope and closed it. "you know it's going to take at least a week for one of these 3 to respond, right?"

"I know. Maybe by then, I can get him to open up and tell me himself."

"_Diamond! Run!"_

"_AAHH!"_

"_Diamond! DIAMOND!"_

Marble gasped as he woke up from that horrific nightmare. "dammit. Why won't those memories leave me alone?" he grunted in pain and hit his bed. "Why wasn't I able to save her?"

"thank you for coming to Sugarcube Corner! Please come again!" Pinkie said in her usual over-the-top manner as a customer left. Once he was out of hearing range, Pinkie went back to anxious and sad mode. "why is it taking so lone for them to reply?"

"it's only been a week, Pinkie. Give them time. They may not even live in Manehatten anymore." Sora replied.

"I know. But the wait is killing me. When he gets down here, I'm gonna ask him just who Diamond is."

"what? No no no. wait for the reply. Then you'll find out and go back to being the happy-go-lucky pony we all know and love."

a very groggy Marble walked down from above. A highly-hyper Pinkie appeared in front of him. "hi, Marble. How ya feeling?"

"like crap." he groaned. He plopped his head down at the counter and sputtered.

Pinkie looked to Sora and nodded. Sora shook her head and mouthed 'no' but Pinkie went with it anyway. "So, Marble… I just have to ask. Who's Diamond?"

Marble angrily sighed. "why do you care?"

"well, ever since you said her name back at the creek, I-"

"how do you know Diamond's a girl?" a angry Marble asked.

"let me finish. Ever since the creek, I was wondering who Diamond was so… when you weren't home, I snuck into your room and took the picture you were looking at, copied it's address, and sent letters to the other 3 ponies in the picture."

"you what!?" Marble got even more angry to the point of blowing his gasket.

"I just want to know who Diamond was, if she was your ex-marefriend."

"Why?"

"because… because I care about you. I want to help. I like you, Marble. I… I'd go as far to say I love you."

Marble just stood there, taking all that she said in. Sora knew what was gonna happen and backed up. Pinkie watched her back up as Marble gave a slight chuckle.

"hehehehehehehehe…"

"Marble? Are… you okay?"

"yeah. Yeah, I am okay." Pinkie breathed a sigh of relief. Marble, however, was just getting started. "I'm just a bit peeved that you broke into my room, rifled though all my stuff, and basically put a knife in my back!"

"w-what?"

"First, let's start with the fact that you broke into my room. You're lucky that I'm not calling the cops for Breaking and Entering!" Pinkie back up in fear as Marble walked closer to her. "and then there's the invasion of privacy. You broke into my room and stole my photo and wrote to my friends WITHOUT my consent."

"I-I was worried about you. I only wanted to help." a fearful Pinkie said.

Marble scoffed. "worried about me? Only wanted to help? If I want someone to look out for me, I'd ask them, Diamond!"

Pinkie exclaimed when she heard it. "there! You just said her name again!" Marble did hear it and growled.

"listen well, Pinkie. Stay out of my personal life!" Pinkie fell back and crawled into a wall. "no, in fact, stay out of my life! Just stay away from me! Don't talk to me, don't look at me, don't even breath near me!" Marble walked to the door and kicked it open. "As far as I'm concerned, you don't exist!"

A stunned and shocked Pinkie just sat there, her heart shattered by what he had told her. Her mane deflated as she went back to her depressed mode.

Sora, who just stood at the side-lines now wanting to get a full barrage of Marble's artillery, snarled. "why that son of a… I'll go talk to him." she walked out after him, leaving a uber-depressed Pinkie to herself.

Marble walked as fast as he could away from Sugarcube Corner. Sora followed not far behind him, ready to put him in his place. The Pegasus walked into a alley-way, which confused her but not stop her. She increased her speed so she wouldn't lose him.

Marble turned a corner. Sora hugged the wall as she neared the corner. She rounded it to see Marble leaning against the wall, his sunglasses off and on the ground, and himself softly crying. A stunned Sora stood there. It took Marble a few seconds to notice her.

His voice was quavering when he gathered himself. "un… S-Sora. Un…" he grabbed his glasses and brushed them off.

"were you crying?"

"no. no, I… I…" he put his glasses back on. "I got something in my eye."

Sora wasn't buying it. She then returned back to what she came to do. "why did you say all that mean things to Pinkie? All she did was try to help you and there you went, just shooting her in the heart. Why?"

Marble sighed. She wasn't gonna leave without a explanation. "you want the truth?" Sora nodded. "I did it… to protect her."

"Protect her?" Sora exclaimed in disbelieve. "I find that hard to believe cause what you said back there really hurt her."

"I know that! and I feel really terrible for doing it. But I had to do it."

"Why? What justified you yelling at her?"

Marble paused before replying. "it all leads back to 11 months ago, when I was…"

"the male version of Pinkie?"

Marble chuckled. "yeah. Guess I was. I was busy setting up a party for Diamond's birthday but I… I didn't know there was gonna be a storm."

"uh-oh." Sora muttered. She knew where this story was going. "what happened next?"

"the storm hit and it destroyed the whole thing. Diamond was… was…" Marble stopped right there. He didn't want to go any farther.

"is she okay?"

"I don't know. I left and moved in with my uncles on the other side of the city before I could learn what happened. But it didn't matter. Diamond was killed and it was because of me."

"oh, brother." Sora muttered. "I saw this a million times, Marble. Trust me, it wasn't your fault."

"but it was!" Marble exclaimed. "it was all my fault. And that's why I can't… I can't…" Marble shook his head, trying hard to say it.

"Marble…"

"anyone very close to me always gets injured! The farther away I keep them, the better. That's why Pinkie can never know I love her!" Marble unfurled his wings and flew into the air.

Sora groaned as she pinched her eyes. "great. Just great. I got 2 ponies who are in love with each other but one's stubborn personality ain't gonna let him do anything about it." she gave a groaning sigh and stopped pinching. "hope one of those ponies replies to Pinkie's letter soon. These 2 need help bad."

In the week following that mess, Pinkie and Marble have been distancing from each other more and more to the point that they aren't even seeing each other all day. It was quite depressing, which was odd considering this was Pinkie, the world's premiere Party-Pony. And it seemed like it was taking forever for the reply letter to get here. But, eventually, things have to come full circle.

Pinkie Pie, following the yelling Marble gave her, de-evolved back to her depressed mode, and we all know what happened there. This gained a level and is happening outside of town. "More Tea, Madame LeFlour?" The bag of flour just sat there, slumping over to the side. Pinkie just poured tea and talking like she did reply. "why, thank you. I think Caramel is cute as well."

"This is just TOO scary." Sora said, watching the insanity unfold. She walked away and sat down beneath a tree not far from Pinkie. She still had to keep an eye on her so she doesn't do anything crazy. "oh, brother." she sighed. "how did this happen? I tried to help but that ended up going in the crapper." she thought back to that botched plan and shivered.

A wheelchair rolled up with a pair of hooves hanging over the front. "excuse me. Do you know where I can find Pinkamena Diane Pie?"

Sora's head rose in confusion. "she used her whole name?" she asked herself in confusion. She looked and saw the pony in the wheelchair.

Insano Pinkie chatted with a pile of rocks as Sora walked up, pushing the wheelchair. "I should've warned you, she's gone a bit, un… cuckoo."

"it would've helped." she replied.

Pinkie's eyes moved to them in a scary fashion. "Hi, Sora." she said in a creepy tone. Sora and the other Pony gulped in fear. "you want cupcakes?"

"no, no. instead, I have someone to introduce you too. Pinkie, this is Diamond, the Pegasus Marble was going on about."

Pinkie's ears twitched. "D-Diamond!?" she dropped what she was doing, walked on over to her, and just broke down. She fell and cried into her lap. Diamond looked up at Sora who was as surprised as she was. "please. Tell me… what's wrong with Marble?" Pinkie cried.

Diamond, who was initially frightened at first, calmed down and brushed Pinkie's mane. "It's okay, Pinkie. It's okay."

"please tell her, Diamond. Seeing her like this is just heart-breaking." Sora said. "I know Marble told me that there was a storm on your birthday that caused him to change. What happened?"

Diamond lifted Pinkie's head and comforted her. "what's wrong with Marble?" Pinkie sniffled.

Diamond thought back for a moment. "it happened 11 months ago. My birthday party was going along great. Had my friends, family. It was turning into a great day. Least until the storm hit. It came completely out of nowhere. There were no storms scheduled for that time. Weird thing was… it originated from the nearby mountains."

"Diamond. Focus."

"right. Well, the storm just torn though the place and destroyed everything. A nearby scaffold buckled under the pressure and fell right on top of me, knocking me unconscious. When I came too, I found out that Marble left and that I was crippled. My wings and my hind legs were broken beyond repair; hence the wheelchair. I don't know what happened to him after that."

"I know what happened to him." Sora said. "he said that after the incident, he moved in with his relatives across town then, 3 months later, he came here, all depressed and emo."

"Why?"

"he thought that all that the storm had killed you. It left him with a terrible emotional scar that's still haunting him."

"I see." Diamond hadn't thought about that. "where is he?"

Marble is back in his room, suffering from the painful memories of that day.

"_Diamond! Run!"_

"_AHH!" "Diamond! DIAMOND!"_

Marble held his head as the memories flooded back. Someone knocked on his door, causing him to snap back. "Dammit! Leave me alone!" Sora opened the door and walked in anyway. "I told you go guy away!" he shouted.

Sora moved to the side, allowing Marble to get a good view at Diamond. He was shocked to see her, and alive for that matter. "Diamond?" she slowly nodded. Tears formed in his eyes as he broke down and cried up a storm. "I'm so sorry, Diamond! I'm so, so sorry."

Diamond rolled on over and hugged him. "It's okay, Marble. It's okay. Everything's gonna be okay." Marble kept on crying and she just let him.

"we should probably leave them alone." Sora said to the newly-revitalized Pinkie. She nodded. They both stepped out and closed the door.

"glad that we worked out that problem." Sora said as they walked down to the shop. "seems like just yesterday that you and he were depressed beyond repair."

"un… Sora. That was yesterday." Sora nervously chuckled as she scratched the back of her head. "but… I wish I knew what their relation was."

"AH!" Sora smacked herself in the head. "I knew I forgot to ask something."

The sound of footsteps followed them. They looked to see Marble coming down to them. He stopped a few steps up and panted. "Pinkie… I just want to say thank you."

"For what?"

"For helping me. And I'm sorry for yelling at you last week. Will you ever forgive me?"

Pinkie smiled and took his glasses. "of course I will, Marby." Marble smiled back and hugged her. She hugged back without hesitation.

"yay!" Sora exclaimed like a little girl, clapping her hands together. "everything's better now. Oh, and I know a good place to celebrate."

"what?" Diamond asked.

"there's this new place down the street called 'Electronic Symphony'. apparently, Vinyl and Octavia opened it up a couple of weeks ago."

"Vinyl and Octavia are back!?" Pinkie squealed.

"yep. And have been for quite a while now. How about we go. My treat?"

Later that day, at 8 o'clock, the 4 headed on over to the new Nightclub, which is one of the hottest new places in Ponyville right now.

A generic electronic song played on the speakers as they walked in to the crowded place. "whoa! This place is packed!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"busier then I thought." Sora muttered. She looked around and spotted a open table. "over there." she said. She wheeled Diamond over as Pinkie and Marble walked on over to it.

As soon as they took a seat, Octavia rolled on over. "Hey guys!"

"Octi!" Pinkie exclaimed. She hugged her, which surprised Octavia a bit. Marble pulled her off.

"Why'd you 2 leave FeatherTop?" Sora asked.

"Ah. Got boring. Even someone as sophisticated as me can get boring. Besides, I don't think a big cities a great place to raise a child."

"congratulations!" Diamond said.

Sora tried to connect how a Filly-Fooler can get pregnant if her mate is a girl just like her. Wait, does this world have… "how'd you get pregnant? Artificial insemination?"

"yeah."

Sora leaned on her right fist as she looked out into space. "They look backwater but are surprisingly advanced."

"When's the baby due?" a excited Pinkie asked.

"due? I just had it."

That got the group, minus Diamond, confused. "but… I don't… did she have a pregnant belly?" Marble asked.

"I don't know." Pinkie tapped the computer screen. "hey, Writer guy? Was she Preggers?"

Un… I don't think I should get into the story. Let's just say yes and move on.

"Okay."

Begin Song:  watch?v=rFV2riYeglA Pony Rock Anthem

0:00.

Pinkie exclaimed when this song came on. "Oh, this is my jam!" she exclaimed.

On the stage, Vinyl appeared in a torrent of smoke as Neon descended from the ceiling.

Pony Rock! Yeah! Woo! Let's go!

"That's a bit over the top, right?" Octavia asked.

"yep." Sora said.

"I told them.

0:29.

Vinyl and Neon:_ Scratch and Neon's in the club yeah, we're gonna have a good grab some pony now don't be 's our job to make you feel alright. (Clap your hooves!)Let's raise the roof, tonight's the 're gonna' party till the morning house is hot, the beat is just wanna' see you ...shake it! _

0:59.

Vinyl spun at her Turntable. Neon stood on the stage as a mike rose out of it in front of it.

1:14.

Vinyl and Neon:_ The name's Neon Lights and I wanna' see you shake it.I'm the host of this party and I'm glad you could make it.I've got the music that booms, show me what you've do your thing girls and flaunt that plot._

_On the dance floor is where we're keep moving to the beat and the beat I'll keep that's a promise, we're gonna' commit. _Hey, Vinyl Scratch! Spin that.

1:28.

Vinyl:_ Ayo what's up? I'm the other half of this my bass cannon set to max it's gonna' 's Pony Rock! (It's Pony Rock!)Yeah, so get them tails a-bouncing and get themhooves up in the air 'cause we are announcing it is-! _

1:44.

Sora danced in her seat, same with Diamond. Marble just sat there with a smile. He looked and saw that Pinkie had disappeared.

"where'd she go?" he muttered.

Vinyl and Scratch:_ Scratch and Neon's in the club yeah, we're gonna have a good grab some pony don't be 's our job to make you feel alright._

_Let's raise the roof, tonight's the 're gonna' party till the morning house is hot, the beat is just wanna' see you... shake it! _

2:14.

Pinkie suddenly appeared beside them both.

Pinkie:Everyday I'm partying!

"Pinkie!?" Sora, Diamond, and Octavia exclaimed in surprise.

Thought initially surprised by her sudden appearance, Neon and Vinyl kept on rockin' it in. in fact, they felt it would help this little song.

2:32.

Diamond moved her body to the beat then noticed that Marble had disappeared as well. She smiled, knowing full well where he went.

Pinkie:_ Put the lights on me. It's time for the only true party name's Pinkie Pie and I know you all missed hey, wait! There's room for 's get some balloons! (The pretty ones!)Let's turn up the bass! (Getting louder now!)Gummy's here with me! (He's rocking out!)Now it's a party! (With thanks to me!) _

2:46.

A pair of sunglasses flew though the air and landed on Pinkie's nose. Surprised with a smile, she looked back to see Marble standing there, glasses off and with a smile on his face.

"What about Diamond? I thought you loved her."

"of course I do." Marble slid on over and held Pinkie close. "what kind of brother doesn't love his sister?"

Pinkie smiled thought she breathed a sigh of relief inside; They were Siblings. Thank Celestia, huh?

"hey, Pinkie. Here's a silly question." he said in Pinkie style. He leaned in and kissed her. She went wide-eyed as Marble moved back. "will you be my special somepony?"

Pinkie smiled. She flipped the glasses and put them on. "of course I will."

Back in the crowd, Diamond smiled. Her brother finally moved on from his past. Sora and Octavia, however, danced together but not in a way that would make them look… together.

Vinyl:_ Get up. Get down. Put your hooves up to the up. Stomp down. Every pony hit the ground. (x2)Every pony hit the ground. (x2)Get up. Get down. (x2)Put your hooves up to the sound. (x2)Put your hooves up. (x4) _

3:16.

Marble, Pinkie, Vinyl, and Neon:_ Every pony's in the club 're gonna' keep on having a good got some help from Pinkie Vinyl Scratch and Neon-on-on Lights. _

3:32.

Marble and Pinkie did a 'remix' of ballroom dancing as they sang to the song.

Vinyl and Neon:

_Woah (x4) _

3:47.

Marble, Pinkie, Vinyl, and Neon:_ Everyday we're partying! _

Everyone partied on and partied hard as the night rolled on.

Outside, a fleet of new stars appeared in the night sky. One of them was a light pink.

4:21. End Song.


	49. Lyra & Bonbon: Starting a Future

Paste yo

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Matchmaker

Chapter 7

"wow. Zilver really said that?" Ash asked. The humans gathered at Orion's engine room when they learned of what had transpired hours earlier to the guys.  
"yep. The Scumbag said that he was gonna have nothing to do with Applejack or their foal." Aura angrily said.  
Everyone nodded in agreement.  
"yeah, but Spike and Rarity have a big problem." Ash said. "thanks to Sweetie Belle and her love for Spike, there's a chance that their relationship is over and done with before it began. And he had such a good plan to win her love."  
"well, you haven't keep keeping an eye on Shadow." Satoshi said. "he's in love with Dash but since she's going out with Soarin', he's keeping his feelings bottled up. Eventually, they're gonna explode out."  
"well, Twi and Halo are reaching a breaking point. Literally. I think if they don't talk soon, they won't have a chance to reconcile this." Req muttered.  
"well, me, Bahamut, and Sora can safely say we don't have to worry about this." Jax said as she leaned back.  
"aren't you guys lucky?" the rest sarcastically replied.  
"but seriously, we need to do something for them.' Sora said. "If not, this could cause a lot of damage to them."  
"especially Starlight." Req added. "If a expectant mother gets under a lot of pressure, it can have very bad consequences on the baby. I'm glad Jess was strong willed when she was pregnant."  
The gang looked at each other and nodded. "well, I can't believe I'm saying this, but… Requiem, time to unleash the romance monger."  
Requiem disappeared for a moment and reappeared dressed as Cupid. "I'm ready to go to work." she jokingly said. A arrow tipped with the heart symbol fell out of the plastic bow she held. Everyone gagged at the outfit and instantaneously came up with the same reaction:  
"Lose the outfit!"

Lyra & Bonbon  
Starting a Future

The sounds of a lute filled the air followed by some heavenly singing. Both sounds are originating from a certain emerald Unicorn, who sat beneath a tree. A certain vanilla Earth Pony walked on up to her, carrying a picnic basket.  
"hey there, cutie." Bonbon said with a smile.  
"hey, Bonnie." Lyra stopped her singing and put her lute down. Bonbon put the basket down. Lyra grabbed her Marefriend and pulled her close. "you are so cute, you know that?"  
"I know." the 2 kissed for a good minute before breaking. "so are you, Lyra."  
The two lovers kissed again and fell to the ground. They broke the kiss and just looked at each other.  
"I love you." they both whispered as they stared into each others eyes. Lyra brushed her girlfriend's hair out of her face and smiled.  
"Can we get to the picnic basket before it gets cold?" Bonbon asked.  
"oh. Right." Bonbon got up and walked on over to it. Lyra smiled and looked at her Marefriend's plot. "you got a nice booty, you know that?"  
Bonbon stuck one of her hooves in deep and kicked it up towards her. "perv." she chuckled.  
"I'm a taken mare. We're entitled to do it."  
Bonbon playfully chuckled as she walked over and opened the basket. She took out a bottle of wine then stopped. "Lyra."  
"yeah?"  
"how do you feel about kids?"  
"eh… they're all right. A bit loud and obnoxious but cute. Why?"  
Bonbon set the bottle down. "Lyra… I want to have a baby."  
Lyra went wide-eyed. "a baaa….. A bab…" she couldn't even say it. Bonbon rolled her eyes and hit her in the back of the head. "thanks. You want to have a baby? Why?"  
"well, seeing Derpy with Dinky the other day made me think about that. Having a baby helps make things complete. And remember what Derpy said? Dinky was the best thing to happen to her, even though she was a mistake. We would make good parents, right?"  
"yeah, but Bonnie. Babies are messy, they're loud, they're smelly. we'd be up all hours of the night. And did I mention they're messy?"  
"So's Roseluck when she's in her garden yet she's the same age as us."  
"sorry, Bonnie, but we aren't having a baby. End of story." Lyra took the bottle and took a couple of glasses out of the basket.  
Bonbon angrily shook her head. "you think you know somepony then something this happens."  
Lyra stopped and looked at her. "what's that supposed to mean?"  
"I don't know, Lyra. You tell me." Bonbon angrily asked. "since when do you decide what we can or can't do?"  
"listen to me, Bonnie. Kids are the worst. We'd be regretting doing this when the tyke is born. And the pregnancy. Oy, do you see do damage it's doing to Twilight's body?" Bonbon just got even more angry. "there's the morning sickness and as you get further along, it get's harder to move. And from what I head, Childbirth is one event you don't want to happen to your body. Ow!"  
"if that's trying to scare me, Lyra, it's not going to work. I want a baby."  
"And I don't."  
The 2 looked at each other, each with angry looks. "you better hope the couch is comfy tonight, Lyra, cause you're gonna be sleeping there for quite a while." Bonbon angrily sneered. She turned and walked off, kicking the basket behind her.  
Lyra angrily scoffed and threw the bottle down into the grass.

Bonbon angrily grumbled as she walked though town. "damn Lyra. Child hater. Who does she think she is, saying we can't have kids." she nearly ran into Marble, who stormed off into a alley-way. She almost got hit by Sora, who didn't notice her, but they avoided a collision.  
Bonbon looked up and saw that she had arrived at the fountain. She walked up to the fountain and looked in. she saw her angry reflection. Then, she felt guilty. "what am I doing, forcing this on her?" Bahamut walked up beside her. She noticed his reflection and sighed. "really not in a talkative mood, B."  
"is something wrong?" he asked.  
"It's Lyra. She's saying that she doesn't want to have kids. But I do."  
"1 in 5 couples always have this problem." Bahamut sighed. "I was too, unfortunately." Bonbon scoffed. "Listen, Bon, trying to force this on someone is never good for any relationship. Take it slow. Wait till she's ready."  
"I know, but I'm ready now. I wanted a child ever since I WAS a child. It's been something I wanted for a long time."  
"but is it something Lyra wanted?"  
Bonbon hadn't thought about that. She was so dead-set on this, she had forgotten about her feelings. "oh, crud. I am such a idiot. I should've have listened to her opinion, shouldn't I?"  
"Yep. And you better hope you didn't destroy your relationship with her."  
Bonbon walked away from the fountain and increased to a jog. "you and me both, Bahamut." she ran off to find Lyra, hoping she hasn't left.

Lyra, however, was on the other side of the fountain. The splashing water made it so she didn't hear it. She heard laughing behind her. She looked to see Twilight and Derpy talking and laughing.  
Derpy noticed Lyra and walked over. "Hey, Lyra. What's up?"  
"nothing that concerns you two." she angrily replied.  
Twilight and Derpy looked at each other, sensing something was wrong. "what happened?" they both asked.  
"Bonbon's been going on and on about us having kids. I don't want to because baby's are too much trouble. They're expensive, they're messy, they scream all though the night. And the baby-in-production process ain't exactly a good time. You 2 can agree with me on that."  
"well, I can agree that being pregnant ain't exactly a walk in the park…" Twi said.  
"See?" Lyra interrupted.  
"BUT there are some good aspects to it." Twi continued. "Top on the list would be that knowing that a new life is forming inside you is something you'd never replicate, no matter how hard you tried. It's… just something you have to feel yourself to understand."  
"That is true. And raising the child is great. I mean, you'd have to be heartless not to fall in love with something you made." Derpy explained. "remember when I said Dinky was a accident?"  
"And then you said that she was the best thing that happened to you, what of it?" a peeved Lyra asked.  
"I meant it. True, there were some bad parts but it's a great feeling. Like pregnancy, nothing can replicate it."  
Lyra thought for a moment. "so what you're saying is that all this can be a good thing?"  
"yeah." they both said.  
Lyra sighed. "guess I should've thought it over before I snapped at her."  
"uh-oh." both Twi and Derpy said again.  
Lyra thought up a perfect solution. "but I think I know a way to make up for it."

Bonbon looked all over Ponyville till the sun began to set. Then she started getting hopeless and desperate.  
"oh, Lyra. Where'd you go?" she worriedly wondered as she ran past the library.

Before long, a defeated and VERY worried Bonbon returned to the hill where she and Lyra had their fight. The bottle of wine was still there. She sat down and grabbed it. "Celestia, I was a idiot." she said to herself.  
She started to cry when the sounds of a lute and a heavenly voice filled the air. "Lyra?" she gasped. She looked up to see Lyra sitting under the same tree from this morning, doing the same thing she did.  
Lyra sang with her eyes closed, strumming her lyre to a wonderful tune. Bonbon closed her eyes and listened to the beautiful tune. It reminded her of the time they first met; 20 years ago in 3rd grade. She walked over and placed her head on Lyra's lap. She felt it but kept on singing.

Lyra stopped 3 minutes later. She slowly opened her eyes and saw Bonbon. "hey, cutie. Where were ya?"  
"looking for you." she looked up at Lyra's cute face. "listen, I was thinking. Maybe we don't need a kid right now. Maybe we can wait a few years before having one."  
"but I thought you wanted a kid since you were a kid."  
"I do. But if it's gonna tear us apart, I think we can wait."  
Lyra half-smiled. "well, I have quite a surprise for you." Bonbon looked up at her with puppy-dog eyes. "after our fight, I ran into Twilight and Derpy. They… told me about the good aspects of raising a child. Well, forced it down my throat would be a better way to put it. Anyway, after my talk with them, I went down to the fertility clinic."  
Bonbon went wide-eyed as she got hopeful. "Lyra… are you saying…?"  
Lyra bent down and kissed Bonbon on the forehead. "in 11 months, there's gonna be the pitter-patter of little hooves in our house."  
Bonbon gasped as she held her mouth. Her eyes got watery. "you are one odd pony, Lyra. And I love that about you. So, who'd you choose as the father?"  
"un… think the donor's name was Caramel."  
"oh. He's a nice pony. Strong farmer. Honest too. You choose good."  
"I know." Lyra look up and thought for a moment. "hey, Bonnie."  
"hmm?"  
"since I am willingly putting my body though this for you, how about we… consummate this?"  
"How?" Lyra got a pedo-smile going. Bonbon instantly knew what she was talking about. "OH!"  
"well?"  
Bonbon got up and kissed Lyra on the forehead. "you check the bedsprings. I'll get the whipped cream."

ur document here...


	50. Applejack & Zilver: Thinking ofthe Futur

Paste your do

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Matchmaker

Chapter 8

"wow. Zilver really said that?" Ash asked. The humans gathered at Orion's engine room when they learned of what had transpired hours earlier to the guys.  
"yep. The Scumbag said that he was gonna have nothing to do with Applejack or their foal." Aura angrily said.  
Everyone nodded in agreement.  
"yeah, but Spike and Rarity have a big problem." Ash said. "thanks to Sweetie Belle and her love for Spike, there's a chance that their relationship is over and done with before it began. And he had such a good plan to win her love."  
"well, you haven't keep keeping an eye on Shadow." Satoshi said. "he's in love with Dash but since she's going out with Soarin', he's keeping his feelings bottled up. Eventually, they're gonna explode out."  
"well, Twi and Halo are reaching a breaking point. Literally. I think if they don't talk soon, they won't have a chance to reconcile this." Req muttered.  
"well, me, Bahamut, and Sora can safely say we don't have to worry about this." Jax said as she leaned back.  
"aren't you guys lucky?" the rest sarcastically replied.  
"but seriously, we need to do something for them.' Sora said. "If not, this could cause a lot of damage to them."  
"especially Starlight." Req added. "If a expectant mother gets under a lot of pressure, it can have very bad consequences on the baby. I'm glad Jess was strong willed when she was pregnant."  
The gang looked at each other and nodded. "well, I can't believe I'm saying this, but… Requiem, time to unleash the romance monger."  
Requiem disappeared for a moment and reappeared dressed as Cupid. "I'm ready to go to work." she jokingly said. A arrow tipped with the heart symbol fell out of the plastic bow she held. Everyone gagged at the outfit and instantaneously came up with the same reaction:  
"Lose the outfit!"

Zilver & Applejack  
Thinking of the Future

"wow. Pregnant. That's gotta be weird for you, Sis." Applebloom said. Applejack carried a bushel of apples into the barn and set them down. "and should you even be working?"  
"I'm only a week Preggers, Applebloom. I can still work." the 2 walked on outside. "Besides, I remember Mama working clear into her 11th month with you."  
"Well, that explains my strong back." Bloom muttered. "but you ain't Mama, Applejack."  
"no, but I'm gonna be one."  
The 2 walked past Big Mac and Aura, both of whom were pumping a well with a tough pump. "and what about Zilver? Will he be helping with the kid?"  
Applejack angrily scoffed. "Zilver. That son of a Manticore ran off, not wanting anything to do with us."  
"he did what!?" Applebloom exclaimed. Both Aura and Big Mac overheard this and looked at each other.  
"I knew Zilver was lazy but I didn't know he would run off if things got bad. The next time I see him, you know what I'm gonna do?"  
"Show him one of Aura's 'special' tapes?" Applebloom joked.  
Big Mac looked at Aura with a big of a angry pout. "they're exercise tapes. I need to keep in shape." Aura truthfully said.  
"uh-huh." Big Mac replied.  
"no. no. I'm not that cruel." Applejack thought about what to do to Zilver if she ran into Zilver again. "think I'll just give him a good old-fashioned beat down."  
"be sure to bring me along." Applebloom said with a mean snicker.  
Applejack and Applebloom walked off, leaving Big Mac and Aura to talk about what this. "I never pegged Zilver as a pig." Aura muttered.  
"beg pardon?" Big Mac asked, wondering what he met by that.  
"It's a human expression and Zilver is a PRIME example of that. Though if Jess was here, she'd think of a even worse word to describe him." a light bulb went off over Aura's head, making him snicker evilly. "I got a pretty good idea on how to deal with him."  
"how?"  
"Zilver's always been one to skirt responsibility. So, we make him responsible."  
"how?"

"By getting me a Job!?" Zilver exclaimed as he stared up at the sign for the Moonlight/Sunlight Tavern.  
"yeah. It's perfect." Aura said. "listen, me and Mackie have been talking…" Big Mac comically looked at the screen when Aura said 'Mackie.' "…and we figured that as long as you are in town, you should help out. What better way to do that then with a job?"  
"b-b-b-b-b-b-but I don't know the first thing about a job. Halo always handled the money problems."  
"if you didn't have jobs, how'd you get paid?" Big Mac asked.  
"funding from the academy an…"  
Aura hit himself in the forehead with the palm of his hand. "Oh, that's right. I forgot Halo was a professor at a university."  
"Researcher at the Royal Academy of Science, genius." Zilver rolled his eyes. "but yeah, I never worried about that."  
"probably because you were a free-loader." both Big Mac and Zilver said. "now come on!" both pushed Zilver into the tavern.  
Zil stuck his hooves into the ground, grinding them both to a halt. "Hold it! Why should I get a job!?"  
"it's either that…" Aura cracked his knuckles as Big Mac hit his front hooves together. "…or get a beating."  
"do they have a opening for a bus boy?" Zil quickly turned and walked on in.  
"That actually worked?" both a stunned Big Mac and Aura said.

"…and once you picked them all up, you put the dishes here. The dishwasher will come out and deal with them after that. Got it?" the barkeep asked Zilver.  
"yeah. Yeah. I got it." a bored Zil replied.  
"good." he tossed Zil a apron, who barely caught it. "you start right now."  
Zil waited till his new boss was out of hearing range when he groaned. "those 2 are gonna pay for this."

Aura gave a mean chuckle as he and Big Mac walked back to the farm.  
"This plan will work, right?" Aura asked. "I mean, getting a job will teach him responsibility, right?"  
"I hope." Mac replied. "and hopefully that place will change his mind too."  
"About what, Applejack and the foal?"  
"yeeup. At night, it's one of the raunchiest places in town. But during the day…"  
"What, it's a kid friendly place?"  
"one of the best in town."  
Aura chortled as he looked back to the tavern. "oh, this is gonna be good."

Zilver sighed out of boredom as he wiped down a table. He had been working there for 3 hours already but nopony had come in during those 3 hours.  
"yeah, the days can be pretty slow. It's at night where we start getting the ponies rolling in." the barkeep explained.  
"great. Then I call day shifts."  
the barkeep rolled his eyes. The door jingled open. Both looked to see Octavia and Vinyl walk in with something covered in cloth on Vinyl's back. "Hey! If it ain't 2 of my fave performers." the barkeep said, sucking up. Zil rolled his eyes. "when did you 2 get back in town?"  
"about a couple of days ago." Octavia said.  
Vinyl put what she was carrying on a table. "what is that?" Zil asked.  
"this is our new son." Vinyl took the cloth off to reveal a baby basket underneath with a baby inside. "our little Electronic Symphony." she softly said, kissing him on the cheek.  
"a baby?" Zil said in surprise. "who… how… I didn't know that Filly-Foolers could get pregnant."  
"They can though fertility clinics." Octavia said.  
"but… who was pregnant? Neither of you 2 had a baby bump."  
"well, some mares don't show pregnant bellies. Haven't you seen that show 'I didn't know I was pregnant?'" Vinyl asked.  
Zil raised his hooves in defeat. " 'nuff said."  
Octavia rolled her eyes. "listen, Motif. Me and Vinyl need to go see the Mayor for something. You mind keeping an eye on Sym for us?"  
"Sure thing." the barkeep replied.  
Zil stuttered in confusion. "babababababa. Wait. Sure you want to leave your newborn here? In a tavern?"  
"it's fine, Zilver. Motif is the friendliest barkeep in the world and quite good with kids. Plus, he's a friend of Vinyl's father."  
A uneasy Zil wasn't so convinced. "oookay."  
"he's only a week old so he shouldn't be much trouble." Octavia kissed her sleeping son on the head. "we'll be back in a hour, at most."  
Vinyl and Octavia left, leaving Zilver alone with the baby. "uh… what am I supposed to do with this thing?"  
Motif's face distorted a bit. "really? You don't know how to take care of a baby?"  
"never met one before. Do they… eat meat?"  
Motif's eyes lowered a bit. "you're kidding, right?" Zil shook his head 'no'. "well, it's not all that hard. Come here." Zil shrugged and walked over. "welcome to 'Taking Care of a Baby 101'. my name is Motif and I'll be your instructor for the day." Zil rolled his eyes.

The manly duo returned to Sweet Apple Acres just as Applejack started to leaving, pulling a wagon of barrels.  
"where're you going, A.J.?" Aura asked.  
"taking down some cider to the Moonlight/Sunlight Tavern. They placed a big order, hence the wagon."  
"Need some help?" Big Mac asked.  
"naw. I got it. This pregnancy ain't gonna slow me down a bit." she said with confidence. With one tug, she set off for town. "(but raising the little tyke's gonna be a problem if Zilver doesn't help.)" she thought to herself with some worry.  
"hope she'll be okay." Aura said.  
Big Mac gave him a glance. "Ponies aren't tough on your planet?"  
"They are but, truth be told, you guys are the first ponies I met."  
"right." Mac chuckled. "whatever you say."  
The two walked to the barn to help Applebloom move some hay when Aura remembered something she said. "where did A.J. say where she was going?"  
"I think it was called the Moonlight/Sunlight Tavern."  
"Ah." Aura opened the doors and walked right in. "Why does that name sound familiar?"  
Tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick DING!  
"Zilver's there!" they both exclaimed in panic.

Electronic Symphony laughed as Zilver put on a puppet show for the little tyke.  
"this is easier then I thought." Zil laughed.  
"Told ya." Motif chuckled. "Sometimes being a parent is the best thing that can happen to you."  
"how do you know?" Zil asked.  
"I have 2 daughters; Berry Punch and Berry Pinch."  
One of Zil's eyebrows lowered in confusion. "think I know where that rumor came from." he muttered. He shrugged and went back to putting on a show for Sym.  
The doors to the tavern opened up. A.J. rolled a barrel of cider up to the bar. "hey, Motif. Got your order."  
"thanks, Applejack." Motif grabbed it and rolled it into the back.  
Applejack went out to get more when she noticed Zilver entertaining Sym. "Zilver?"  
Zil stopped dead when he heard that voice. He looked to her. "Un… hey, A.J. un…" he looked down to Sym and stuttered. "un… this isn't what it looks like."  
"Really?" she angrily replied. "cause it sure does look like it to me!" she stormed on out.  
"wait, Applejack." Zilver ran after her.  
Motif walked out and saw Zilver run outside. "oh, boy." he muttered.

Applejack kicked the rest of the barrel's off the wagon and walked in front of it when Zil ran out.  
"Applejack, wait. I…" A.J. beaned him right in the face. He went down in just one blow. "guess I deserved that."  
"just be glad that's all I'm gonna do to you!" A.J. angrily exclaimed. Zil got up and Applejack beaned him again. "Guess I had one left." she beamed.  
"okay, 1 was enough. 2 is just overkill." Zilver groaned. He got up just as A.J. headed to the wagon. "wait, Applejack." A.J. stopped and looked back. "I'm sorry for running out on ya. I just… panicked."  
"I take it this is the first time this happened to ya?" she asked.  
"yeah. I'm not good with responsibility and I shy away from problems."  
"like me."  
"un… well… yeah."  
Applejack gave a solemn smile. "well, you were doing just find with that kid in there. And you're working in a bar. That's a responsible job."  
Zil looked back to the door and gave a slight smile. "yeah. Guess it is." Zil thought for a moment. "listen, A.J. I want to make up for what I did." Applejack gave him a suspicious look. "really. So, tell me what to do."  
"you really mean it?" She sternly asked. Zilver rapidly nodded 'yes'. "then meet me at the doctor's next week. Gonna find out if I really am pregnant or not."  
"okay. It's a date then." Zil said. He heard what he had just said and face-hoofed. A.J. chuckled softly.  
Aura and Big Mac watched from behind a alley. They looked at each other with a faint smile. "better then nothing." they both said.

Applejack waited in a examination room, wearing a trademark gown as all patients must wear. She still kept the Stinson, though. She looked up at a clock mounted on a wall and angrily scoffed. hoof steps came running from down from the hall.  
The door opened and Zilver walked in, panting up a storm. "Sorry I'm late. Motif had me working overtime."  
If that was a excuse, it was a lame one, but A.J. went with it. "it's okay, Zil. I'm gonna get my results in a few minutes so we got time to talk."  
Zil panted. "Okay….Okay…. Just… let me get some water first." he walked over to the sink, grabbed a plastic cup, filled it up, and drank it down. "ho. I needed that." he panted. He waited till he cooled down before talking again. "talk about what?"  
"well, about us. Did you just sleep with me for a passing fling or…"  
"…or did I love you?" he interrupted, guessing the answer. A.J. nodded. Zil crumbled up the cup and threw into the trash. "un… I have some feelings for you, but I wouldn't call it love. I find you cute; sexy even, but love… not really."  
"that's a shame." A.J. sighed. "Cause I love you, Zil."  
Zil chuckled. "well, between that and the kid, I'm pretty much backed into a corner, aren't I?"  
"Yeeup."  
The door opened up and a House-looking pony walked in. Zil walked over to A.J. and held her hoof. "well, I'm afraid I got some bad news." they both gulped in fear. "the test you took gave a false positive. You were never pregnant in the first place. I can understand if you're disappointed."  
A.J. decided to answer for them both. "a little, but also relieved. This was truly scary for us both."  
"Yeah. Yeah it was." a distant Zil said.

After that, the 2 relocated to a hill outside of town.  
Both had expressions of confusion when they read something written out of rocks on the other side of the 'valley'.  
" 'you will be in my heart eternally, my one and only love?'" they both read. They looked at each other and broke out laughing.  
"Someone must be really sappy." Applejack laughed.  
"no argument." he pretended to gag.  
the two sat down close to each other as they watched the sunset. Zilver lamentably sighed, catching A.J.'s attention. "Something wrong, Zil?"  
"yeah." he looked to the sappy writing. "Truth be told, I was actually looking forward to becoming a dad."  
"Really?" Applejack asked in surprise.  
"yeah. Spending time with that squirt of Vinyl's and Octavia's changed me a bit."  
"I saw." A.J. chuckled. "you were quite the entertainer." Zil nervously chuckled as he scratched the back of his head.  
A awkward moment fell over them as they got uncomfortable. It was Zil that broke the silence. "um… listen, A.J." Applejack looked over to him. "Un… if you don't have a date for Hearts and Hooves next week, I was thinking that… maybe, that you'd want to go…"  
A.J. shut him up with a peck on the cheek, making him turn a dark shade of red. "of course, Zilver."  
Zil smiled. A.J. snuggled up next to him. He just sat back. They watched the sun set on one tough chapter of both their lives, hoping the dawn will bring a better one.

cument here...


	51. Daring & Derpy: Wild West Lancer

Paste your doc

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Matchmaker

Chapter 9

"wow. Zilver really said that?" Ash asked. The humans gathered at Orion's engine room when they learned of what had transpired hours earlier to the guys.  
"yep. The Scumbag said that he was gonna have nothing to do with Applejack or their foal." Aura angrily said.  
Everyone nodded in agreement.  
"yeah, but Spike and Rarity have a big problem." Ash said. "thanks to Sweetie Belle and her love for Spike, there's a chance that their relationship is over and done with before it began. And he had such a good plan to win her love."  
"well, you haven't keep keeping an eye on Shadow." Satoshi said. "he's in love with Dash but since she's going out with Soarin', he's keeping his feelings bottled up. Eventually, they're gonna explode out."  
"well, Twi and Halo are reaching a breaking point. Literally. I think if they don't talk soon, they won't have a chance to reconcile this." Req muttered.  
"well, me, Bahamut, and Sora can safely say we don't have to worry about this." Jax said as she leaned back.  
"aren't you guys lucky?" the rest sarcastically replied.  
"but seriously, we need to do something for them.' Sora said. "If not, this could cause a lot of damage to them."  
"especially Starlight." Req added. "If a expectant mother gets under a lot of pressure, it can have very bad consequences on the baby. I'm glad Jess was strong willed when she was pregnant."  
The gang looked at each other and nodded. "well, I can't believe I'm saying this, but… Requiem, time to unleash the romance monger."  
Requiem disappeared for a moment and reappeared dressed as Cupid. "I'm ready to go to work." she jokingly said. A arrow tipped with the heart symbol fell out of the plastic bow she held. Everyone gagged at the outfit and instantaneously came up with the same reaction:  
"Lose the outfit!"

Daring & Derpy:  
Wild West Lancer

The Ponyville Express rolled on down the railways to it's destination, which lay in a deserty part of the world.

Derpy looked out the window at the new scenery as her sister talked up a storm to several fans.  
"…and then, just as I was about to be swallowed up into the shrieking abyss, in comes Silverbolt; the dashing Gryphon with a heart of gold. He beat back the forces of Herostol and rescued me before I became a stain at the bottom of a deep, deep, deep hole. We grabbed the Gryphon's Goblet and flew out just moments before the place collapsed in on itself. Afterwards, we shared a kiss under the setting sun."  
The fans applauded the story. Daring took a bow and jumped off the table she was on. She walked over to her sis. "ah. It's always to meet fans."  
"was any part of that story actually true?" Derpy asked.  
"well, there was… is… a Gryphon named Silverbolt and there WAS a goddess named Herostol. But, other then those…" Daring took a drink of her mug of cider.  
Derpy gave a slight chuckle. "you were always good at making up stories."  
Daring gulped down her drink and set the mug down. "speaking of stories, what ever happened to that Dragon friend of yours, un… eTu`nes, I think his name was. I haven't seen him at all since I returned to town. Where'd he go?"  
Derpy sighed as she looked out the window yet again. "I don't know. We had a… falling out 7 years ago then… he just left. Don't know what happened to him after that."  
Daring got a worried look. She liked that Drake. "what was the fight about?"  
Derpy thought back to that day and gave a gasping chuckle. "for the life of me, I can't remember. Must've been something big, otherwise he wouldn't have disappeared for 7 years." Derpy sighed as she stared off into space. "eTu`nes… where did you go…?"  
Daring caught lament in her words and got cocky. "oh, ho ho ho." Derpy glanced over. "You loved him!"  
Derpy's face turned a deep shade of red. "I-I did not."  
"yes you did. You loved eTu`nes."  
"N-no I'm now, er… wasn't." Daring wasn't buying it. "that's like saying you're in love with a Gryphon." D.D. scratched her cheek. Derpy adopted a fazed look. "Silverbolt's your boyfriend, isn't he?"  
"maybe…"  
"Oh, Daring." Derpy groaned.  
"What? There's tons of inter-species relationships these days. Just look at Rarity and that Dragon boy… what was his name again? … Spike. that's it."  
"in case you forgot, D.D., they aren't going out."  
"but they want to. You can't deny it. You've seen it."  
Derpy rolled her eyes. "whatever you say, D.D. whatever you say."

The train rolled into Appaloosa and hissed to a halt. The doors opened and the passengers walked on out, Derpy and Daring among the first ones out.  
"So, tell me, why are we here again?" Derpy asked.  
"got a letter saying a package of mine arrived here by accident. They don't know what's in it. I replied that I'm coming to verify what it is."  
"Any clue as to what it is?"  
"well, probably the Scepter of Zax and Jeria. Found it on a dig in the Gryphon Kingdom's desert."  
"Zax and Jeria?" Derpy muttered. "why do those names sound familiar?"  
"you were never a fan of history." Daring droned. "according to legend, Zax, the Human, and Jeria, the Alicorn, created the world long long ago and gave life to it. The Scepter was made by them to keep the balance of the world's Mana, or Magic Force. Then they hid it in some forgotten corner of the world. Until I came along, that is." Daring gave a wicked smile. Derpy rolled her eyes in agony. When it came to history, Daring was a big old nerd.  
"is it real?" Derpy asked.  
"Maybe, maybe not. Keep in mind that it is just a legend and probably not true. Besides, the Scepter is rusted over. Any power it had is long gone by now or transferred into the Elements of Harmony. And besides, I doubt this is the real deal."  
"what do you mean?"  
"there's always copies and fakes lying around. Found 2 myself. They're in museums now."  
"Ah. So, ho-"  
"HOWDY!" A male Earth Pony with a wide grin came out of nowhere, scaring the sisters. "and Welcome to AAAAPaloosa!" Derpy clutched her chest as she had a mini-heart attack. Daring rolled her eyes and helped her up. "Un… did I do something wrong?"  
"no. she's just easy to scare." Daring said. "who are you, by the way?"  
"Name's Braeburn, Second Cousin to Applejack and owner of the local apple farm. You must be Daring Do and Derpy Whooves."  
"how do you know us?" Derpy asked.  
"A.J. sent a letter saying you were coming here on business. Surprised me when it came out of thin air in a puff of green smoke."  
Derpy and Daring looked at each other and knew who sent it. "Spike-a-gram."  
"So, what brings you to town?" Braeburn asked as they started for their destination.  
"Scepter I found on a dig." Daring said. "Guy who I assigned it to brought it here instead of Ponyville. Guess I didn't write it down clear enough."  
"Scepter? Oh, that thing at the bank?"  
"un…" Daring looked at Derpy who was just as confused as her. "if it's a 6-foot long stick that splits into 2 prongs on the end and with a feather-like crossguard, then yes. But how do you know about it?"  
"A Gryphon came to town about 2 hours before you arrived and asked us if we could place it in the bank for safe-keeping. We asked what we were hiding, we don't want Appaloosa to become known as a place to hide stolen goods. He revealed that it was Scepter and, well, we placed it there."  
Derpy exclaimed in acknowledgement while Daring got suspicious. "This Gryphon… does he have silver fur, yellow eyes, and carries himself with grace?"  
"Yes."  
Daring's heart went all aflutter knowing who is here. "Silverbolt!" she happily said. She ran off to the bank, leaving Braeburn and Derpy behind.  
"I take it she knows him?" Braeburn asked.  
"yep."

Daring ran into the bank to see the silver Gryphon talking with the sheriff.  
"Bolty!" she exclaimed. Silverbolt looked over to her just as she ran up and hugged him. "Oh, I missed you so much."  
"Daring. You're here early." Bolt said in surprise.  
"Someone you know?" Silverstar asked.  
"my Marefriend." Bolt said. Braeburn and Derpy entered as Bolt cut the embrace short when he noticed Derpy. "who's your friend?"  
"This is actually my sister, Derpy. Derpy, this is my boyfriend Silverbolt."  
"So this is Derpy." Bolt walked over and looked her over. "Daring talked a lot about you. You were in love with a dragon?"  
"I wasn't in love. We were just friends!" A flustered Derpy said.  
Braeburn chuckled. "you should really talk about this stuff in private."  
"I got a room. Let's go there." Silverbolt mentioned.  
"Perfect!" Daring exclaimed. "but will the Scepter be safe here?" she asked the sheriff.  
"it will be, Ms. Do." Star said with confidence. "This bank has never been broken into. Trust me, it'll be safe here."  
"Great. With that out of the way, let's un…" Bolt grabbed Daring's hooves and held her close. "… retire to my chambers."  
Daring chuckled seductively as she blushed. Derpy gagged as Braeburn and Star rolled their eyes.

Derpy looked out over the balcony of their fancy hotel room to the night sky as Daring and Bolt eh… did the deed. Images of her old draconic friend entered her mind. "eTu`nes… where'd you go?" she sadly said, looking down to the ground now. "Dash misses you. Zatch, Lightning, and Gothic miss you. …I miss you." she closed her eyes as a single tear ran down her face. She looked back up to the moon. "I wish I knew where you were, Dragon-Boy. You would've liked Dinky."  
Derpy turned to walk in, hearing that the 2 were done, when she noticed someone sneaking around in the dark streets. She watched him or her sneak though town and head into a alley. "Who's that?" she muttered. She unfurled her wings and flew on down to the ground, where she hovered a few feet above it.  
The sneaking pony snuck all over town, making sure no one was following him. Derpy even had a few close calls where she swore he saw her but he didn't so he kept on going.

The stranger eventually reached the bank. Using some magic, he summoned up a lock-pick and picked the lock on the door. Derpy, who was hiding behind a lightless lamppost, watched him. "What's he up to?" she muttered.  
The thief picked the lock. He carefully took it off, set it down, carefully opened the door, and walked on in. Silverstar, who was sleeping on the job, didn't hear a thing when the thief snuck on over to the vault door. He summoned up a stethoscope and went to work breaking the combination lock.  
Derpy hovered up to the door and hugged the wall. She peered her head in to see him breaking in. he cracked the lock and opened the vault door.  
Derpy waited until he walked in before flying in and over to the sheriff. "sheriff. Sheriff, wake up." she whispered.  
Star grumbled as he opened his eyes. "un… Miss Derpy. What brings you here?"  
"SSH!" she shushed him before the thief could hear them. "there's a thief in there right now. I think he's come for the Scepter." she whispered.  
"That or the bits." he whispered back.  
He was right. The thief came out with bags of bits on his back, with the scepter among them. The lights suddenly turned on, catching the Unicorn off guard. "put down the money, son. Nobody wants to-" the thief panicked and threw one of the bags at him. It hit him and sent him to the ground. He ran out with the rest of the bags. Derpy took flight after him.  
The thief ran out of the bank and panted as he ran as fast as he could. He didn't get far as a silver streak came out of nowhere and pinned him to the ground. "So much for that plan, huh thief?" Silverbolt badly joked. Derpy groaned at how bad that was.

Cell doors slammed shut on the thief as the police carriage hauled him away.  
"he'll be going away for awhile." Star said. "thank goodness that Mrs. Whooves woke me when she did."  
"well, when we saw that Derpy had disappeared, we figured something was wrong." Daring explained. "I thought she was kidnapped for a moment. Who knew she was tailing a robber?"  
"I certainly didn't." Bolt said with a shrug. He lifted up and looked at the Scepter. "I'm just thankful we stopped him from taking it."  
"what would a thief want with a rusty ol' lance, anyway?" Derpy asked.  
"ancient artifacts sell for a lot on the Gryphon Kingdom's Black Market." Bolt explain. "Guy probably thought he struck paydirt when he saw this."  
"well, just glad we stopped him. This was a surprisingly eventful night." Braeburn chuckled.  
Derpy yawned, interrupting the talk. "Sorry. Just so sleepy."  
Daring yawned too, longer as well. "same here. I'm ready to turn in."  
"ditto that." Silverbolt said. "we'll be leaving first thing in the morning." he told Star and Braeburn. "Thanks for your help."  
"Don't mention it." they both replied.

The Ponyville Express headed back the opposite way it came and headed for home. Derpy wasn't particularly happy with the fact that they left at 5 in the morning.  
"Did we really have to leave this early?" she yawned. "I was just getting my beauty sleep."  
"no choice. Any greedy ruffians who saw this would want to take it and sell it." Bolt said, showing off the Scepter.  
"right." Derpy yawned again. "so… I just have to ask, how did you 2 really meet? Not what's in 'Gryphon's Goblet' but in real life."  
"un, well…" Daring thought back. It was 9 years ago, after all. "Un… we met at a archaeological dig. We were digging up some old fossils when we bumped into each other. It was love at first sight."  
"well, not for the first day and night." Bolt nervously said. "we were at each other's throats over a leg bone which was in both our sites. We gathered at night to talk, one thing led to another…"  
Derpy stuttered them to stop. "Stapapapapa. I get the picture. Just never heard of a Gryphon-Pony relationship before."  
"well, they're there." Bolt said. "just like how there are Pony-Dragon relationships and Pony-Sea Pony relationships. Heck, I even heard of Pony-Diamond Dog relationships in some places."  
"Ew." both sisters exclaimed.  
"The first 2, I can understand, but Diamond Dogs?" Derpy shivered at the thought. "Scary."  
Daring smirked. "Speaking of Dragon-Pony dating services, did you and eTu`nes do it when I left?"  
"WHAT!?" Derpy exclaimed out of shock. "NO! NO NO NO! we were just friends! That's IT!" she exclaimed with emphasis on the T. Derpy got up and walked to the bathroom.  
Daring sighed lamentably. "that girl."  
"did she really love that eTu`nes drake?" Bolt asked.  
"I don't know. I'm just doing this to mess with her." Daring smirked. She looked down at the Scepter. "So, what are you going to do with that when we get back?"  
"Show it to the Princess's. they can tell if it's real or not." Daring looked at him with puppy-dog eyes. "but I guess I can stay in town for Hearts and Hooves. If ya like."  
Daring replied by kissing him on the cheek. "I'd like that."  
The 2 kissed as the sun fully rose. Derpy watched from the bathroom and lamentably sighed.

Author's Notes.  
Yeah, this chapter was rushed. Matchmaker isn't my most thought-out story. Only chapters I have thought though are the Trixie & Lily/Luna chapter, the Twilight & Halo chapter, the Spike & Rarity/Sweetie Belle chapter, and the final chapter. Every other one, rushed. Just like this one. It also doesn't help that I had writer's block with this


	52. Shadow & Dash: Volare

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Matchmaker

Chapter 10

"wow. Zilver really said that?" Ash asked. The humans gathered at Orion's engine room when they learned of what had transpired hours earlier to the guys.  
"yep. The Scumbag said that he was gonna have nothing to do with Applejack or their foal." Aura angrily said.  
Everyone nodded in agreement.  
"yeah, but Spike and Rarity have a big problem." Ash said. "thanks to Sweetie Belle and her love for Spike, there's a chance that their relationship is over and done with before it began. And he had such a good plan to win her love."  
"well, you haven't keep keeping an eye on Shadow." Satoshi said. "he's in love with Dash but since she's going out with Soarin', he's keeping his feelings bottled up. Eventually, they're gonna explode out."  
"well, Twi and Halo are reaching a breaking point. Literally. I think if they don't talk soon, they won't have a chance to reconcile this." Req muttered.  
"well, me, Bahamut, and Sora can safely say we don't have to worry about this." Jax said as she leaned back.  
"aren't you guys lucky?" the rest sarcastically replied.  
"but seriously, we need to do something for them.' Sora said. "If not, this could cause a lot of damage to them."  
"especially Starlight." Req added. "If a expectant mother gets under a lot of pressure, it can have very bad consequences on the baby. I'm glad Jess was strong willed when she was pregnant."  
The gang looked at each other and nodded. "well, I can't believe I'm saying this, but… Requiem, time to unleash the romance monger."  
Requiem disappeared for a moment and reappeared dressed as Cupid. "I'm ready to go to work." she jokingly said. A arrow tipped with the heart symbol fell out of the plastic bow she held. Everyone gagged at the outfit and instantaneously came up with the same reaction:  
"Lose the outfit!"

Shadow & Dash:  
Volare

Shadow mumbled to himself in his garage custom-built by Satoshi and Big Mac as Spanish music played over the radio, looking over the blueprints to his prototype. "maybe if I… no no no no no. that won't work. Maybe… crud, no. that won't work either."  
he closed his eyes and thought though some variables to it to his invention. But quickly, those thoughts were replaced with images of Rainbow Dash. He snapped his eyes open and shook his head. "it's too late, Shadow." he said to himself. "She's already with Soarin', a Wonderbolt. No way she'll be with you now."  
He shook his head of images of her and went back to work.

Dash giggled as she neared the end of the latest Daring Do in her bed. "Can't believe she gave me the first copy of her new book. This is so awesome!"  
"I know. It's pretty awesome." Soarin' said, reading it with her.  
Dash smiled. "You're pretty awesome, Soarin'." she closed the book and kissed him.  
That kiss gave Soarin' a idea. "Say, Dash. Do you want to, I don't know, move our relationship further?"  
"Further? Further how?" Soarin' raised both eyebrows alive with a creepy chuckle. "oh. You mean…" she made Bed Cricking Sounds, finishing that sentence.  
"yep. What do you say?" Soarin' moved close, making Dash nervous.  
"un… Soarin', I'm actually waiting until I get married. You understand, right?"  
Soarin' whined instead. "oh, come on Dashie. It's quite a fun experience." he softly blew into her ear, making her quiver.  
"eaaaahhhh…" she bolted out of bed and hovered in front of it. "I-I-I-I-I-I just remembered. I have to help Shadow with that device of his. I-I-I'll be back soon." she flew on out, shaken a bit.  
Soarin' groaned as he laid back on the bed. He hit himself in the head, muttering "stupid, stupid, stupid. Curse me and my Libido."

Shadow groaned as he slammed his head into his table. "Ay. Why can't I think of anything?" someone knocked on his door, breaking him from his blueprints. "Come in." he called. The door opened and Dash walked in. Shadow stammered. "d-d-d-d-dash. What brings you here… to my room?" he nervously chuckled.  
Dash groaned. "Soarin' wanted us to… do the… oh, how did Jax put it? The Horizontal Tango."  
Shadow thought for a moment, trying to figure what she meant by that. He didn't have to think long. "OH. You mean…"  
"yep."  
"yeesh." Shadow shivered.  
Dash chuckled. She looked around Shadow's room. It was a complete pigsty with almost anything and everything strung around; books lay open, papers are flung around, clothes were laying on the floor. Only clean place was his desk. She took notice of the Blueprints on it. "What's that?"  
"oh." Shadow returned his attention to it. "remember that invention I'm working on? A device that would allow Earth Ponies and Unicorns to have the ability's of Pegasi like being able to walk on clouds?"  
"emm… roughly."  
"well, I'm having trouble trying to come up with a good design that would work but I keep coming up with nothing. {(That, and the fact that my love for you is killing me.)}"  
Dash took a look at the design and sneered when she saw it. "no wonder. It's too big."  
"It is?"  
"yeah. Try making it smaller, more compact. You have the wings over-sized and the hovering components are too big for a single pony to wear."  
Shadow looked to his blueprints in question. "huh. I never thought about that."  
"why? It's a simple design oversight, right?"  
"yeah, but how come I never thought about that?"  
"I dunno."

Begin Song: watch?v=zVmaEyQDz1Q Volare (Gypsy Kings version with English Lyrics)

Shadow's ears pricked up when he heard the song began to play.  
"is this what I think it is?" he asked himself.  
Dash looked over to the radio and got confused. "the song? What of it?"  
"you never heard of it?" Shadow asked in disbelief. "it's only the greatest song ever."

(1st one) Volare. Oh, oh. Cantare. Oh oh oh oh.

Dash wasn't so sure about this being the greatest song ever. It was catchy, but greatest song ever? Nu-uh. Without warning, she found herself tapping her hooves to the song. Guess it had some catchiness.  
Suddenly, Shadow grabbed her and started dancing with her.  
"Whoa! Hey! Shadow!"

(2nd one) Volare. Oh, oh. Cantare. Oh oh oh oh.

It took Shadow that long before seeing what he was doing. He quickly let Dash go. "eh hehe. Sorry. I just love this song."  
"So I felt." Dash said, brushing off her front-left leg. "Could've at least warned me before suddenly asking me to dance."  
"Sorry, I…" Shadow's ears perked when he fully heard that. "wait. You want to dance?"  
"yeah. It would be good practice for when Soarin' will ask me to a Gala."  
"o-oh." Shadow felt a tiny bit hurt that Dash was using him for this. "well, let's get started."

(3rd one) Volare. Oh, oh. Cantare. Oh oh oh oh.

Shadow took Dash's hoof and the 2 began to dance to the tune. The way they moved, it's like they knew the other's move before the other even made it.

(4th one) Volare. Oh, oh. Cantare. Oh oh oh oh.

Scootaloo walked on by Shadow's workshop and passed by, giving it a passing glance.  
5 seconds, she ran on back to the window to see Dash and Shadow dancing.  
"What the hay? What's she doing with Shadow?" she muttered. She shook her head and looked in.

Dash started to get tired. She let go and panted. "Sorry. Getting tired." she panted.  
Shadow moved his mouth to the left. He grabbed her and pulled her close. "tired is just a silly expression."  
Dash looked to the camera, confused as hell. (yeah, get in line pal. I don't get what I put down either.) before they began to dance.

Scoot's mouth dropped when she saw Shadow bring Dash close to him.  
"That S.O.B. he's trying to steal my cousin's girlfriend." she angrily said though her teeth.

(5th one) Volare. Oh, oh. Cantare. Oh oh oh oh.

The song almost reached it's end, same with Dash and Shadow.

When the song ended, Shadow held Dash closed and dipped her.

End Song.

Shadow and Dash looked into each other's eyes, each lost in them. Shadow realized what he was doing and held her up. "Un… sorry about that." he nervously said.  
"It's un…" Dash was still pooped from the dancing but there was something more to it. She shook her head, getting rid of it. "it was nothing. Don't worry about it."

Scootaloo hid around the corner as Dash and Shadow walked outside.  
"Thanks for the dance lesson, Shadow. Maybe that'll get Soarin's mind off of doing the deed." Dash said.  
Scootaloo breathed a sigh of relief. "{(thank goodness. It was just a dance lesson. But why Shadow? And what does she mean by 'doing the deed?)}"  
"r-right. G-glad I could help." a hurt Shadow said.  
Dash noticed this. "Shadow? You okay?"  
"y-ye… no, no I'm not." Shadow sighed. He didn't want it to come out and give Dash trouble. Dash cocked her head to the side while Scootaloo peered from around the corner. "Dash… I… I'm in l-"  
"There you are!" Soarin' exclaimed. He flew on down from above and landed between the two. "I've been looking for you everywhere."  
"Why?" Dash asked.  
"well, Spitfire came by, looking for you. She saw you in action a few times and she was quite impressed when you performed a Sonic Rainboom at the Royal Wedding. And during the Best Young Fliers competition and…"  
Hope started building up in Dash. "Soarin'… are you saying…"  
Soarin' smirked. "Spitfire wants you to audition for the Wonderbolts."  
Inside, Dash's heart exploded in delight. Outside, she was pulling loops and flips so fast, no one should be able to do them. "YES! WOO-HOO!" Shadow was happy for her; Her dream was coming true AND her boyfriend was a Wonderbolt himself. Then… why did he feel dead inside? "…so cool. Oh, This is SO AWESOME! Isn't this awesome, Shadow?"  
"yeah. Really cool. I-it's great." he said tonelessly. Soarin' and Dash suddenly hugged and kissed. Shadow looked away, almost catching a glimpse of a certain orange mare. Speaking of which…  
"{(Rainbow Dash is going to be a Wonderbolt? This is gonna be awesome! But seriously, what's up with Shadow?)}" Scoot's peeked back around to see Soarin' and Dash fly away and a defeated Shadow walk back into his garage.

Shadow sighed as he walked back to his desk. "well… as long as she's happy…" he sadly said as he sat back down. Scootaloo peaked in though the garage door. "I mean… what chance to I have with a Wonderbolt?" Shadow sighed as he leaned forward onto the desk. "as long as she's happy… I don't care what happens to me."  
Scootaloo pulled her head back and thought to herself. "{(Feelings? Wait. Does Shadow love Rainbow Dash? I-impossible. She loves Soarin'. right?)}"

"I. am hanging out. With the Wonderbolts! This is too awesome!" she squealed. She and Soarin' were at the Wonderbolt Headquarters in Canterlot, having the time of her life.  
"if memory serves, you 'hung out' with us back at the Grand Galloping Gala 2 years ago." Spitfire said. Dash chuckled nervously as she thought back to that night and the chaos she and her friends caused.  
"So, Soarin' said you guys were interested in my talents?" Dash asked, hope rising up in her.  
"indeed we are." Spitfire gestured to the veranda. Dash nodded and the 2 walked to it. "I won't lie, I've seen you in action, Dash. You've got quite the skillset; able to go faster then Mach 1, the buccaneer blaze, not to mention that you can perform the once mythical Sonic Rainboom… and the fact that you represent a Element of Harmony is also a good thing."  
Dash went *Sqwee* as Spitfire kept talking. "{(oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. I'm talking with Spitfire; the Wonderbolt leader, and she's considering inducting me into the Wonderbolts! This day can't get any better!)}"  
Spitfire noticed she wasn't listening and waved her hoof in front of her face. "Ms. Dash. Ms. Dash, you okay?"  
Rainbow snapped out of her mini-trance and blinked. "oh. Sorry. I was too excited. Being a member of the Wonderbolts has always been a dream of mine ever since I was a filly."  
Spitfire chuckled. "Isn't it for all of us?"  
"not for one of my friends." Dash chuckled. "She had never even heard of the Wonderbolts until I told her."  
"wow. Sounds like quite the Ditz."  
"That was her name too. Ditzy. Of course, I just called her Derpy." Spitfire laughed as the 2 walked back in.

20 minutes later, Spitfire, Dash, and Soarin' converged into Fire's office.  
"So… how do I enter the Wonderbolts?" a giddy Dash asked.  
Spitfire, who sat in her chair, glanced up at her. "well, it ain't no picnic. We just don't let anyone in. there's rigorous training you must overcome, near-impossible tasks. And even if the future-bolt is more then worthy with flying skills, there's also formal skills you must know."  
Dash gulped at the thought. "f-f-f-formal?" the idea of a formal Rainbow Dash, one as prissy as Blueblood or Fleur-De-Lis, scared the living daylights out of her. "y-y-yeah. I'm not what you would call the formal type."  
"neither is Soarin' but he's learning." Soarin' chuckled nervously as he blushed. Spitfire grabbed a clipboard and a pencil. "okay. Age?"  
"20."  
"birthplace?"  
"FeatherTop, the Gryphon Kingdom Capital."  
"pa-" Spitfire stopped when she heard that. "wait, did you say FeatherTop?"  
"yeah?"  
"I was born there too."  
Dash was surprised. One of her idols was born in her hometown. "Get outta town."  
"no joke. Where were you born?"  
"Southern District. You?"  
"Eastern District Slums. I was poor."  
Dash just playfully shrugged. "proof that good talent can come from anywhere."  
"True that." Spitfire and Dash laughed.  
Soarin' felt uncomfortable. "Can we get on with this?"  
"oh. Right right." she brought the clipboard back up. "Okay, Parents?"  
"Mother: Shine Dash. Father: Golden Day." Soarin' went wide-eyed when he heard that.  
"okay. Re-"  
Soarin' interrupted the interview. "hold hold hold hold hold hold. Wait wait wait wait wait wait." Dash and Spitfire looked over to him. "did you just say your father was Golden Day?"  
"yeah but I barely knew him. He left when I was 2." Soarin' squealed like a pig when he heard that. "What?"  
He just sat there with a frightened expression. "my… father's name… was Golden Day. And he left when I was 2."  
The gears in Dash's head grinded to a halt, knowing full well what Soarin's talking about. "So wait… does that mean… we're…"  
"Brother and Sister?" they both said with fear in their eyes. They looked at each other, figuring it out. They gagged and spit, getting the taste out of their mouths.  
Spitfire watched in fear. "did I miss something?"  
"we were going out for the past couple of weeks!" Dash gagged.  
Soarin' brushed his teeth with a toothbrush. "I'm just glad we just kissed and didn't go all the way." a disturbing thought entered his head. "the kids would've been horrifying mutants."

"I've never been so embarrassed in my entire life." Soarin' groaned as the 2 walked though a twilight Ponyville.  
"me too." a grossed out Dash groaned. "Think I messed up my entry into the Wonderbolts?"

"Soarin'?"  
"I don't think so. Spitfire's always been one for comedy. CRUEL comedy."  
"I know. I saw her laughing her butt off."  
Soarin' pondered for a moment whether to ask, even if the answer was obvious. "So… I guess this means we aren't going out anymore?"  
"Doy!"  
"Yeah. Stupid question."  
They both heard panting coming towards them. They looked to their left to see Scootaloo running up. She reached them and panted heavily.  
"Squirt, what's wrong?" Dash asked.  
Scoots caught her second wind. "It's Shadow. He's gone!"  
"What?" they both exclaimed in surprise.

The door to Shadow's garage burst open as Dash flew in. she landed on the floor and was shocked by what she saw. Soarin' and Scootaloo ran in and saw the same thing.  
The garage was completely empty. There was nothing, no notes, no books. Nothing.  
"I-I don't understand. Why would Shadow leave?" Soarin' wondered.  
Dash took a step forward and stepped on something. She looked down and found a piece of paper. She bent down and picked it up.  
"What is it?" Soarin' asked.  
"It's a letter." Dash said. "A goodbye letter."

'Dash  
I'm sorry for saying goodbye like this but… but I had no choice. This has been torturing me for the past few months but I never had the courage to say it, and when I did someone always interrupted us. So… this is the only way I can think of.  
Rainbow Dash. I love you. I have since that day we met but I just couldn't say it. And then you started going out with Soarin'. that was a knife though my heart but I didn't say anything. What chance would I have with a Wonderbolt? If given the choice, you would've gone with him every time. And no matter how hard I tried, you wouldn't leave my mind. Hopefully, time away will get you out.  
I'm leaving and I don't think I'm coming back. Just… seeing you with him and me not saying anything is killing me inside. Good-bye Rainbow Dash. I love you and I wish you the best with Soarin'.'

Dash shakingly gasped as she finished reading it. Soarin' took it and read it over again as Dash fell to her knees.  
"S-Shadow loved me?"  
"and he's gone to avoid giving you trouble." Soarin' muttered. "guess it worked in the opposite direction."  
Dash looked back on the past few weeks. That explains why he was acting so weird and sounding so depressed. Her heart told her what to do. "I have to find him." she got up and headed for the door.  
"you don't even know where to start looking." Soarin' interjected.  
Dash stopped just a few inches from the door and looked down to the ground. Soarin' was right. She doesn't know where he went. She felt bad, very bad. Heartbroken. Sick, even. Her vision suddenly turned blurry as she had trouble standing.  
"Dash?" Soarin' and Scootaloo called out. She suddenly fell over, vision going dark upon impact.

Author's Notes:

not exactly a happy ending, is it? is Shadow really gone? NAH! i wouldn't get rid of one of my characters. of course, this won't be resolved for a LONG time.


	53. Fluttershy & Edge: Blooming Friendship

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Matchmaker

Chapter 11

"wow. Zilver really said that?" Ash asked. The humans gathered at Orion's engine room when they learned of what had transpired hours earlier to the guys.  
"yep. The Scumbag said that he was gonna have nothing to do with Applejack or their foal." Aura angrily said.  
Everyone nodded in agreement.  
"yeah, but Spike and Rarity have a big problem." Ash said. "thanks to Sweetie Belle and her love for Spike, there's a chance that their relationship is over and done with before it began. And he had such a good plan to win her love."  
"well, you haven't keep keeping an eye on Shadow." Satoshi said. "he's in love with Dash but since she's going out with Soarin', he's keeping his feelings bottled up. Eventually, they're gonna explode out."  
"well, Twi and Halo are reaching a breaking point. Literally. I think if they don't talk soon, they won't have a chance to reconcile this." Req muttered.  
"well, me, Bahamut, and Sora can safely say we don't have to worry about this." Jax said as she leaned back.  
"aren't you guys lucky?" the rest sarcastically replied.  
"but seriously, we need to do something for them.' Sora said. "If not, this could cause a lot of damage to them."  
"especially Starlight." Req added. "If a expectant mother gets under a lot of pressure, it can have very bad consequences on the baby. I'm glad Jess was strong willed when she was pregnant."  
The gang looked at each other and nodded. "well, I can't believe I'm saying this, but… Requiem, time to unleash the romance monger."  
Requiem disappeared for a moment and reappeared dressed as Cupid. "I'm ready to go to work." she jokingly said. A arrow tipped with the heart symbol fell out of the plastic bow she held. Everyone gagged at the outfit and instantaneously came up with the same reaction:  
"Lose the outfit!"

Fluttershy & Edge:  
Blooming Friendship

A very bored Edge toyed with a notebook. He took a bored breath and sighed, flicking though the notebook with it. The little breath caused something to fall from a bookshelf and break. The Changeling winced when he heard that.  
"hope that was nothing important." he hoped. He fluttered on over and saw that it was a picture that fell. "wow. I have strong breath." he felt a cool breeze behind him. He looked to see that the window was open. "or maybe the wind caused it to fall."  
He brushed off the glass and picked up the picture and it's frame. He put the frame on the nearest table and brushed off the picture of any glass and took a look at it.  
In it was a foal Fluttershy with her parents, both of whom are Mares; one of whom looked like a much older Fluttershy. " 'Shy didn't mention her parents were Filly-Foolers." he muttered.  
The door opened. Fluttershy and Bahamut walked in, both carrying some animal food when they noticed Edge with the picture. "Edge!" Fluttershy exclaimed.  
"the wind knocked it down off the bookshelf. I just picked it up."  
Bahamut looked to his right and saw the open window. "knew I forgot something." he muttered as he closed it.  
"Who are these 2?" Edge asked, pretending not to know anything.  
Fluttershy put her bags down and flew over. "these are my mothers; Summer Night and Autumn Breeze. I haven't seen them since I moved to Ponyville."  
"huh." Edge flipped the photo and saw nothing on the other side. "what's keeping you from seeing them again?"  
Fluttershy's expression turned sad. "well… when I left, they were in a pretty bad argument and… I think I somehow caused it."  
"you!?" both Dragon and Changeling exclaimed in surprise.  
"how can you cause a argument? You're… you're cute!" Edge said in surprise.  
'Shy blushed at the compliment. "Thanks, Edge."  
"the question still stands, Fluttershy. How can you cause a argument with your parents?" Bahamut asked.  
"I don't know. All I know is that they were arguing pretty bad when I left and I heard my name come up a few times. So… I'm worried that they broke up and it was all my fault." Bahamut and Edge looked at each other. "and the worst part? It was on Hearts and Hooves day when I left so… I have a bad feeling when that holiday comes around. It… fills me with grief, knowing that I may have broke up my parents on the most romantic holiday of the year." a single tear ran down her cheek and fell onto the photo.  
Edge and Bahamut felt bad for her. That was heartbreaking, no doubt. They looked at each other and came up with the same idea. "how about this?" Edge suggested. "how about we go and find your parents?"  
A surprised Fluttershy looked back to him. "What?"  
"You heard me. We go to your hometown, find your parents, and you make up with them or force them to make up. Quick, simple, easy, and maybe we'll have time to swing by a carnival."  
Bahamut chuckled at it. "Edge…"  
"okay, fine. Maybe we can skip the carnival but I'm serious about the other stuff."

"Come on, 'Shy." Bahamut insisted. "You said it yourself, you haven't seen mommy and… mommy in a long time. You must be missing them something fierce. Plus, this isn't a demon you want to be carrying around. Trust me…" Bahamut thought back to when he met his real mother for the first time. "…it's not something to be left untouched."  
Fluttershy looked back to the picture. He's right. This is something that would keep eating away at her. She looked up at the dragon and the changeling.  
"we're going."  
"Yes!" both males said.  
"un… where ARE we going, exactly?" Edge asked.  
Fluttershy grabbed the picture and looked at it. "to Las Pegasus."

A all-so-familiar rock tune filled the air as the train bound for Las Pegasus rolled down the tracks.  
" Bright light city gonna set my soul, gonna set my soul on fire. Got a whole lot of money that's a-ready to burn so get those stakes up higher… " the singing came from a bad sounding Bahamut as he poorly played a guitar. "… so Viva Las Pegasus. Viva Las Pegasus. a-Viva, a-Viva, Las Pegasus… " a irritated Unicron grabbed the guitar and tossed out the nearest window. It shattered when it hit the rocks outside.  
The passengers cheered as Bahamut crossed his front legs. "You got no music in your soul, sista." the Unicorn rolled her eyes and got up from her seat.  
"you were singing rather badly." Fluttershy meekly said.  
"so singing's not my forte. Ain't stopping me from having a good time."  
"hmm…" that's a good point. That couldn't help but make Fluttershy chuckle, though. She looked out the window to the rolling country-side below. She looked back into the car to see everyone inside laughing and chatting. Even Bahamut was entertaining a baby by making funny faces. She noticed something was off. She took a quick look around and saw that a certain someone was gone. "where's Edge?"

Begin Song: watch?v=EAVBjpqBOOY Eternal Moments - Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep OST

The Changeling, in his pony disguise, sat on top of the car they were riding on and looked out at the landscape. Fluttershy climbed up the latter and saw him. "what's wrong, Edge?"  
Edge looked back and noticed her. "hey, Fluttershy."  
She walked on over to him. Edge looked back at the countryside as Fluttershy sat down beside him. "so, what are you doing up here?" she asked.  
"well… not a big fan of crowded places. Think I have claustrophobia. It was pure hell back at the hive." he stopped for a moment and silently chuckled.  
"What?" 'Shy asked.  
"I remember one time. A Changeling named Ditto tried to imitate a Diamond Dog. It backfired and instead turned her into 100 Dittos."  
Fluttershy laughed. "So what happened to this Ditto… sorry, Dittos?"  
"we numbered them. There's Ditto #1, Ditto #2, Ditto#3... All the way up to 100. It also didn't help that we shared the same cave. I was begging to leave." Fluttershy laughed again. "and that's not the worst part. The worst part is that they all had the same ANNOYING personality. They didn't try to branch out and try other ideas, no no no. they stuck with the same annoying personality AND voice. I thought I was gonna have a aneurism."  
"was Ditto really that bad?"  
"you kidding? She makes Pinkie look sane. Well, at least in Changeling standards. Probably a whole lot different in pony standards. But still, it doesn't change the fact that she's annoying as Tartarus."  
Fluttershy chuckled. Edge chuckled as well. The 2 looked at the country-side for a few minutes before Fluttershy asked the question that was on everyone's mind at this point.  
"Edge?"  
"hmm?"  
"what did you do during the invasion?"  
"Invasion? Oh, you mean of Canterlot. Well, I was one of the ones who were trying to stop you all from reaching the Elements of Harmony, and you saw how that turned out. I was changing forms in front of Pinkie, trying to frighten her. I did Rarity, then Rainbow Dash, even you. but she just laughed and said 'do me, do me.' so, I did her. You wanna know her reaction? she said 'meh, I've seen better' and used Twi as a Gatling gun. Knocked me out cold. Next thing I know, the barrier popped back up and sent me and my brothers and sisters flying in all directions. I was able to meet up with 50 others and we found refuge in a cave. THEN Jax and the CMC entered the same cave. Jax beat the snot out of us… then you and Bahamut found me."  
"wow." Fluttershy gasped. "I didn't know Jax was the one who did that."  
"but if it wasn't for you, I would be dead. Thanks, Fluttershy."  
"it was nothing. Just did what anyone else wo- well, okay. Maybe not everyone, but still…" Edge gave a sly chuckle. Another thought entered 'Shy's mind. "so… when are you planning on going back to your own kind?"  
Edge looked at her in surprised at first but saw where she was coming from. "I don't know. Maybe next week, maybe in 10 years."  
"what do you mean?"  
"well, I made a promise to myself: I'm not leaving until I repay you for taking care of me. And so far, I wasn't able to."  
"you didn't? well, what do you need to do?"  
Edge chuckled. "now that… is a secret." 'Shy chuckled. "what about you? See your parents for the first time in… I'm guessing 11 years?"  
"you guess right. I haven't wrote them a letter or anything in that time. I didn't even hear from my sister in a long while."  
"Sister?"  
"yeah. Gale Winds. She's a year younger then me and expecting her first foal anyday now."  
"huh. So… that means that this would be the first time you saw her as well, right?"  
"yeah. I've kept in touch with Gale since I left. I told her about me meeting my new friends, becoming a element of harmony, defeating Nightmare Moon, Discord, and the Changelings, no offense…"  
"None taken."  
"I even wrote her about how the humans came. But… recently, I stopped."  
"Why?" Fluttershy looked at him, inadvertadly giving him his answer. "oh. Me."  
"That, and ourselves being turned human, the return of Nightmare Moon, Twilight getting pregnant…"  
"okay, okay. I get the picture." he looked up to the sky. "Must be nice. Having a family."  
Edge jolted in surprise when he felt something touch him. He looked to see Fluttershy resting her head on his shoulder, tears silently falling down her face. " 'Shy? You okay?"  
"yeah. It's just been so long since I talked about this with anyone." she kissed him on the cheek, turning his whole body a deep shade of red. "it's nice to have a friend to talk to."  
"no sweat." a flustered Edge said, scratching his neck.  
Bahamut watched this display from the edge with a smile. "if he wasn't a Changeling, they'd make a cute couple." he said as the train continued to roll on down the line.

end song.

True to it's name, Las Pegasus is a ponified version of our Las Vegas, with anything with human in it, like the Mini-Statue of Liberty, was a pony version. Everything else was the same, though. The glass pyramid, Luxor Casino, and the gambling, all the same.

The train rolled into a station on the outskirts of the city. The trio flew off from the top and headed for the city the fastest way possible; air travel.  
"So, where do they live?" Bahamut asked while flying on his back.  
"very close by. Unless they decided to move during the time I was gone."  
"well, think positive." Edge said, giving the pony version of a thumbs-up.

After looking around for just 10 minutes, Fluttershy found her childhood home. She flew on down and landed at the doorstep. Bahamut and Edge landed in the grass. She took a deep breath and looked back to her friends. They both smiled. She took a deep breath again.  
"well… here goes…" she silently said. She reached up and hesitantly knocked the door.  
"coming." a voice said from within. Fluttershy recognized it as her Mom's voice. She happily gasped when she heard it was her. She was even more happy to hear 2 different sets of hoof-steps coming.  
The door opened wide, revealing a more full-grown version of Fluttershy and a orange Earth Pony mare right there. they looked down and gasped when they saw who it was. "F-Fluttershy?"  
A tearful Fluttershy looked up. "hi Mom. Mommy." she choked up. "Long time, no see."  
Both her mothers collapsed to the knees and hugged their daughter. "we missed you so much." Summer cried.  
"I missed you too, Mommy." Fluttershy cried back.  
Edge and Bahamut felt uncomfortable being in the middle of this. Fluttershy sensed this and broke the hug.  
"it's been too long, Fluttershy." Autumn sniffled, trying to hold back the tears.  
"I know, Mom." Fluttershy sniffled. "I want to introduce to a couple of friends of mine." she ran on back to the male duo and stood between them. "This is Bahamut, a Dragon from… out of planet and Edge, my best friend in the world."  
Bahamut stood there with a comical fazed face. "and what am I, chopped liver?" the 4 just stood there with blank expressions. "It's a human sa- never mind."  
"he's a bit odd." Edge and 'Shy both said.  
"so, Fluttershy, what happened to you these past 11 years?" Summer asked.  
"you mean… Gale didn't tell you?"  
"no. why?" Autumn asked.  
"It's nothing. Just means this is gonna be a long story." she said with happiness in her voice.  
"Well, come in. better to talk indoors, right? We got some cookies ready." Summer asked as the 2 walked back in.  
"OOH! Cookies." Bahamut flew on in, eager to get the first one.  
Edge gave a groaning sigh before walking after him. "Edge…" he stopped when he heard his name. "Thanks for encouraging me to do this."  
Edge smiled. "No problem, 'Shy."


	54. Spike & RaritySweetie Belle: Fire Lily

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Matchmaker

Chapter 12

"wow. Zilver really said that?" Ash asked. The humans gathered at Orion's engine room when they learned of what had transpired hours earlier to the guys.  
"yep. The Scumbag said that he was gonna have nothing to do with Applejack or their foal." Aura angrily said.  
Everyone nodded in agreement.  
"yeah, but Spike and Rarity have a big problem." Ash said. "thanks to Sweetie Belle and her love for Spike, there's a chance that their relationship is over and done with before it began. And he had such a good plan to win her love."  
"well, you haven't keep keeping an eye on Shadow." Satoshi said. "he's in love with Dash but since she's going out with Soarin', he's keeping his feelings bottled up. Eventually, they're gonna explode out."  
"well, Twi and Halo are reaching a breaking point. Literally. I think if they don't talk soon, they won't have a chance to reconcile this." Req muttered.  
"well, me, Bahamut, and Sora can safely say we don't have to worry about this." Jax said as she leaned back.  
"aren't you guys lucky?" the rest sarcastically replied.  
"but seriously, we need to do something for them.' Sora said. "If not, this could cause a lot of damage to them."  
"especially Starlight." Req added. "If a expectant mother gets under a lot of pressure, it can have very bad consequences on the baby. I'm glad Jess was strong willed when she was pregnant."  
The gang looked at each other and nodded. "well, I can't believe I'm saying this, but… Requiem, time to unleash the romance monger."  
Requiem disappeared for a moment and reappeared dressed as Cupid. "I'm ready to go to work." she jokingly said. A arrow tipped with the heart symbol fell out of the plastic bow she held. Everyone gagged at the outfit and instantaneously came up with the same reaction:  
"Lose the outfit!"

Spike & Rarity/Sweetie Belle:  
Fire Lily

Spike deeply sighed as he laid in his bed. He stared up at the ceiling as he has always done for the past couple of days.  
"I don't know what to do with him." Twilight whispered to Ash and Requiem down below. "he's never been like this before."  
"well what did you expect? He had his heart broken, shattered, stepped on, and spit on by the love of his life." Ash said. Twi and Req gave him a weird look. "What? I had experience."  
"right. So, what do we do with him?" Twi asked.  
"I don't know but we gotta go get prepared, Sparkle. They ain't gonna wait forever." Req said as she looked at a imaginary watch. She walked behind Twilight and pushed her into the back room.  
Ash walked in the opposite direction to a nearby bookshelf. "hmm… wonder if they have any westerns?" he muttered as he looked though the titles.  
The main door jingled open. Ash looked and saw Sweetie Belle walk in with flowers and a box of chocolates. Ash found that suspicious.

Spike depressingly sighed as he had always done for the past 2 days. A knock came from the door, getting his attention. "who is it?" he asked.  
Sweetie Belle hopped on in. "hey, Spike." she sympathetically said. "how you doing?" Spike breathed smoke out of his nose before moving in the opposite direction away from her. "listen, I heard what Rarity did. That was real mean of her."  
"Go away, Sweetie Belle." Spike gloomingly said. "I'm not in the mood to talk to you or any of your family."  
"oh, come on Spike." Sweetie ran over to his line of sight. Spike just rolled out of the way. "I'm not like my sister. I'm honest."  
"highly doubt that."  
"Come on, Spiky. I brought you chocolates. With nougat in them. Your favorite. And I got you Fire Lillie's."  
Spike got suspicious. "why are you doing this, Sweetie?"  
"does anyone need a reason to do something?" Spike didn't buy that and she knew it. "right. Well, I'm worried about you. Get over Rarity. Find someone else."  
"I'm not sure…"  
Sweetie rolled her eyes with a huff. "Come on. Get outta bed." Sweetie jumped over Spike and landed on the other side of his bed, grabbing his arms. "Me and Ruby Pinch have a idea on how to turn that frown upside-down."  
"I don't know, Swee-TAAAAY!" Sweetie pulled him out of bed and out the door.

Sweetie Belle used both her personal strength and her magic to pull Spike into the park. Ruby Pinch, Berry Punch's daughter, was waiting for them both.  
"finally. What kept you guys?! She asked.  
"Spike was being stubborn." Sweetie grunted as she finished pulling him up.  
"I was not." Spike gruffed. "Just didn't want to leave."  
"Sure." Pinch said. She rolled her eyes with a sneer, causing Sweetie to chuckle a bit.  
Spike sighed. "so… what's this plan you have for us?"  
Both Pinch and Sweetie brought up a tea set. "Tea Party!"  
Spike felt used and a bit peeved. "oh, joy." he sarcastically said.

Half a hour later, Sweetie and Pinch were having the time of their lives. Spike, on the other hand, was BORED AS HELL. Sweetie noticed this and scooched over to him.  
"Come on, Spike. Cheer up."  
"how can I cheer up, Sweetie? The love of my life just broke my heart."  
"Then find someone else. You know un…" Sweetie placed her hoof on his thigh. "I'm available."  
When Sweetie touched him, Spike felt a shiver go up his spine. And it was a odd shiver, too. Like… he wanted it. "un… S-Sweetie… what are you doing?" he nervously asked.  
"Something I wanted to do…" she stood on her hind legs and leaned in close. "…for a long time."  
Pinch held her mouth shut as she watched what was happening.

Rarity walked on by with a depressed feeling. She felt bad what had happened on the hill but her mind was also trying to figure out why Spike freaked out the way he did. "I told Sweetie Belle to give Spike the letter that I would be out for a day, but how did he get me going out with him out of it?"  
She walked down the path as normal but noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She looked and saw something that shocked her.  
Sweetie Belle leaned forward and kissed Spike. Rarity gasped in shock at the sight. She ran off before she could ask or even see Spike's reaction.

Spike pushed Sweetie away and wiped his mouth. "what were you doing?" he asked.  
"I-I was kissing you." Sweetie said, wondering what she did wrong.  
"Why?"  
"b-because I love you."  
Spike was shocked to hear that. "y-you love me?" Sweetie nodded. Spike sat back and gave a gasping chuckle. He was in pursuit of one when another wanted him. But, he doesn't want this. "Sweetie, I love you too…" Sweetie's face lit up. He said he loved her. Mission accomplished. "…but…" crap. There's a but. "…only as a friend. My heart belongs to Rarity, even if she did shatter my heart. Sorry, Sweetie."  
Like how Spike felt when he 'found out' that Rarity went back to Fancy Pants, Sweetie Belle's heart shattered into a million pieces. Holding back tears, she ran off.  
Spike felt horrible. "Sweetie Belle…" he got up and left for home.  
A confused Pinch looked at the spots where they were. "So… does this mean the tea party's off?"

"…I mean, I have no idea why I'm feeling this way." Rarity said as she told the whole mess to Sora, Vinyl, Octavia, Derpy, Pinkie, Lyra, and Bonbon at the Hooderve restaurant(the one from Ticket Master). "I mean, it's good that Sweetie Belle found love and Spike is hopefully over me, but… why do I feel bad?"  
"Simple." Sora said as she dipped her cookie in her milk. "You love Spike."  
"What?" Rarity exclaimed. "no no no no. there's no way I can be in love with him. He's much much younger then me, and he's a dragon, and… and… he's so masculine and handsome and…dreamy and…"  
The girls looked at each other and giggled. She was in love, all right. "Rarity…" Sora interrupted. "you love him."  
Rarity chuckled in disbelief. "no. no no. I can't be in love with him. I can't."  
"Why not?" Pinkie asked.  
"I just… I just can't…"

Begin Song: watch?v=Iun8MMB6IMU I Won't say I'm in love - Hercules soundtrack

Rarity got up and took a couple of steps.  
Rarity:  
if there's a prize for rotten judgment,  
I guess I've already won that.  
No man is worth the aggravation.  
The girls looked at each other and snickered.  
That's ancient history, been there, Done that.

Sora, Lyra, Bonbon, Derpy, Pinkie, Octavia, Vinyl and (Rarity):  
who'd'ya think your kidding? He's the earth and heaven to ya.  
Try to keep it hidden. Honey, we can see right though you. (oh, no)  
Rarity walked away from the restaurant, tossing a couple of bits back onto their table.  
Girl you can't conceal it. We know how you are feeling.  
And who you thinking of? (Oh…)

Rarity, (Sora, Lyra, Bonbon, Pinkie, Derpy, Octavia, and Vinyl):  
No chance, no way. I won't say it. No no.  
(you swoon. You sigh. Why deny it? Oh-oh.)  
It's too cliché. I won't say I'm in love.  
Rarity walked onto the bridge as the girls looked at each other, shrugging.  
(Shoo-doo. Shoo-doo. Oooh.)

Rarity:  
She looked over the edge into the water.  
I thought my heart had learned it's lesson.  
It feels so good when you start out.  
She looked up and hit her head before walking off.  
My head is screaming 'get a grip, girl.'  
Unless you're crying to die your heart out.

Sora, Lyra, Bonbon, Pinkie, Octavia, Vinyl and (Rarity):  
(Oh…)  
Rarity glanced back to them, rolled her eyes, and walked back to her boutique.  
you keep on denying.  
Who you are and what your feeling.  
Baby, we're not buying.  
Hon, we saw you hit the ceiling. (Oh…)  
Face it like a grown-up.  
When you gonna own up that ya got, got, got it bad…  
(oh…)

Rarity, (Sora, Lyra, Bonbon, Pinkie, Vinyl, and Octavia):  
no chance, no way, I won't say it. No no.  
(give up, but give in. check the grin, you're in love.)  
This scene won't play, I won't say I'm in love…  
(you're doin' flips. Read our lips: you're in love.)  
Rarity sat down on a bench outside the boutique.  
You're way off base, I won't say it.  
Get off my case, I won't say it.  
Sora dropped a Fire Lily onto Rarity's lap. She looked down and noticed it.  
(girl, don't be proud. It's O.K., you're in love…)

Rarity:  
She grabbed the lily and looked at it.  
oh…  
At least out loud…  
Rare smiled and held it close.  
I won't say I'm in…  
Love…

She laid back on the bench and gave a heavenly sigh.

End Song.

Rarity gently touched the lily as the girls smiled.  
"Mission Accomplished!" they all cheered.  
"And just in time, too." Derpy said. "Daring's dragging me somewhere. Gonna be gone tomorrow."  
" 'Kay." the rest said. Derpy waved good-bye and ran for the train station.  
"oh, what about Dinky?" Octavia asked.  
"I have Applejack looking after her." she called back as she kept running.  
"yeah, we're done." Pinkie groaned as she cracked her back. "and now to deal with Marble…" she muttered as she walked off. Sora followed after her. Everyone else soon departed as well.

Spike grumbled to himself as he looked at the words he had made out of rocks: 'you will be in my heart eternally, my one and only love.'  
He gave a groaning sigh. "I was such a idiot."  
"Well, I wouldn't say that." Ash said. He walked up and sat down beside him. Spike just gave him a glance before looking down to the ground. "you were in love."  
"still am. And I'm a idiot for being in love."  
"no, you aren't. there's trials and tribulations in every relationship. Just look at Twilight and Halo."  
"is there a reason you came here, Ash, or are you just going to go on about this?"  
"actually, there is a reason." Ash reached into his pocket and pulled out the letter Sweetie gave Spike. He took it and read it. "this is the same letter that got me into this mess."  
"And this…" Ash interrupted as he pulled out another letter. "is the REAL letter Fancy Pants wrote to Rarity."  
Spike didn't believe him but took the letter anyway. He read it and his sad frown turned upside-down. "Fancy Pants just wanted to talk to her about a business proposition?"  
"yep."  
That was a relief to him… and also made him realize that he acted like a idiot to Rarity. But there was one thing still puzzling him. "but… if this was the real letter, then why would Sw-" he figured it out. He got up and walked away.  
"where you going?" Ash asked.  
"to find a manipulative Sweetie Belle."

Rarity dreamily sighed as she messed with the lily. "me and Spike… how would that work?" she started to think about it but quickly dismissed it. "oh. It doesn't matter. Not in the slightest. We'll figure it out…"  
Commotion came from the boutique, getting Rarity's attention. She walked over and opened the door. What she saw made her gasp in anger.  
Everything inside the boutique was destroyed; clothes ripped, mannequins decapitated, mirror's cracked. Basically, it was a mess.  
Rarity gasped. "who would…" A mannequin fell over and Rarity found her culprit: a super-angry Sweetie Belle. "Sweetie Belle! What are you doing to my boutique?!"  
"Destroying it! What else!?" she yelled.  
"w-why?"  
"For taking Spike away from me!"  
"What are you talking about, Sweetie Belle?"  
"I'm talking about you!" Sweetie stormed over, stepping on the mannequin's head. "even though his heart was broken BY YOU, he still loves you! After everything I went though to make sure he'd hate you, he still loves you and…"  
That last line got to Rarity. "wait, what did you say?"  
Sweetie Belle stopped talking. "eep."  
"did you say you went to make sure he'd hate me? Is that why he's going on about Fancy Pants?"  
"un…"  
"What did you tell him, Sweetie Belle?!" a forceful Rarity asked.  
"she told me…" Spike said as he entered the door, holding up the fake letter. "… that you didn't love me at all. That you were just using me." Sweetie gulped in fear.  
"What? I would never do that. And what's that in your hand?"  
"A letter… that Sweetie Belle went out of her way to fake."  
"what?" Rarity took it out of her hands and read it, getting angry as she progressed. "Sweetie Belle…" Sweetie got nervous and fearful.  
"And that's not it. Remember the Fire Ruby? It was in the trash when I discovered this. But now, I think she planted it there."  
"I think she did too. I would never throw something that precious away."  
They both turned their attention to the now tearful Sweetie Belle. "you have a lot of explaining to do, young lady." Spike angrily said.  
Sweetie, however, just broke down and ran upstairs, crying her heart out.  
Spike felt sorry for her now and started after her. "Sw-" she was stopped by Rarity.  
"Don't. she needs a sister right now."

Sweetie Belle cried her eyes out as she buried her head into her pillow. Rarity gently knocked at the door.  
"Sweetie Belle…?"  
"Go away!" she cried out, throwing another pillow at the door. Rarity opened the door anyway and walked in. "I said leave me alone!" she cried.  
"Sweetie Belle. I just want to talk…" a gentle Rarity said.  
"just leave me alone, Rarity! You got what you wanted!"  
"a wounded sister? No, this is not what I wanted, Sweetie Belle."  
Sweetie sniffled. "then what did you want?"  
"I just want you to be happy. I would happily help you get Spike, but…"  
"but you love him too."  
Rarity paused. A smile formed on her face. "yeah. I do. And… I'm not sure if it'll work but I want to give it a try. But if I knew you would get hurt in anyway, I'd stop right away. I care about you more then I care about Spike, Sweetie Belle."  
Sweetie sniffled again and wiped her eyes. "You really mean it?"  
"really really." she patted on the spot she sat at. "come on. Give your sister a hug." Sweetie didn't want to get up. She was still torn up but her body had other ideas. She got up and hugged Rarity, continuing to cry. "shh. Shh… it's okay, Sweetie Belle. It's okay." Rarity then thought of a good idea. "hey. Remember the lullaby mom used to sing to you?" Sweetie Belle sniffled and shook her head no. "well, I think it went something like this." Rarity cleared her throat and softly sang…

There's a time when the moon  
Reveals it's face though the clouds.  
I let out a sigh  
And want to cry out loud.  
But deep in my heart  
I feel love so alive.  
In the depths of my soul  
I know we will survive.  
I'm the one they would break  
In their greed and their pride.  
But deep in my heart  
I feel love so alive.  
In the depths of my soul  
I know we will survive.

Sweetie Belle sniffled as Rarity finished singing.  
"Thanks sis…" Sweetie chokingly said as she sniffled again.

Spike picked up a busted up mannequin and put it back. He heard hoof steps coming from the stairs. He looked to see Rarity and Sweetie Belle walk down.  
"how'd it go?" he asked.  
Sweetie Belle stayed silent. Rarity urged her on. Sweetie sighed as she walked over. "Spike… Rarity… I'm sorry for what I did. I shouldn't have manipulated you two just so I could get Spike all for myself. I'm sorry for causing this whole mess. I'm so so sorry for everything."  
Spike lowered himself onto his knees and hugged her. Rarity joined in as well. "It's okay, Sweetie Belle. I forgive you." Spike said. Sweetie smiled as she hugged back. They all broke the hug. "but you should know that I only love you as a friend, not the same way I love…" he looked up at Rarity who slightly blushed. "… not the way I love Rarity."  
"I know." Sweetie sighed.  
Spike smiled and got up. He looked to Rarity. "So… what now?"  
"I don't know." She replied.  
Sweetie rolled her eyes. She knows what she would do in this situation. She walked behind Rarity and pushed her as hard as she could into Spike. Rarity yelped as she ran into Spike, causing both her and the unsuspecting Drake to kiss.  
` both went wide-eyed but didn't break it. Instead, they just smiled, closed their eyes, put their arms around each other, and continued to kiss.  
Sweetie smiled for them both. She was sad that she wasn't getting Spike for a coltfriend but you can't win them all, no matter how hard you try. And she is willing to step aside and let Rarity have him. Besides, she might meet someone new in the future.  
She walked to the door and stepped outside, leaving the two new lovers alone.


	55. Trixie & LilyLuna: True Love

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Matchmaker

Chapter 13

"wow. Zilver really said that?" Ash asked. The humans gathered at Orion's engine room when they learned of what had transpired hours earlier to the guys.  
"yep. The Scumbag said that he was gonna have nothing to do with Applejack or their foal." Aura angrily said.  
Everyone nodded in agreement.  
"yeah, but Spike and Rarity have a big problem." Ash said. "thanks to Sweetie Belle and her love for Spike, there's a chance that their relationship is over and done with before it began. And he had such a good plan to win her love."  
"well, you haven't keep keeping an eye on Shadow." Satoshi said. "he's in love with Dash but since she's going out with Soarin', he's keeping his feelings bottled up. Eventually, they're gonna explode out."  
"well, Twi and Halo are reaching a breaking point. Literally. I think if they don't talk soon, they won't have a chance to reconcile this." Req muttered.  
"well, me, Bahamut, and Sora can safely say we don't have to worry about this." Jax said as she leaned back.  
"aren't you guys lucky?" the rest sarcastically replied.  
"but seriously, we need to do something for them.' Sora said. "If not, this could cause a lot of damage to them."  
"especially Starlight." Req added. "If a expectant mother gets under a lot of pressure, it can have very bad consequences on the baby. I'm glad Jess was strong willed when she was pregnant."  
The gang looked at each other and nodded. "well, I can't believe I'm saying this, but… Requiem, time to unleash the romance monger."  
Requiem disappeared for a moment and reappeared dressed as Cupid. "I'm ready to go to work." she jokingly said. A arrow tipped with the heart symbol fell out of the plastic bow she held. Everyone gagged at the outfit and instantaneously came up with the same reaction:  
"Lose the outfit!"

Trixie & Lily/Luna  
True Love

The moon shone brightly down onto the land, illuminating the sky.  
Trixie sighed happily as she rested her head on Lily's lap. "is there such a thing as a perfect night?"  
"I'd say… yes." Lily replied, kissing her on the forehead. "you're perfect, Trixie."  
"Same to you, Lily."  
Lil smiled at Trixie. The 2 shared a long kiss on the lips. The 2 broke the kiss and continued looking at the stars.  
After 5 minutes of just looking at the night sky, Trixie said, "you know, I always felt comfortable at night. I felt at peace, in a sense."  
"really?"  
"Yeah. Even more so with you."  
"aw." Lily kissed her on the forehead again. That also made Lily think of something, something she probably should've asked before. "um… Trixie? Speaking of the night, what do you think of Princess Luna?"  
"the princess? Well, she's all right. She's good looking but she's got nothing on you."  
Lily got nervous. "really? You don't think she's sweet or caring, or has a nice plot?"  
Trixie chuckled. "Why would I worry about that when I have you? My heart belongs to you, Lily. Not Twilight, not Luna, not anypony else."  
"oh. Well, that's good to hear." Lily replied with a hint of regret.  
"Although, I will admit, she does have a nice bod."  
Lily internally breathed a sigh of relief. Least that's one aspect Trixie likes about Luna.

"I think I made a mistake." Luna told Celestia, Cadence, and Armor back at Canterlot. She took the flower lily out of her hair, dropping her Lily disguise and reverting back to Day-Time Luna.  
"how so?" Cadence asked.  
"Cause Trixie's in love with Lily and not Me."  
"What do you mean?" Celestia asked.  
"well, you know me and Trixie have been going out for a couple weeks right."  
"Think I heard you mention they were the best 2 weeks of your life." Armor said.  
"and they were, but… I think I built Lily up too much. Trixie's too in love with her. I mentioned 'me' tonight and she didn't think much about me. Although she did admit I have a nice body." nobody's arguing that statement. "What am I going to do if she finds out that Lily is really… me?"  
Nobody was really sure what to say about that. "well, it could go one of two ways…" Armor started. Luna looked at him with fear in her eyes. "1; Trixie will hate you for leading her astray and never want to see you again." Luna sadly looked away. That possibility scares her to death. "or 2; she won't care and love you all the same."  
"I know. It's the first option that scares me the most. I don't want to lose her. Trixie is the best thing that happened to me in a Long, Long time."  
Celestia and Cadence felt the same. While she missed Cosmos and Erys, Tia knew they were the best things to happen to her and Cadence felt the same with Armor and their coming child. Then, all 3 had the same idea.  
"hey. I just got a crazy idea." Cadence said. Luna sadly looked up at her. "How about a double date? Me and Armor with yo… I mean Lily and Trixie."  
"A double date?"  
"yeah. We'll go to Ponyville tomorrow, have some fun and, maybe, you reveal your true form to Trixie."  
"I-I don't know, Cadence. It sounds like a good idea, but… but I'm not sure."  
"Trust me, Auntie Luna. It'll go fine. You'll see."  
Luna wasn't sure. Like Armor said, if she does reveal that Lily was her all along, Trixie might hate her with a vengeance. Of course, she could still love Luna regardless. Still, the princess of the night wasn't eager to put it to the test.

Trixie hummed a sigh as she messed with a white lily. "Ah, Lily. There's no one better then you, my white angel."  
"you're really love-struck, aren't ya?" Twilight asked.  
"yeah. Lily is just perfect."  
"well, be careful. Perfection can have a dark-side."  
"I am well aware of that, Twi. Remember, I thought you were perfect."  
"OH, I remember. Me and every other pony in the country remember." Trixie chuckled nervously. Twi just chuckled. "so, what are you and Lily going to do tomorrow?"  
"well, she wrote about coming tomorrow with Cadence and Armor."  
"Cadence and Armor?" Twi asked curiously. "how does she know them?"  
"she has a friend in the royal guard that knows them."  
"huh." Twi was curious that she didn't know that. "They didn't mention they knew a Lily."  
"you can't expect your brother to tell you every aspect of his life."  
Twi lightly shrugged, remembering back to when she got the announcement for his wedding. "true."  
Trixie got up and put the flower into her mane. "See you later, Twilight. I got to go get ready."  
"get ready? But Lily's not coming till tomorrow."  
"I know." she turned to Twi and winked. "But a girl's gotta be prepared."

Luna, in her Lily guise, brushed her hair as Celestia's sun began to set.  
Cadence opened the door and popped her head in. "You almost done, Luna?"  
"Almost. Just putting on a few finishing touches." she replied, putting a few ribbons in her mane.  
"wow. You're gonna make Trixie think she's dating a princess." Luna raised a eyebrow to her. "er… I mean..."  
"I know what you meant, Cadence." Luna took the flower out of her hair and fell into her day-time form. "I'm just worried about how she'll react."  
Cadence gave her aunt a friendly pat on the back. "stay positive, Lulu. Just hope she'll love you for who you are."  
Luna nodded with a sad sigh. She wasn't sure about this. She grabbed the flower and put it in her hair, transforming her into Lily. "well, *Deep sigh* let's go."  
She took a few steps to the door before Cadence stopped her. "un… Auntie Lulu…" Cadence pointed out the window to a moonless night.  
"oh, geez. Almost forgot."  
Luna quickly used her magic and raised the moon as fast as she could. The sudden appearance caused the tides to shift suddenly at the port towns, causing tsunamis.  
"Okay. Let's go." Luna said as she walked out the door.  
Cadence held a hoof to her mouth and bit it, wincing at the destruction she's imagining. "we're gonna hear about this." she muttered.

Trixie hummed as she brushed her own hair in front of her mirror, making long and smooth.  
"well, aren't you looking fancy tonight?" Zilver said. "Lily's gonna think she's dating a princess."  
"yeah." that comment sent Trixie back to last night and what Lily had said. "you know, Lily mentioned something about Luna last night. Said she was caring and sweet. She even said she had a nice plot."  
"well, didn't you say that Lily has a friend in the royal guard?"  
"yeah, I did."  
"Maybe she met Luna though that and they hit it off." Trixie gave him a sneer. Zil heard his words and winced. "that came out wrong, didn't it?"  
"Ya think?" Trixie exclaimed. She sighed as she looked in the mirror. "I just hope this double date goes well. I never met royalty before."  
"it'll be fine." Zil walked over and kissed his sister on the forehead. "trust me."  
Trixie smiled, gave her brother a quick hug, and got up. "thanks, Zil. You're the best." she walked over to the closet and pulled out a few dresses. "now, which one looks best on me?"

Several hours later, Cadence, Armor, and Lu… I mean Lily arrived at Ponyville via train, clad in fancy clothes, and met with Trixie, who was dressed in a seductive get-up, at Cavern on the Green. Trixie didn't like coming here, having painful memories of what happened last time she was here. Lily reassured her that it'll be okay and the group went in.

Laughter and chatter filled the best restaurant in Equestria. Thanks to Armor's and Cadence's status, they were able to get a great table between the band and aquarium. Cadence and Armor were just finishing telling a story.  
"…and then…" Armor gulped down his food. "…and then he slips in on Luna in the bath."  
"Oh, no." Trixie and Cadence laughed. Lily, however, tried to hide her blushing. "what happened next?" Trix asked.  
"Luna sent him flying half-way to Maredrid. Right into a farmer's chicken coop." the trio laughed again. Lily pretended to laugh, not wanting to blow her cover too soon.  
"Oh my goodness. I haven't laughed like that in ages." Trixie cried, wiping a tear while she still laughed. "so, what happened to the poor shlup?"  
"don't know. He stayed in Maredrid. Although…" Armor used his magic to summon a postcard, "…we did get a postcard from him." Trixie took it and looked at it. Cadence, Lily and a passing waitress leaned in to see the guard with a wide grin, a Hawaiian shirt, and mare in each arm.  
"ladies man." they all said. The seated trio looked up at the waitress. "sorry." she said before walking off.  
Trixie continued chuckling. Cadence saw this as a opportunity. "so, Trixie, what do you think of Luna?"  
Lily gulped. She knew Cadence would bring this up. Trixie stirred her drink. "she's a'ight but why would I care?"  
Cadence shrugged. "well, I don't know. Just asking. But, if you could, pretend you weren't dating Lily for a moment, what would be the best aspect of Luna you like?"  
Trixie looked to Lily for confirmation. She nodded and gestured Trixie to go on. "un, well… …mmm… well, she's got a nice bod and I want to know who does her hair but, other then that…"  
Lily got a sad expression and Armor noticed it. "y-you sure about that? There's nothing else about her you like, like maybe her personality, her laugh…"  
"Why should I?" Trixie interrupted. "I'm not going out with her. I got me Lily. Every other Mare out there, in my eyes, is UUUUGLY. Cadence, right now, looks like a Diamond Dog in my eyes."  
Cadence got a little pit peeved by that comment. "gee, thanks. Always pleasant to know what I look like." she angrily said as she sharply bit into a breadstick.  
Now Lily got really nervous, to where she started to freak out. "s-s-so what does Luna look like to you?"  
"Manatee." Trixie nonchalantly said, stirring her drink.  
That comment hit her home. Armor gulped in fear. "m-Manatee?"  
"Manatee." Trixie swigged down her drink in one gulp. "and truth be told, I don't know why most colts find her sexy. I mean, she has a nice bod, but I don't see it. And from what I heard from Twilight's friends, she's pretty scary. That I can see since she was Nightmare Moon and all. Truthfully, she scares the bejeezus out of me."  
Lily, or rather Luna, entered full-out panic mode. She rapidly breathed and bit her hooves. Trixie noticed this. "Lily, you okay?" Armor and Cadence backed their chairs as far back as they could, leaving Trixie confused.  
"I...I…I…I...I…" Lily didn't know what to do. Her marefriend just told her that Luna was just a scary mare. "I need some air." she quickly got up and ran out.  
Trixie was confused by what was going on here. She got up and went after Lily. "Thanks for the meal." she told Cadence and Armor before running off.  
"how do you think this is going to end?" Armor asked.  
"not well."

Lily ran out as fast as she could and ran as far as the edge of town before stopping and panting. Trixie ran up behind her and panted as well. "why'd you run out like that, Lil?"  
"Stop! Calling me that." she exclaimed.  
"Why? That's your name, isn't it?"  
"No. no it's not." Lily looked back to Trixie with a mixture of sadness and anger in her eyes. Trixie was confused and fearful of that look. Lily reached up and took the flower out of her hair.  
Her body glowed and grew till it was the size of Luna's night-form. A tearful Luna looked at a stunned Trixie. "y-you… you're Luna?"  
"Yes. I'm the Mare who scares the bejeezus out of you." she cried. She tossed the lily to the ground and took to the skies, leaving a stunned Trixie behind.  
Luna silently cried and wiped her eyes of any tears, flying as fast as she could to Canterlot.  
Trixie fell to her knees, still stunned that her Marefriend was the Princess of the Night. She used her magic to bring the lily Luna used over to her. "Luna…" she looked up to Canterlot then back down to the flower.

Luna sadly laid in her bed, head buried in a pillow as Celestia comforted her.  
"she just… made it out that I'm a monster in her eyes." Luna said, trying not to shed a tear.  
"these things happen, Luna. You can't think that everyone's perfect or else you'll get hurt."  
A teary-eyed Luna removed her face from the pillow and looked at her sister. "was it like that with you and Cosmos?"  
Celestia nodded. "more then once. There were times when he hurt me and… times I hurt him. But we seemed to have gotten our act together when Erys was born."  
"but did he tell you you were a monster or ugly as sin?"  
"Well… no, but…"  
"Then you don't know what I'm going though right now."  
A knock came from the door. Luna looked away. Celestia gently patted her back. The knock came again. "Come in." Celestia said.  
A Lunar Pony walked in and bowed. "Princess Celestia, Princess Luna has a visitor who wishes to see her."  
"who?" Luna asked.  
"A Unicorn named Trixie Lulamoon."  
"Trixie?" Luna gasped. "did she come here to ridicule me again? To hurt me even more?"  
"no. she just wants to talk to you." Luna looked away from the guard and out the window. "your majesty?" Luna looked up at the moon. Looking at it reminded her of the time she, as Lily, and Trixie had.  
"Tell her… I'll meet her in the throne room."  
The guard bowed and left. Celestia scratched her head in confusion. Lulu…?'  
"It's okay, Tia. I can handle this."

Trixie looked up at a stained glass depiction of Twilight and her friends defeating Nightmare Moon, Discord, and Chrysalis. On another stain glass, the Humans arrival and total destruction of Nightmare Moon was depicted.  
She heard hoof steps walk in and a door close. Without looking, she knew who it was. "hi, Li… Luna."  
Luna walked in but stopped at the doors. "Trixie." she said with distain.  
"Guess I deserve that." Trixie turned around and stared at her.  
"Why are you here, Trixie?" Luna asked in the same tone as before.  
"I… I came to apologize. I just said those things so Lily would think I loved her more then anyone else in the world."  
"well, it worked."  
"and the worst part is I meant it. But, if I had known that you were Lily all along, I wouldn't have said anything."  
"It's too late for that now, Trixie. You broke my heart and tossed it asunder." tears started to well up in her eyes. "you really hurt me, Trixie!"  
"I know and I know nothing I say will do anything to repair it. I know a broken heart is a bad thing. Trust me…I know from experience." Trixie remembered the events of the fiasco with them turning human and Nightmare Moon returning. "but… but I still love you."  
Luna scoffed. "now your just saying things."  
"I mean it." Trixie summoned up the flower used by Luna to turn into Lily. "and to show you that I mean it…" Trixie looked up at Luna and smiled. Luna got curious to what Trixie was planning to do. Trixie tossed the flower to the floor and smashed it.  
Luna gasped in shock when Trixie made sure it was destroyed. "I don't love Lily, not anymore when I love you." Luna just stood there in shock. Trixie sighed when she didn't get a response. "but… if you aren't going to say anything…" Trixie lowered her head and walked to the door, stopping near Luna. "I guess I'll be on my way." she used her magic to summon another lily. She placed it in Luna's hair and kissed Luna on the cheek. "That's the only lily I need."  
Celestia, Cadence, and Armor watched from behind a pillar. "Come on, Luna. Forgive her already." Cadence winced.  
Trixie took a few steps to leave when she was suddenly turned around and kissed by Luna. Trixie went wide-eyed at first but gave in and let Luna kiss her. Tia, Cadence, and Armor silently cheered 'yes.'  
Luna broke the kiss and gave a tearful smile. They both leaned forward and lightly touched their foreheads together. "you know how to make a girl happy, you know that?" Luna softly said.  
"well, I know more then one way, Lulu."  
Luna giggled like a school-girl. "come on. Let's go into my room."  
Trixie smiled and kissed her 'new' marefriend on the snout. Luna took Trixie's hoof and lead Trixie to her room.


	56. Twilight and Halo: Into the Everfree

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Matchmaker

Chapter 14

"wow. Zilver really said that?" Ash asked. The humans gathered at Orion's engine room when they learned of what had transpired hours earlier to the guys.  
"yep. The Scumbag said that he was gonna have nothing to do with Applejack or their foal." Aura angrily said.  
Everyone nodded in agreement.  
"yeah, but Spike and Rarity have a big problem." Ash said. "thanks to Sweetie Belle and her love for Spike, there's a chance that their relationship is over and done with before it began. And he had such a good plan to win her love."  
"well, you haven't keep keeping an eye on Shadow." Satoshi said. "he's in love with Dash but since she's going out with Soarin', he's keeping his feelings bottled up. Eventually, they're gonna explode out."  
"well, Twi and Halo are reaching a breaking point. Literally. I think if they don't talk soon, they won't have a chance to reconcile this." Req muttered.  
"well, me, Bahamut, and Sora can safely say we don't have to worry about this." Jax said as she leaned back.  
"aren't you guys lucky?" the rest sarcastically replied.  
"but seriously, we need to do something for them.' Sora said. "If not, this could cause a lot of damage to them."  
"especially Starlight." Req added. "If a expectant mother gets under a lot of pressure, it can have very bad consequences on the baby. I'm glad Jess was strong willed when she was pregnant."  
The gang looked at each other and nodded. "well, I can't believe I'm saying this, but… Requiem, time to unleash the romance monger."  
Requiem disappeared for a moment and reappeared dressed as Cupid. "I'm ready to go to work." she jokingly said. A arrow tipped with the heart symbol fell out of the plastic bow she held. Everyone gagged at the outfit and instantaneously came up with the same reaction:  
"Lose the outfit!"

Twilight & Halo:  
Into the Everfree

Twilight hummed with her eyes closed, taking a much needed bubble bath.  
"oh, mama. I needed this." she contently sighed, getting comfortable. "I can just feel the stress washing away." she grabbed a rubber ducky and squeezed it, making it squeak. "if Starlight was here already, she'd be laughing at you." she squeaked it again. She chuckled and rubbed her pregnant belly. "can't wait for you to come, Star. Just 9 months till we meet."  
The sound of door hinges squeaking from downstairs caught her attention. The door closed and she heard footsteps. She sighed as she said, "Must be Requiem or Spike. They are the only one's who walk in without knocking." she should really teach those two to knock. "I'm up here!" she called downstairs.  
The sounds of footsteps approached the bathroom. Twilight tossed the ducky away, hoping they wouldn't see it.  
The footsteps stopped outside. "huh?" the sound of doors opening came, making Twilight roll her eyes. "Guess 'up here' was a little vague." she droned to herself.  
Eventually, the footsteps reached the door to the bathroom. Twi saw a shadow move towards it from the other side. The door suddenly opened, making Twi shrieked when she saw who it was. "Halo!"  
"Twilight!" he exclaimed. He quickly shut the door.  
"What were you doing!?"  
"you told me to come up!" Halo retorted.  
"You could've knocked first!"  
"How was I supposed to know you were taking a bath?"  
"Still, Knock First!"  
"Okay, okay, okay."  
Twilight gave a groaning sigh. "what you come by for, Halo? You need to look at the maps AGAIN? I told you time and time again that there are no maps to the Everfree Forest in there."  
"It's not about that. Requiem told me to meet her here."  
"Req?" now Twi was curious. "What did she want?"  
"I don't know. She just told me to meet her here."  
"huh." Twi pulled the plug on her bath and let the water drain. "Meet me downstairs. I gotta dry off first."  
"okay." Halo took a few steps before stopping. "you know, you look cute wet." Halo walked off, unaware that Twi was blushing at his comment.

Halo waited down below, tapping his foot and reading a book. Twilight came down with a tower wrapped around her hair and another around her body. "where's Req?"  
"Don't know."  
The main door opened wide and Req strode on in. "good. You're both here."  
"what's going on, Req?" Twi asked.  
Requiem walked over and slammed something onto the table. "boom. One map to the Everfree Forest, ready, willing, and able."  
Halo took the map and looked it over, feeling a little disappoint. "o-oh." Twi heard the disappointment in his voice but Req didn't. "where'd you get this?"  
"Zecora. The Zebra the both of you have been neglecting to go see for a map. She's lived their long enough to make one."  
"right." Halo looked at the map again. "guess the secrets of the Everfree will be revealed soon."  
Twi looked at Halo. "{(why is he disappointed? He wanted this since he came? There's something he's not telling me. And I plan on finding out.)}"

The next day, at sunrise, Halo looked his supplies over, getting ready for the trip into the Everfree Forest. "food… check. Climbing gear… check. Map…" Halo glanced over to the map and angrily sighed. He used his magic to grab it and pull it over. He slammed it into his saddle-bags. "…check."  
"Something wrong?" Twilight asked. Halo glanced to his left and spotted Twi and Req coming downstairs.  
"It's nothing." he replied in the same tone he always had. He slung the saddle-bags on. Doing so, he noticed that Twilight also had a saddle-bag and Req, a knapsack. "Where are you two going?"  
Twi chuckled. "with you, silly."  
"What!?" Halo exclaimed in surprise.  
"You heard her." Requiem said. "you're going into uncharted territory. We're not gonna let you go alone."  
"I can handle myself. I'm not exactly a novice in magic. Plus, Twilight is pregnant."  
"only 2 months, and during my magic fast, I only used magic 3 times. I have some built up magic leftovers to use. And I am SO not going to be cooped up in Ponyville until Starlight arrives."  
Halo isn't so sure. "Twi…"  
"we'll be fine. Besides, I'm curious as to what we'll find in the forest."  
"You and me both." Requiem said. "now let's get going."  
"yeah." Requiem walked past Halo and to the door. Halo groaned as he face-hoofed. Twilight giggled at Halo as Requiem opened the door.  
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS EXPLORERS!"  
That sudden yell sent the 3 jumping. Standing in the doorway was Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, Pipsqueak, Featherweight, and Dinky.  
"What the!? What are you guys doing here?" Req asked, still a bit scared stiff. Halo feinted a heart attack, hitting his head against the table as he went down, knocking him out. Twi ran to his side.  
"We're joining you guys." Dinky said.  
"What? No. no no no. we're going into the Everfree Forest, that's a dangerous place."  
"we've all been there before at one time or another." Applebloom said.  
"plus, we're bored. Everyone's got something going on, whereas we have squat. Besides, we might find our Cutie Marks." Sweetie Belle said.  
"Squat? I thought you were pining for Spike." Twi said, waving a fan in Halo's face.  
Sweetie cringed. "yeah… I'll let him explain it to you." she shook her head, getting Spike out of her system.  
"besides, we're pretty tough ourselves. We've been in more accidents then Derpy and Rainbow Dash combined and came out with nothing less then scratches." Scootaloo said.  
"you 3, maybe. But what about these other 3?"  
"oh, right. Meet Feather Weight, Dinky, and Pipsqueak. The new members of the Cutie Mark Crusaders."  
"problem." Req said. "Pip here is pint sized, Dinky, as Jax told me, is a bit of a fraidy-cat, and Feather Weight…" Req leaned to the side and looked at his mark. "He already has a Cutie Mark."  
"4 Syllables: Ex-Per-Ie-Nce." Feather said.  
"I may look frail…" Pipsqueak boxed with thin air. He gave a uppercut that sent him spinning a bit. Dinky lightly touched his head, stopping him. "…but I'm as tough as the Moon."  
"and I'm pretty good with my magic." Dinky said. Her horn glowed. The magic glowed around Requiem's Shoelaces. Req looked down to see the laces of both shoes tie together.  
"wow. We'll be safe if we get attacked by killer shoes." Req sarcastically said.  
The CMC looked to each other and smirked. "Into the Everfree!" they proudly exclaimed. They ran off to the forest.  
"Wait!" Req yelled. "We didn't say yes." she tried to talk a step forward but remembered that Dinky tied her laces together. So, she resorted to hopping. "we don't even known how you found out about this."  
Halo groaned as he stirred awake. "what happened?" he groggingly asked.  
"we have some company joining us…" Twi droned.

" tell everypony we're on our way, and we're loving every step we take…"  
The foals sang as they bounced and hopped though the Everfree Forest. Req, Twi, and Halo, on the other hand, were taking their time.  
"We couldn't talk them out of this?" Halo asked.  
"they were persistent." Requiem said, working on un-tying her shoes. "but Feather Weight might be a good addition. He does have a camera, after all. Be able to take pictures of what we find."  
Halo was going to say something but didn't when he ran into a tree. He quickly pushed off and shook his head. "That hurt." he shook his head again. "so…" he called out to the kids. "when were you all in the Everfree Forest before?"  
"well, me, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo came in here one time to search for one of Fluttershy's chicken's. wound up running across a Cockatrice."  
"I remember that." Twilight shivered. "being turned to stone was… a unique experience."  
"a Cockatrice? Meh. So, what about the rest of you?"  
"First time." they all said.  
Halo's eyes half-closed. "oh, lucky me. How'd I get some experts?"  
"Halo."  
"Sorry. So, what about you, Twi? You ever been in the Everfree Forest before?"  
"multiple times. To find the Elements of Harmony, save Fluttershy from a Hydra, meet with Zecora. Things of that nature." Halo's mouth dropped from that little explanation. "and I think Derpy has some experience. She did get lost in here when she was a kid."  
"WOW. Suddenly, I'm jealous. Hehe. What about you, Req?"  
"First time, actually. But, with all the monsters in here, it'd be nice to have some extra muscle." Req tapped her sword. Both Halo and Twi looked.  
"Hopefully you won't have to use that." Twi said.

The group eventually came to a raging river. Twilight recognized it as the same river where she and her friends met with that sea serpent Rarity gave her tail to.  
Pipsqueak dropped a stick into the rapids. Almost immediately, it got washed away. "now how do we cross? We can't fly."  
"and I can't carry you all across…" Requiem said. Sweetie Belle got bored and walked down the river, following it. "…All at once or 1 at a time, I'd still get tired. And if I get tired crossing this…"  
"We end up as Eel bait." Twist gulped.  
"can't you just freeze it?" Applebloom asked.  
"Same problem. It could break from the rapids before we'd get halfway."  
"and we can't teleport across, on account of Starlight…" Twi muttered. "Where's that serpent when we need him?"  
"Hey guys. Look at this!" Sweetie Belle called out from down the river. The group converged on her location.  
"What is it?" Halo asked.  
"Someone was here recently." she said. She pointed down at the remains of a campfire.  
"A camp?" Twi said in surprise. "Who would camp near a raging river?"  
"must not have been raging then." Req said.  
Halo grabbed a piece of burnt kindling. It turned to ash in his hooves. "this was recent. 5 months, at least."  
"long before we came. Was it Zecora?"  
"why would she need a campfire? She has her own hut." Feather Weight said.  
"it wasn't her…" Halo pointed down to the ground, at a clearly visible clawed footprint. "unless she has claws." Dinky shook in fear. Halo took notice of this. "It's okay, Dinky. Whatever was here is long gone by now."  
"I sure hope so." a scared Dinky shivered. "I'm not a big fan of dragons. Spike and Bahamut, I can deal with, but others…"  
"Sounds a lot like Fluttershy." Req and Twi sighed.

The group walked up the river, hoping to find a bridge. Before doing so, they did go down-river, only to find a waterfall 150 feet away.  
"you know, you never did say what we're doing here." Applebloom said. "are we searching for ? Lost ruins? A forgotten civilization?"  
"no. we're here to figure out how the Everfree Forest does what it does; have the sun and moon rise on their own, things grow by themselves, animals take care of themselves. Things of that nature."  
Requiem is curious about that but about the opposite. She's curious as to why Equestria, the country, was 'cut off' of the world. By that, she means why Celestia and Luna raise the heavenly bodies, why Ponies take care of the animals and plants, why they change the seasons. That's been bugging her since day 1 and, until she leaves, she's gonna try to figure out that mystery.  
Pipsqueak jumped up onto a rock and looked off in the distance. "hey look. There's something over there." he pointed off to the distance. Everyone looked in the same direction. Far off, rising out of the woods, was a tower. Not really a tower, more like a beacon.  
"That's as good a place to start." Halo said.  
"ah, young Ponies. What are you doing this deep in the Everfree?" a familiar rhyming voice said.  
They all turned around and noticed a familiar Zebra standing behind them. "Zecora." Req, Twi, and the original CMC said.  
"What are you doing here?" Req asked.  
"when you came and took my map with ease, I thought I should come and lend my expertise."  
"oh. Well, lucky us." Twilight chuckled. "never thought of bringing in a expert." Req and Halo groaned as Req face-palmed.  
"and you're lucky that I arrived. The Timbers are on the rise."  
"Timbers?" Pipsqueak asked.  
"She must mean Timberwolves." Applebloom said. "Granny Smith encountered those when she was Applejack's age. Nearly killed her too. She said that they are deadly alone, and a force to be reckoned with in a pack."  
"great. I always wanted danger on this trip." Twi said sarcastically.  
"but we should be save till nightfall. Granny said they're nocturnal."  
Everyone looked up to the sky. Thankfully, it was midday.  
"I think we're good." everyone said.  
Zecora walked on ahead, taking the map out of Req's hands. She just shrugged and followed her. Everyone followed afterwards.  
A bush shook violently. Requiem looked back. The bush stopped shaking. She continued to watch it for a moment, making sure that what she saw was probably her imagination. "hmm…" she walked off after the group. A pair of eyes illuminated out of the bush, followed by a guttural growl.

After searching for a couple of hours, they found a bridge for them to cross to the other side. They crossed it and headed towards the tower they saw from the distance. When they got close to it, what they saw shocked and astonished them.

"Holy." everyone, even Zecora, exclaimed.  
The tower was smack-dab in the center of a palace in the center of a massive city.  
"this was in the Everfree Forest all this time!?" Twilight exclaimed.  
"it looks like it." Halo laughed.  
The group walked down to the town and headed for the palace.  
"This is amazing." Dinky laughed. "this was hidden all this time?"  
"The Everfree houses many mysteries." Zecora said.  
"I'll say." Dinky laughed as she ran on ahead to a house. "Who old do you think these are?"  
Halo walked over to the same house and peered in. inside, they both saw… nothing. "Thousands of years old, at least. Everfree Forest didn't get it's name until 2000 years ago, when Discord made his appearance."  
"wow."  
Req rolled her eyes. "if you two history buffs are done, we should go and check out the big palace there in the center there."  
Halo and Dinky looked back and chucked. "all right." they both whined.

The doors to the palace doors pushed forward a bit when something hit it. They budged forward again, and again. And again.  
"all right, that's it." Req said. The sounds of a chainsaw came from the other side.  
The entryway blasted open, the doors sending flying into the walls. Twi's horn glowed as Req stood there with a chainsaw, amazed that Twi blasted the double-decker doors down.  
"What? I had built-up magic." Twilight walked in.  
"no argument here." everyone said.

Scootaloo yawned. The group had found a hall filled with tapestries so, naturally, Halo wanted to investigate. "I'm bored." the flash of a camera caught her attention. Feather Weight, at Halo's command, was taking pictures of the tapestries.  
"These are remarkable." Halo gasped as he looked at them. "to have survive 2 Millennia in the middle of probably the most inhospitable environments in the world."  
"wonder what stories' they have." Dinky said.  
"Who knows? They might even say how the Everfree Forest got this way. It couldn't have just been Discord."  
Twilight looked over at Halo and smiled. "he's so good with kids. He'd be a good father for Starlight."  
Req groaned. "you're not…"  
"I am. He knows I love him but he keeps using in-experience in the dating game as a very bad excuse, but I'm still gonna tell him. That's why I came in the first place."  
Req, being the love lover that she is, saw this as a PRETTY good opportunity to get this two together. She was just putting this 'don't do it' façade for show. "Then I'm not going to stop you."  
"Thanks." Twi took a deep breath and smoothed out her hair. "how do I look?" Req didn't have time to respond as Twilight instantly turned around the moment she asked and walked over to Halo. "H-Halo."  
Halo, who was busy looking at the tapestries, looked over to her. "what is it, Twilight?"  
"I-I want to talk with you. In private."  
"Private?" Twi nodded. Halo was confused but accepted anyway. "okay. There's probably a room down the hall somewhere."  
The two walked down the hallway. Req watched as they walked on. "Sure hope this isn't the hormones talking." she said to herself.

Halo and Twilight walked into a observation dome, giving themselves the privacy she wanted. "what is it, Twi?"  
Twi got nervous. "n-never mind. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."  
"Twi…" Halo insisted.  
"All right!" Twi took another deep breath. "I love you, Halo."  
"oh, no. here we go again. I told you, I'm nervous about being in a relationship because of my in-experience."  
"and I believe that that is just a load on nonsense. If anything, it's the worst excuse I ever heard. Halo, I know you love me but you're too nervous to say or do anything." Halo looked away from her. "Halo… just throw that fear to the wind. Be spontaneous for once in your life."  
Halo sighed as he pondered what she said. As much as he hates to admit it, she has a point. He was using in-experience as a horrible excuse. Hell, Zilver could think of a better one. "Maybe… it was time he did some spontaneous. "Twi… I…" he looked behind her and saw something that made his mouth drop.  
Twilight looked the same way and nearly jumped in fear. "What in the world?"  
"Feather Weight." Halo called out. "Better get in here with that camera!"  
The sound of running steps approached them but they didn't take their eyes off the thing they were looking at. When the group entered, they gasped at what they saw.

Begin Song: watch?v=ejGpR-u8vzk Night of the Dark Dream - Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep OST

Standing before them was a stone mural as tall as the dome, covered in ancient writing and symbols, but the biggest feature is the picture in the center, a picture as big as the tablet, a picture of a apposing dragon.  
"Whoa!" Scootaloo and Applebloom gasped.  
"What in the world is this?" Dinky gasped. Zecora squinted her eyes to try and get a clearer picture. Something about the dragon felt… familiar.  
"Whatever it is. It's big." Halo gasped. "OH. Feather Weight. Pictures, please?"  
Feather looked up at the imposing tablet and it's picture. "I don't think I can fly that high."  
"I gotcha kid." Req said. She summoned up her wings, grabbed Feather Weight, and flew up to the top. Once he started taking pictures, she made her way to another area, where he took another picture.  
"This is… this is incredible. I doubt even Daring Do herself found something like this." Halo chortled. "this is just amazing."  
"but what's it mean? that's the bigger picture." Twi muttered. "I mean, we found tapestries in the hallways but they were made out of cloth. This… this is made out of stone. But… why would they dedicate it to a dragon?"  
"Maybe this has something to do with this." Dinky said, pointing to a section at ground level. Halo and Twi walked over. She was pointing at ancient pony writing.  
"I can't make heads or tails of this." Twi said as she scratched her head.  
Halo reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a piece of paper. He used his magic to grab a piece of charcoal. "I can. I got a translation guide back in Ponyville." he placed the paper over the writing and pushed the charcoal against the paper. He rubbed it against the paper. He moved it back a moment to see that a portion of the words transferred onto it. "times like this make me wish I memorized the thing."  
SNAP!  
The sound of snapping twigs never caught the eyes of the ponies or Requiem, but it did get Zecora's. she walked back to the hallway to see shadows at play. There was something moving outside, she was sure of it.  
"this city, and all it's secrets, could be the biggest thing in pony history. No no. in world history. It could answer so many questions, like why the ancient advanced civilization disappeared or why…"  
Requiem touched down on the ground. Feather Weight had already photographed what he could. "wait wait wait. Ancient Advanced Civilization?"  
"well, it's just myth's and rumors really, but they say that the Civilization of yore was more advanced then what we have now. They may have even had flying carriages that operated without stallions pulling them."  
"so did my world, till Catalyst came along and trashed the place."  
"hmm… maybe the ancients were destroyed by something or someone powerful, like that Catalyst fella you mention, Requiem." Sweetie Belle said. "Discord, maybe?"  
"Probably, but Discord doesn't destroy. He distorts and tries to make things 'fun.' fun for him, I might add." Twi said.  
"so… if it wasn't Discord… then who?"  
Growling and yipping came from outside but nobody but Zecora heard it. She started to get antsy.  
Dinky looked up at the mural. Something about that dragon scared her but also felt familiar, like she knows him. Which is impossible since she only knows Bahamut and Spike and they look nothing like ugly up there.  
"Done!" Halo exclaimed. He held up the paper with the words. "just need to translate this then we'll know what's what." he turned to Feather Weight. "Take a picture, just in case." Feather nodded and walked on over. "just need a safe place to put this till we get back."  
"I got it." Req said. She grabbed the paper, folded it up, and stuck it between her boobs. Twi raised a eyebrow in surprise. "what? On Earth, these are harder to get into then safes."  
Halo looked at the mural in suspicion. "what is it, Halo?" Twi asked.  
"that Mural. It's not the same age as the rest of the relics in this town."  
"what do you mean?"  
"I think it's older then this city."  
Zecora ran into the room. "We got trouble out in the gallows!"

End Song.

Begin Song: watch?v=K_1WvZKGRtU Unforgettable - Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep OST

Large bodies crashed though the windows and surrounded them all. The fillies screamed and cowered behind Req, Halo, Twi, and Zecora.  
"Timberwolves!" all the ponies exclaimed.  
Twi looked outside. The sun was still out but it was at sundown. "but it's still light out. You said they were nocturnal." she said to Applebloom.  
"I said Granny Smith said they were nocturnal. She's so old, she doesn't even remember how old she is."  
"Great. We're going to become wolf chow." Requiem drew her sword. "I'm gonna distract them. When I do, you all make for the bridge. I'll meet you there. Got it?"  
They weren't going to argue with a Goddess. They all nodded in unison.  
One of the Timberwolves, clearly the leader as he is the biggest and has a scar over his left eye, approached them and roared. It brandished it's claws and charged at Req.  
She swung her sword and stopped his claws. "Go!" she yelled. Power surged out of her, sending the leaded back a bit. With her wings now out, Req took to the air and flew out. The leader ran after her, the rest of the pack following him. The ponies ran as fast as they could towards the exit.

Requiem flew up to the top of the dome and landed. Her wings dissipated back into her body. The Timberwolves climbed up after her, intent on making her dinner. She spun her sword around and took her battle pose. "All right. Who's first?"

The ponies ran out of the palace and headed for the bridge. Applebloom looked back to see lightning strike the top of the dome, creating a explosion. "well, Req certainly has them distracted." she said.  
"but it's so abnormal." Halo said. "Timberwolves barely venture out in the day. And they don't operate in this big a pack." he looked back to the battle going on up on the roof. "I think someone's controlling them."

Req back flipped onto a Timberwolf. She blasted down at it with a fireball, putting it out of commission. She jumped off it and up into the air. She pulled a few mid-air cartwheels before falling to the ground. She landed and spotted that the ponies reached the bridge and are now crossing it.  
She looked at the Timberwolves. They had her surrounded, showing their teeth. "adios." she snickered, giving a two-finger salute. She jumped off and landed on the ground below. The Timberwolves began climbing down as Req made her way to the bridge.

Zecora was the last one across, rejoining her tired friends. Feather Weight looked up and spotted Req. "Here she comes." he said.

Req ran as fast as she could but the Timberwolves were faster. One jumped towards her and was about to get her. too. Req turned around and slashed at it. She spun around, her sword glowing. "Abotsu!" she yelled out, sending out a sword beam. The beam just bounced off but it did slow them down. "Damn. Better tell Amaterasu that that doesn't work on creatures made out of wood."

Req reached the bridge and ran across as fast as she could. On the other side, Halo and Zecora was cutting the ropes with sharp rocks but it was taking forever. "Come on. Hurry up!" Sweetie Belle whined.  
"We're hurrying, we're hurrying." Halo exclaimed.  
Zecora's rope cut, making the bridge list to the left. Req jumped up and landed on Halo's rope before it hit. The Timberwolves weren't so lucky. It caught them off guard, sending some into the raging river.  
Req jumped up and landed on the other side as Halo cut his. The bridge fell and the Timberwolves on it fell into the river.

End Song.

Req panted heavily as she put her sword into it's scabbard. She and the others looked back across the river at the remaining Timberwolves. The leader looked at her, baring it's teeth. Requiem angrily looked back at it, eyebrows as low as she could make them.  
The leader snarled back to it's pack. They retreated back into the city. The leader lingered for a moment before following them.  
"That… was too much excitement for my taste." Scootaloo panted. "and I like excitement."  
"We're not out of trouble yet." Twi said, looking up at the sky. The sun had just about set, casting it's twilight glow.  
"I'm not a fan of walking though the Forest at night." Pipsqueak said.  
"neither of us is, Pip." Halo said.  
"Let's go to the campsite we passed on the way." Req suggested. "We can stop there for the night."  
Halo looked to Twi. They both shrugged. "better then sleeping in the cold." they both said.

Night fell before they made it back to the campsite, forcing them to be on guard. Thankfully, no monsters jumped out to turn them into dinner. Once there, Req used a little magic to start a fire from the kindling remains that were still there.

Halo had fallen asleep as soon as they got there but Twi was feeling antsy for some reason. "I'm gonna go for a walk." she said before going off.  
"Be careful." Req said. As soon as she was gone, Requiem looked back at the pictures Feather Weight took of the Mural.  
"What's wrong, Req?" Scootaloo asked as she sat down beside her.  
"nothing but… there's something about this Dragon that feels familiar."  
"You two?" Zecora and Dinky asked.  
"you guys felt it as well?"  
"Yes indeed." Zecora nodded. "I felt something when seeing the painting. But confound my memory. It's not what it used to be."  
"hmm…" Req looked at the picture for a few before glancing to Dinky. "and you, Dinks?"  
"well, I'm not sure why. It's just… it felt like i knew him. Which is odd cause the only dragons I met are Spike and Bahamut."  
"And none of them look like Sabado De-Ugly here."  
Applebloom yawned. All this speculation was getting them nowhere. She turned her head to go to sleep when she noticed someone has gone missing. "Hey, where's Halo?"  
Req looked up and saw that Halo was gone. "where'd he…?" at that point, she knew where he disappeared to.

Twi sat on top of a hill, looking at the moon. She heard bushes move behind her. She readied her magic only to see it proved fruitless as Halo walked out.  
"Halo? What are you doing here?"  
"Listen, Twi. I've been thinking."  
"Thinking? About what?"  
"what you said to me back at the palace, before we found that mural. About me being inept at getting a girlfriend."  
"I didn't say that. I just said that you were using in-experience as a horrible excuse."  
"Right. I just… well, I heard that having your heart-broken isn't exactly the best experience and… and I'm not good with pain. I didn't want to suffer though that."  
"nobody does. But everyone experiences it at one point."  
"…yeah. But, since that talk, I've been thinking." Halo walked over and sat down beside her. "and… I keep trying to put it into words but…"

Begin Song: watch?v=UthRgOWPdAE I See The Light - Tangled Soundtrack

Twilight put a hoof over his mouth, shutting him up.

Twilight :  
All those days watching from the windows  
All those years outside looking in  
All that time never even knowing  
Just how blind I've been  
Now I'm here, blinking in the starlight  
Now I'm here, suddenly I see  
Standing here, it's all so clear  
I'm where I'm meant to be  
And at last I see the light  
And it's like the fog has lifted  
And at last I see the light  
And it's like the sky is new  
And it's warm and real and bright  
And the world has somehow shifted  
All at once everything looks different  
Now that I see you

"Twilight…"  
"I'm not going to force you, Halo. You do what you want with your life. Just know that I'll still love you."  
Halo chuckled. "That's what I came to talk about." Twi's head nocked to the side in curiosity. Halo took her hooves, making her blush.  
"H-Halo?"  
"I may have never been in a relationship before, but I'm willing to try. For you. I love you, Twilight."  
Twilight blushed even redder and started crying tears of joy with a smile on her face.

Halo:  
All those days chasing down a daydream  
All those years living in a blur  
All that time never truly seeing  
Things, the way they were  
Now she's here shining in the starlight  
Now she's here, suddenly I know  
If she's here it's crystal clear  
I'm where I'm meant to go

Twilight and Halo:  
And at last I see the light

Halo:  
And it's like the fog is lifted

Twilight and Halo:  
And at last I see the light

Twilight:  
And it's like the sky is new

Twilight and Halo:  
And it's warm and real and bright  
And the world has somehow shifted  
All at once, everything is different  
Now that I see you.

The two leaned forward and touched their foreheads together. They looked into each others eyes and smiled.

Twilight and Halo:  
Now that I see you.

For the first time in the 4 months they knew each other, after 4 months of pining for each other but not doing anything, Halo and Twilight shared their first real kiss.

End Song.


	57. Resolutions

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Matchmaker

Chapter 15

Resolutions

Dash groaned as she woke up. She blinked her eyes open and saw that she was staring at a ceiling of a hospital room. "what…?" she sat up and rubbed her head. "what happened?"  
She looked out the nearest window to see that the sun was just rising and noticed that Soarin' and Scootaloo were in the hospital room with her, sleeping on hospital chairs. Both of them woke up when the sun's rays hit them.  
Soarin' rubbed his eyes and noticed that Dash was up. "Hey, Dash." Soarin' got out of his seat and over to her. Scootaloo yawned as she woke up.  
"Soarin'? what are you and Scootaloo doing here? What am I even doing here?"  
"well, after you learned that Shadow left because of what was you and me, you went to go after him but suddenly collapsed. Me and Scoot's brought you here. The Doc's says you passed out due to stress."  
Dash looked back on it. Joining the Wonderbolts, finding out your boyfriend is your half-brother, and learning your best friend just left… yeah, that would be considered stress-inducing.  
"Also, while you were out, I had the doc run a blood-test. See if we really are siblings."  
"and?"  
"I have Rainbow Dash, one of the coolest fliers in Equestria, as a cousin." Scootaloo said. "that answer your question?"  
Dash nodded. It sure did. She was related to a Wonderbolt and didn't even know it. "glad all we did was made out."  
"For once, I'm relieved one of my relationships was just that." Soarin' chuckled. "that would've been ugly."  
"no kidding." Dash chuckled. She thought back to the same day and remembered that she was going to find Shadow. "w-where's Shadow?"  
That's the part both Soarin' and Scootaloo were regretting. "Yeah… about that…" Scootaloo silently said.  
Dash got worried. Very worried. "what?"  
Soarin' scratched the back of his neck. "um… we looked all over but we didn't find any trace of him. I think he left Equestria."  
The color left from Dash's eyes and cheeks. "he… he's gone? For good?"  
"that's what it looks like." a stunned Dash fell back into her bed. Soarin' and Scoot's looked at each other. "Did you love him?"  
Dash, still stunned, looked back over the 4 months Shadow was here. "I felt… something… whenever I was around him. I thought it was jealousy because he was smarter then me. Now… with him gone… my heart hurts." tears started to fall from her eyes. "he was in love with me all this time and I didn't see the signs."  
"Whose signs? His… or yours?" Soarin' asked.  
Dash gasped with a smile. "mine. I love him."  
"(Me? I come from THE gorgeous city of the Spanish Maine. Rather, the only city but tis beautiful none-the-less.)(one of these days, I'm gonna pay my family back for giving up their Pegasus ways for a Unicron like me.)(when I get rich and famous, I'm gonna open my regional headquarters back where it began…)"  
When the last thought of Shadow exited Dash's mind, she suddenly knew where to find him.

Trixie and Luna hugged each other closed as they laid on what is now known as Eternal Heart Hill, thanks to the little poem made out of boulders that can be seen across the way: 'You will be in my heart eternally, my one and only love.'  
"whoever took the time to make that must be hopelessly in love." Trixie said.  
"like us?" Luna asked.  
Trixie smiled as she kissed her girlfriend on the lips. "probably not as much as us."  
"I don't know. Whoever made this must be blinded by it by now."  
"True." Trixie sighed as she got comfortable in Luna's hooves. Luna held her close and rest her head on Trixie's. Trixie thought for a moment. "Luna?"  
"Yeah?"  
"why didn't you tell me you were a princess in the first place? Why put on the 'Lily' persona?"  
Luna thought back on that. "you know, now that I think about it, this whole thing started because of a law from the ancient times, starting that only someone of royal stature could marry a prince or princess."  
"What about Armor and Cadence?"  
"technically, the Sparkles are nobles, that's a type of royalty." Trixie shrugged in agreement. "but, I learned that Celestia abolished it when her niece 400 years ago, Princess Merriweather, fell in love with a common farmer. It was a regular Stallio and Mareiut situation. Thankfully, unlike the play, it didn't end with them dying. Celestia abolished it and the 2 happily married."  
"and you just learned about her abolishing it?"  
"I've been in the moon for 1000 years; I'm still learning what happened in that millennia I was gone. What's your excuse?"  
"not a fan of history." Trixie chuckled. She grabbed Luna and rolled onto of her. "I love you, Princess Luna."  
Luna smiled with a slight blush. "I love you too, Trixie Lulamoon." the two passionately kissed.

Blankets and sheets were strung all over the floor. Pillows were tossed in unexpected parts of the room. Laying in a very messed up bed with a sheet barely covering her was a contented Twilight, who was fast asleep but she was having a pleasant dream about last night.  
"…zzz… Halo… you certainly know how to please a woman…" she happily said with a smile. she rolled over to hug him but didn't feel him. she woke up when she felt that he wasn't there. "Halo?"

Halo looked at a letter he had received the day before. He didn't open it until now. He crumbled it and threw it to the side. He pulled out a pen and paper and began writing a response.  
The crumbled letter landed at the base of the stairs. Twilight, now wearing a robe, saw it land in front of her. Curious, she picked it up and looked it over. What she saw made her eyes water.

'Dear Halo's Light.  
We have received word that you had finally launched your expedition into the Everfree Forest and found a ancient, long-forgotten city, filled with ancient tapestries and murals. We are intrigued as to what you have found and are requesting you return to Canterlot at once so we can discuss your findings.  
You should know, however, that this will be the last time you will be at Ponyville for quite some time. We await your return.  
Sincerely,  
Prof. Mell's Bell's.  
Royal Academy of Science.'

A rejected Twilight looked at the letter with tearful eyes. She had finally gotten Halo to finally commit to something, she had gotten Starlight a father, and now he's being forced back to Canterlot. She crumbled up the letter and walked over. She went over to try and convince him to stay when she saw what he was writing.

"dear Prof. Mell's Bell's  
I'm writing to inform you that I have no plans to return to Canterlot. In fact, I'm requesting a permanent transfer to Ponyville. Something about this town just… clicks with me. Like I was meant to be here. And if you can't approve my transfer, then I quit. Either way, I'm staying. I hope you can understand.  
Sincerely,  
Halo's Light.'

Twilight looked at Halo with tear-filled eyes. He's willing to give up his position in the academy for her. She silently walked off, careful not to get Halo's attention.

The train from Appaloosa rolled into town. It hissed to a stop, allowing it's passengers to get off.  
"I did not see that roadblock coming." Daring said.  
"5 days it took to repair that bridge." Bolt said. "why didn't we just fly back?"  
"I don't know." Derpy yawned. "I'm just glad to be off that train." Bolt reached back and pulled out the scepter. "What'cha gonna do with that thing?"  
"Take it to Canterlot, show it to the Princess's. what they do after that with it is their decision, not mine."  
"I don't think you'll have to go all the way to Canterlot for that." the conductor said. "they're coming here tomorrow for Heart's & Hooves day this year."  
"oh. How convenient." Daring and Bolt said.  
They started for the exit as another train on another line rolled in and hissed to a halt. "I LOVE LAS PEGASUS!" Edge and Bahamut proudly exclaimed, each wearing a over-sized hat and a ridiculous shirt.  
Fluttershy walked off, also a ridiculous getup. "when I was a foal, I had no clue why that place was so popular. Now, I know." she said with a wide smile.  
"So say it loud and say it with us…" Edge took her hoof and pulled her to them both. Together, all 3 yelled again. "I Love Las Pegasus!"  
"well, looks like you 3 had a good time." Derpy said as she, Daring, and Bolt walked up.  
"Sure did." Bahamut exclaimed.  
"some more then most." Edge joked. He glanced over at Bahamut. "We practically had to drag him away from the Slot Machines." Bahamut chuckled sheepishly.  
"Actually, we went back to my childhood home so I could make peace with my parents." Fluttershy explained. "at their insistence. And I'm glad we did." she noticed the unknown gryphon. "who's he?"  
"oh." Daring jumped into Bolt's arms. "This is Silverbolt, my boyfriend."  
"Boyfriend?" the Las Pegasus trio exclaimed.  
"What? Mares and Gryphon's can't date?" Bolt asked.  
"no. just shocked." Bahamut said. "but I guess love can come from anywhere."  
Daring reached down and grabbed the scepter. "And this is the Scepter of Zax and Jeria, the supposed creator's of our world." the Las Pegasus trio scratched their heads in confusion. The Appaloosa trio could hear the squeaking.  
"don't bother to try and understand. I didn't make heads or tails of it either." Derpy said.  
"Don't think we would've understood it either." Edge said.

Pinkie giggled in anticipation. "This is going to be awesome!"  
Marble giggled at her giggle. "I know."  
The lights flickered on, showing the two making some sort of plans. "…and then, after the various parties across Ponyville, we all retreat to Vinyl's and Octavia's new swing-dig, the Electronic Symphony, and have someone sing their heart out." Marble suggested.  
Pinkie smiled. "This is going to be the best Hearts & Hooves day ever!" Pinkie exclaimed.  
Marble smiled. She pulled her close, much to her surprise. "you're gonna make it perfect cause you'll be there, cutie."  
Pinkie giggled. "save it for tomorrow, Marble. It's gonna take the two of us to get the perfect Hearts & Hooves ready."  
"oh, what? Don't want to have some fun tonight?" he seductively said.  
"Oh, Marble. You're such a tease." Pinkie pulled Marble down onto her bed. "And I like that." Marble smiled and kissed his marefriend.  
This was going to be a good night.

Applejack sat under a tree, ready a book she borrowed by Twi.  
"What'cha reading?" Zil asked as he sat down beside her.  
Applejack flipped back to the cover. "how to conceive a child."  
Zil got a bit scared. "this isn't another pregnancy scare, is it?"  
"Zilver! You know we didn't do the deed after we had that close-call. I'm just reading on ways on how we can avoid this again. Turns out there's quite a number of ways I could get pregnant."  
"So… what should we avoid?" Zil asked. Applejack stared angrily at him. "in case we do 'IT' again."  
"Well, we know Twilight's is one to avoid."  
"un doy!" Zilver comedic said. "One would thing being raped is one to be avoided."  
Applejack rolled her eyes. She looked at the book and got grossed out when she saw a disturbing image. "Or this." she said, showing it to Zilver.  
Zil looked at it and gagged. "how can one get Preggers from that?"  
"I don't know, but it's possible."  
Zil sighed as he leaned back on the tree. "you know, I'm not adverse to kids."  
That was a word A.J. didn't recognize. "Adverse?"  
"Against, opposed, deep hatred towards." Zil got up. "I would like to have kids one of these days. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon."  
Applejack closed the book and put it down. "so do I. in fact, I was looking forward to it the last time. But I don't want my child to come around like Twilight's will."  
"I think you mean OUR child."  
A.J. rolled her eyes. "right right right. Our child." Zil chuckled. "what?"  
"you look cute when you're flabbergasted."  
Applejack blushed at the 'cute' remark but had no clue what 'flabbergasted' meant. She walked over and kissed him on the cheek, making him blush. "you may be a coward at times, but you know when to come to someone's aid."  
"yeah. Had Octavia and Vinyl's son to thank for me changing my mind. He made me see that kids, even babies, aren't all that bad."  
"I should thank them then." Applejack chuckled. She thought for a moment. "you know, during the week we thought I was pregnant, I was actually looking forward to being a mother. I raised Applebloom by myself so I had practice."  
"I was actually looking forward to it too."  
A awkward silence fell over them. They both had the same thought but they weren't sure the other had it. They both took a deep breath and said it at the same time: "I want to have a baby!" both were stunned by the other's comment but they were both happy on the inside. "you do?" they both asked.  
"yeah." Applejack said. "there was another reason I was looking at that book."  
"To see which one was the most successful?"  
"Yeah. So… you want to, Zilver?"  
Zil pretended to think. He already had his answer. "think that barn is empty?" he turned to walk to it but stopped before he took a step. "we're really going to do this, aren't we?"  
"I guess we are." Applejack said as she walked to the door. She brushed his tail under his chin, making him stomp his front right foot in the ground like a rabbit.

The door to Carousel Boutique opened and a certain drake walked in.  
"Rarity?" Spike called out. "Rarity?" he sighed as he leaned in the doorway. "did she call me here for nothing?" he pulled up the note he found on the door to the library this morning.

'Spike,  
meet me at Carousel Boutique at Noon sharp. I got a surprise for you.  
XOXO  
Rarity. '

"It's noon. But where is she?" he pondered, asking a fly that flew in front of him.  
"Spiiiiiiiike…" Rarity called from above.  
"Scratch that. Found her." he said to the fly before making his way upstairs.  
"Spiiiiiiiiike… I'm waiting…" she called again. The way she was calling him was scaring him. She take alcohol with a pill or something?  
The voice was coming from her room. Okay, nothing weird about that. He opened the door, walked in, and what he saw made him freeze in place.  
There was Rarity, lying on her bed in a VERY seductive pose. "well, hello there Spikey-Wikey…" she seductively said.  
Spike was taken off guard by her pose, so much that she couldn't think straight. "abadababdabdabdabdbadbadba… blwlwlwlw." he shook his head, clearing his mind but he was still flabbergasted. "R-r-r-r-r-r-rarity. Um, ah… Hehehehe. What un… un… what are you doing?"  
"What does it look like, Spikey-Wikey?" she slowly said with a smile.  
"un… un… un…"  
"cat got your tongue?"  
He stood there for a moment before laughing nervously. "um… y-yeah." he shook his head, clearing it up a bit. "why are you doing this?"  
"why can't I? I'm just doing this for the drake I love."  
A few dirty thoughts entered his mind. "r-really?"  
"going out with you opened up my mind to why I had such bad luck with stallions: they weren't considerate, kind, caring. They were all around mean. Fancy Pants wasn't but he wasn't my type. You, on the other hand, you are…"  
"kind, caring, considerate, compassionate?" Spike finished.  
"not to mention funny, eager to help, and sexy to boot." Spike scratched his neck with a slight chuckle. Rarity used her magic to pull a stool under Spike and bring him over. "and you will be my first." she softly said.  
"b-b-b-b-but I'm just a teen." he nervously said.  
"then call me a cougar cause I love you and only you, Spike."  
"But are you sure, Rarity, cause I won't do this if yo-" she licked his snout, causing him to lose all focus. "Abadadbababababadadadababdad badbadaa…" he shook his head. "stop doing that. You're gonna make me lose all focus." She kissed him again. He dreamily sighed and shut each eye one at a time.  
This was going to be a good night for him.

Shadow sighed as he set down the last of his papers on his old desk. He looked around his old workshop and sighed.  
"home sweet home." he said. He looked out the nearest window and stared at the majesty that was Maredrid. "man, I missed this place." but even moving back home couldn't rid his mind of Rainbow Dash. "get over it, Storm Shadow. There's no way she'd go for you. She's with a Wonderbolt." he sat down at his desk and sighed. "should've made my move when I had the chance."

Begin Song: watch?v=mdkM0GUgFiU Volare - Vitamin C version

The sudden appearance of that song caught him off guard. What even further surprised him was the one singing it.

Rainbow Dash:  
sometimes the world is a valley of heartaches and tears.  
And in the hustle and bustle, no sunshine appears.  
He turned around to see Rainbow walking up to him, singing the song he instantly recognized.  
but you and I will always have love to remind us…  
There is a way we can leave all these shadows behind us

Dash clicked a button and let a radio take over from where she left off.  
"Rainbow Dash." Shadow jumped down from his seat. "what are you doing here?"  
Dash smiled. "I find out that a stallion who loved me but never said a flippen' word leaves Ponyville so he can't interfere with my relationship with a Wonderbolt who turned out to be my brother from another mother."  
"what are you saying, Dash?"  
"I'm saying that…" Dash flew on over and picked him up. "…why did you tell me sooner?" Shadow smiled and the two kissed.

end song. *Record Needle Scratch*

Shadow sighed as he drew that scenario out on a piece of paper. "guess that's too much to ask." he sighed.

Dash sadly leaned back on a bench. She had spent all day asking around about Shadow but she couldn't find him.  
"I don't understand. He said his hometown was BeiMane, right?" she asked herself. She looked at the letter Shadow had left. She sadly sighed, tears gently rolling down her face. "guess this was… never meant to be."  
She got up and headed for the station, leaving all hopes of a relationship behind.  
It's going to be the best Hearts & Hooves day tomorrow for everyone but it looks like Dash is going to be left out of the fun.


	58. Matchmaker

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Matchmaker

Final Chapter 16

Matchmaker

Late at night, while the residents of Ponyville were asleep, several dark figures crept though town, putting into motion a great plan.

Spike yawned loudly as he woke up after the best night of his life. He blinked his eyes and licked his lips. He looked to his left and saw Rarity fast asleep right next to him, talking in her sleep.  
"oh, Spike… You are such a beast in bed…"  
Spike blushed as he scratched his cheek. Not bad for a first-timer. He carefully got out of bed and made his way downstairs.

Rarity woke up to the smell of blueberry's. she opened her eyes and yawned, noticing Spike wasn't there.  
"must be downstairs." she concluded. She got out of bed and took a couple of steps before she started to have trouble walking. "whoa. My legs are like rubber." she chuckled to herself. "well, it was a wild night last night."

Rarity stumbled down the stairs, trying not to fall head over heels. She reached the bottom and headed to the kitchen to see Spike making blueberry pancakes.  
"isn't it traditional for the woman to make breakfast after 'whoopee'?"  
Spike chuckled. "well, I always made breakfast when I woke up back in the library. Plus, from the looks of your legs, I'd say your having trouble standing right now."  
"you're right." Rarity sat down in the closest chair she could get. "I'm so glad I sent Sweetie Belle to Dinky's for the night. Otherwise, we'd have a lot of questions to answer."  
Spike chuckled. He used his tail and brought Rarity over to him. He kissed her full on the lips. "I love you, Rarity."  
She smiled, leaned forward, and softly said in his ears. "And I love you, Spike."

The rest of the denizens of Ponyville woke up on the lover's holiday, Hearts & Hooves day.  
Berry Punch opened her windows and rubbed her eyes. She was surprised to see the town was covered in decorations fit for the holiday.  
"Whoa. Who did this?" she wondered.

Elsewhere, Pinkie, Marble, and the Humans were celebrating a good job well done decorating the town.

Rainbow sighed as she depressingly looked out a window on the train-ride home.  
"I don't understand. He said that he lived in BeiMane before coming to Ponyville. Could I have gotten the name wrong?"  
A stallion groaned as he sat down in the seat next to her. "sorry. This was the last seat open."  
"it's okay." Dash said. "I really don't care."  
"uh-oh. Sounds like a problem."  
"it is. This Stallion I liked disappeared, trying to hide his feelings from me. I went to look for him in his home town but I think I got it wrong. I know it's a 2 syllable name but I can't, for the life of me, remember it."  
"mmm… and this stallion? Did you love him?"  
Dash smiled. "it wasn't until recently that I realized my feelings for him but… yeah. I love him. Like how my friend Twilight loves Halo or how my best friend Ditzy loves her daughter Dinky."  
"I see. Then, in that case…" the stallion grabbed her, turned her around, and kissed her full on the lips. Dash pushed him back and got ready to punch him in the face when she saw who it was. "Shadow…?"  
Shadow smiled at her. Dash smiled back and the two kissed.

*Record Needle Scratch*

"Miss?" the stallion asked, snapping Dash out of her daydream. "I said did you love him?"  
"Huh?" she blinked and saw that it was just a dream. "un… yeah. I did. But now…" she sat back in her seat. "…with him gone… I'm not sure." she glanced up at the stallion. "you… look familiar. Do I know you from somewhere?" the stallion shrugged. He didn't recognize her. "what's your name?"  
"Thunderlane. And you?"  
"Rainbow Dash."

"wow." Twilight gasped, looking up at the decorations strung all over Ponyville. Every pony in Ponyville was out and about, looking at the décor. "whoever did this really put in a lot of thought." Aura and Marble high-fived off-screen.  
"I'll say." Fluttershy said. "there's so many pretty colors."  
"we should thank whoever put these up." Requiem said, knowing full well it was her and her friends.  
Jax scoffed. "Why should I care? I'm never gonna find love."  
"is she always a put down?" Derpy asked.  
"every time we experience a different worlds version of Valentines Day." Ash sighed. "it's quite depressing, really."  
"Whatever. She's sure to love all of the games we set up." Pinkie smiled, wearing a tool-belt.  
"Games?" A.J. asked. "wait, did you put all this up by yourself?"  
"not just her." Marble said, putting up some banners. "she had help."  
"You?" everyone exclaimed in surprise. "mr. Emo himself?" Req added.  
"What?" Marble jumped down and landed right beside his marefriend. "Ponies can change. If they have the right motivation."  
"if you say so." The Mares said, still off guard by Marble's sudden change.

"Hurry it up, Tia. We're gonna be late." Luna said as she got ready to go to Ponyville.  
"I'm hurrying. I'm hurrying." Celestia replied. She walked out, ready to go. "not sure what the rush is. You see Trixie any other day."  
"but she's introducing me to her family; her 2 brothers. I want things to go well."  
"oh. Well, meeting one's family can go either very well or very bad, even if you are a princess…"  
"…that's why I want it to go well. If they don't like me…" Luna sat down with her hoof over her heart. "…I don't know what to do."  
Celestia comforted her by patting her on the back. "It'll go well, Lulu. Trust me."  
Luna gave a sighing chuckle. "yeah. Besides, what's the worse that could happen, eh?"  
"will you two please hurry up?" Cadence said, sticking her head though the door. "we're gonna be late."

As it turns out, Pinkie's, Marble's, and the Humans plan for Hearts & Hooves was one great big party everyone in Ponyville is enjoying. Guess if one is on love on Hearts & Hooves, they go overboard in celebrating it. Thankfully, Nopony was complaining.

"this was a great idea, Pinkie." Zilver said as he took a drink of his Hawaiian Punch though a silly straw. "over the top but great none the less."  
"I'll say." Daring asked, holding onto Bolt from the back. "I've never been to such a scary place before." she joked.  
"haha. Funny." Ash said out loud. "(to a 5-year-old, maybe.)" he muttered under his breath.  
"So, you two are an item?" Req asked. Both Daring and Bolt nodded. "huh. A Gryphon and a Pony. Well, it's not the strangest relationship I've seen."  
"How so?" Bolt asked.  
"long story. Not really important now." Requiem put her drink down and limbered up. "well, I gotta bail. I got something special planned for later today."  
"Special? What is it?"  
Req tapped her finger on her nose. "That… is a secret." she said in a snarky tone before walking off.

A ball hit stacked milk bottles, knocking them down.  
"Yes. I'm 5 for 5." Spike exclaimed.  
"and here's your prize, good sir." the carnie said, taking down a stuffed bear and handing it to Spike.  
Spike, in turned, gave it to Rarity. "For you, Milady."  
"Aw, Spike. Thanks." Rarity said. She used her magic to pick it up. She also used it to bring him close and kiss on the cheek.  
"Aw, what's this I see?" Twilight said. Rarity and Spike blushed as Twi, Halo, Zilver, Applejack, and Trixie walked over. "are you two dating now?"  
Spike and Rarity looked at each other and smiled. "yeah. Yeah, we are." they both replied.  
"Oh, congrats." A.J. said. "I always knew you two would make a good couple."  
"Thanks, Applejack." Rarity said.  
"I'm still a little bit worried about Sweetie Belle, though. She didn't exactly accept this with open arms."  
Zilver heard laughing off in the distance. He looked and saw Sweetie Belle playing with a young colt. "I don't think you're going to have to worry about that."  
They all looked in the same direction and saw her playing with the colt. "well, that was fast." Rarity said with a smile.  
Everyone looked on, completely unaware of the 4 regal ponies approaching from behind. The only stallion in the group silently snickered and gestured to the other 3 to 'shush'. he tip-toed over and put his hooves in front of Twilight's eyes. "Guess Who?"  
Twilight gasped in delight. "is it… Mr. Tolhooves?"  
"your old literary teacher?" Armor asked in confusion.  
Twilight removed Armor's hooves and hugged her BBBFF. "it's been so long, Armor." she broke the hug and turned her attention to her sister-in-law. "Cadence!" she squealed.  
"Twilight!" she excitedly said. They hugged each other tightly.  
Twi broke it and turned her attention to Cadence's 9 months pregnant belly. "And hello to you too, you clever little guy. Or girl." Twi chuckled in excitement. "just 2 months away. Feeling nervous?"  
"Deathly." Cadence said with big worry. "but I'm making do." she said with a smile. Twi smiled back.  
"it's nice to see you too, Twilight." Celestia said. "You seem to be doing better since I last saw you."  
"And why wouldn't I be?" Twi replied. "I got great friends…" she walked over and put her hooves around Halo. "…a wonderful Coltfriend, and Starlight on the way in 9 months. I'm as happy as a clam."  
"Starlight?" Luna asked. Twilight pointed to her belly. That explained it all. "oh."  
"so, I take it you're not scared stiff anymore?" Celestia asked.  
"a little. But that's now just fear if I'll be a good mother or not."  
"of course you will, Twilight." Spike said. "You had practice with me."  
"You are a dragon. This is a pony. Big difference."  
Spike was about to argue but didn't. "you got me there."  
Luna chuckled before interrupting. "if we're done, I have something to say." everyone quieted to hear what she had to say. Trixie already knew what it was before she even said it. "I finally met my soul mate."  
"Oh, congrats Luna." they all said. "who's the lucky guy?" Zilver asked. Trixie chuckled and walked on over. "You mind moving, Trixie? You're gonna make it impossible for Luna to tell us who her soul mate is."  
Trixie chuckled again. "He always was the slow one."  
"so I noticed." Luna chuckled.  
That little quip pieced it all together. "wait…" a stunned Halo said. "you mean you two are…"  
"Dating?" they both asked.  
"And that answers that."  
"aw, ain't that nice?" Rarity said. "just like Cadence and Armor. True love can come from anywhere."  
"wait wait wait." Zilver exclaimed. "Trixie said she was going out with Lily."  
"I am, or rather was, Lily." Luna said.  
"Oh. Well, never mind then."  
"but still, congratulations. I wish you two the best." Twilight said with a genuine smile.  
"Thanks." both Luna and Trixie said.  
Marble ran on though, passing out fliers. He shoved one in Celestia's face, which caught her off guard. "whoa whoa whoa. Where's the fire, Marble?" Spike asked.  
"Read the flier and see." he said before running off.  
Twilight sighed as she shook her head. She sensed Celestia wanted some kind of explanation. "ever since he started going out with Pinkie, he changed. and for the better."  
"oh." Celestia didn't hear her. She was reading the flier. "what's it say?" Cadence asked.  
"it just says to go to a place called Electronic Symphony?"  
"oh, I know where that place is." Zilver said. "Follow me."

The train from BeiMane rolled into Canterlot. Rainbow and Thunderlane walked off, alone with all the other passengers.  
"You know, you're not a bad girl, Dash." Thunder said with a smile.  
"If you say so." a depressed Dash replied. Thunder nudged her in the shoulder and smiled. Dash tried to give a smile back but didn't feel like it. "I just want some time alone, okay?"  
"if you say so." Thunder said. He unfurled his wings and took to the air. "Catch you on the flip side, 'kay?"  
"if you want." she walked off.  
"that is one depressed girl." Thunder said to himself. "I gotta find someway to cheer her up." he said as he flew on.  
Dash walked to the edge of a balcony and plopped down. "Shadow…" she looked down over the edge to the ground below. "should I…? *sigh* no, can't think of it now." she looked up to see a couple of spotlights coming from Ponyville. "what's going on there?"

Pretty soon, all over Ponyville was packed into the new nightclub. It's like Octavia and Vinyl were anticipating for such a full house.  
"did this place just come about?" Twilight asked.  
"About a week ago, yeah." Zil said. "VInyl and Octavia named it after their son, you know?"  
"they have a son?" everyone in the group that was from Ponyville asked in surprise.  
The light's turned off, frightening some kids in the crowd. "That was unexpected." Derpy said. The liht's turned on to reveal that some of the members of the audience was gone. And they were the Mane 6.  
"Twilight?"  
"Applejack?"  
"where'd they go?" Edge asked.

Begin Song: watch?v=IMzmooj6xYo White Wishes by BoA - English version

The music began to play. The spotlights flicked on and shone down on the stage. Vinyl was at her trademark board with Octavia right beside her with her cello and her bother, Neon Lights, on another.  
In the center of the stage stood a VERY familiar female figure, accompanied by 5 familiar equine outlines.  
"This song goes out to all the lovers out there in the world. Don't be afraid to jump onstage and join." Requiem said.

Requiem:  
Think of days with no hopes  
So all alone in the dark I cried so many tears  
Now I know, now I know  
The page was turning chapter one in my book of love

The ponies in the crowd clapped their hooves together in rhythm.

Requiem and (Mane 6):  
(But you came here to show me that) dreams can come true  
I want you to know my heart glows from your touch  
(In your arms all the pain inside) washes right through  
Together we'll find a way

Requiem and (Mane 6):  
(I believe your love, I believe in our love)  
No matter what I know our aim is true  
(Every step we take our love will grow stronger)  
I wish that two hearts could be one

Requiem:  
Here we are, hand in hand,  
We watch the stars up in the sky,  
They're shining down on us  
Several members of the crowd ran up onstage and joined them. Naturally, they were Halo, Zilver, Marble, Spike, Trixie, Luna, Cadence, Armor, and the rest of the Humans.  
We can share every day in every way  
We hold the promises of tomorrow

Dash walked in to see this all taking place. She depressingly sighed. "everyone has love but me…" she sadly said.

Requiem and (all females):  
(Hold me tight, wanna feel you close)  
So don't let me go  
I want us to be until the end of time  
(Call my name any time when your) heart feels sorrow  
I'll wipe the tears from your face

Requiem and (all females):  
(I'll be there for you, I'll be right by your side)  
I promise to cherish eternally  
(You're the only one to get me through this life)  
I wish that our hearts could be one

Requiem passed the mike to the Party Pony and let her sing.

Pinkie:  
Seasons are changing  
Snow's coming down now  
She snapped her fingers, making Derpy, Lyra, Bonbon, Berry, Big Mac, Cheerilee, Dr. Whooves, Carrot Top, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Applebloom, Pipsqueak, Feather Weight, Sparkler, Dinky, and Celestia appear on stage. They were all a little embarrassed to be on stage in front of all these people, even more so for the Princess but, after some insistence from the others, gave in.  
Melting from traces of our love  
Never be alone forever more

Pinkie passed the mike to Requiem, who caught it with ease.

Requiem:  
I believe your love, I believe in our love  
No matter what I know our aim is true  
Every step we take our love will grow stronger  
I wish that two hearts could be one

Everyone onstage:  
I'll be there for you, I'll be right by your side  
I promise to cherish eternally  
You're the only one to get me through this life  
I wish that our hearts could be one

Requiem:  
I wish that our hearts could be one

The adventure continues in Friends from Unexpected Places, starting with chapter 'Eris'


	59. Eris

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 22

Eris

Rainbow yawned as she lazily laid on a cloud bed high above the ground. She had been at Flight Camp for 2 days and so far, there was only a instructional program on what to expect while they're here.  
"I'm bored!" Dash whined as she turned over. Something crinkled under her, catching her by surprise. She reached under her and pulled out the letter Derpy had giving her when she left. "oh, crud. I completely forgot." she thought back to when Derpy gave her the letter. "what was I supposed to do with it, again?"  
She remembered there was a note on the back. She flipped it and found the post-it.  
'Dash, please take this to 32 Mane Street in Ponyville and please make sure you go at night. I don't want you to get further involved in this. Just leave it in the mailbox and get out. Easy, right?'  
"rrrright. Easy, Derpy." Dash sarcastically said, taking the post-it and throwing it aside.

Dash opened one eye as soon as it was light's out. She slowly and quietly climbed out of her bed and snuck out, letter in her mouth. she was out WAY past curfew. She had little to no time to spare or else she was gonna get into trouble.

Dash flew down into Ponyville as quiet as she could. Thankfully, the street lights were on so she was able to fly though town without fuss.  
"32 Mane Street. 32 Mane Street. Where the hay is Mane Street?" Dash slammed right into a pole, causing it to shake quite a bit. Dash slid on down and fell back onto her back. "that hurt." she groggily said. She waited for her vision to clear before seeing what she ran into. "oh. Mane Street." she said, looking up at the street sign she ran into.  
Dash got up and got her bearings. "let's see…" Dash walked up a street and found the address 59 Mane Street and beyond that was 61 Mane Street. "okay, that goes up, so…" she turned around and flew in the opposite direction.  
"44... 37... 32. Here we go."  
Dash stopped in front of the house with the address. Just above the mailbox said 'Doo'. "Derpy's last name is Doo? I thought it was Hooves. Makes more sense." Dash muttered. "Derpy Doo? It just sounds wrong. Ditzy Doo, on the other hoof…"  
Dash flew on up to the porch and hovered in front of the mailbox. She double-checked, making sure it was the correct address. She opened the flap and put it in.  
"nice. Now I gotta get out of here before someone notices me." she whispered to herself. She turned to leave when the door opened.  
"excuse me. Are you the pony who dropped off this letter?" a young voice asked.  
Dash skidded to a halt and hovered there nervously. She slowly turned around to see a filly a couple years younger then Derpy standing there. The room behind her was dark with light coming from adjacent rooms so Dash was only able to see a outline. "un…"  
"do you know where my sister is? Do you know where Derpy is?"  
Dash gulped. She was caught between a rock and a hard place with no way out.

18 Years Later…

Crickets chirped and wolfs howled in the dead of night.  
A flash of white suddenly shined, quieting the crickets and forcing the woodland creatures to flee from the area.

Something stirred in the bushes for a couple of seconds before it stopped and fell silent.

The day after Hearts and Hooves was the best day for everypony in love, especially ones who had their hearts broken from time to time. Some ponies, however, did not like the lover's holiday and are having difficult times to get though it.

Satoshi grunted as he put the finishing touches on the engine room.  
"having fun, Satoshi?" Aura joked as he walked in.  
"Not really." Satoshi grunted. He pulled out a nail that didn't take. "Rainbow Dash was supposed to help me but she hasn't appeared all day."  
Aura grabbed a hammer and spun it thought the air. "I think I can answer that." Satoshi pointed up at a loose nail. Aura spun the hammer again and proceeded to pull it out. "ever since Shadow left, she's been in one heck of a depression. Not only did she love him, but she feel's she was the reason he left."  
"dang. see, that's why I'm gay. You don't have to deal with heartbreak 24/7."  
Aura wasn't so sure about that. "un… you sure, Satoshi?"  
Satoshi grunted as he pushed a major component into place. "What did I say? Sorry, but I've been working all day. I'm tired as heck and don't really know what I'm saying."  
"eh… never mind. You were delusional." Aura hammered in a nail, accidentally hitting his thumb. "Ow ow ow. That's smarts." Satoshi rolled his eyes. Looks like Orion's restoration just got delayed a few days.

"huh…"  
Requiem intently looked at a book, learning all she could about this world. Something felt off about the country of Equestria. Why did they need 2 princess's to raise the sun and the moon when the celestial bodies were perfectly capable of working themselves? And why did the animals need the pony's help with every aspect of their lives and why did the weather need the equines help to change? And if it's so well and good, why isn't the rest of the world doing it? There's something screwy with this world and she plans on finding out what.

The thing that appeared in a flash of white light stirred in the bushes yet again. A reptilian style hand came out first, followed by a lion's paw.

Scootaloo and Fluttershy laughed as they walked though Canterlot. Scootaloo brought Flutters here to introduce her to her cousin Soarin'. they arrived to see him in a… precarious situation with Spitfire. Ever since then, they were laughing up a storm, telling each other their embarrassing stories. Edge didn't really get what they were talking about since he just arrived in Canterlot to get some exotic food at Angel's demand. Guess he had to have been there.  
"it's a true story." Scoot's laughed.  
"I believe you." Shy laughed.  
Edge scratched his head in confusion. "eh… I don't get it."  
"don't worry about it. It's nothing." both girls laughed.  
Edge shrugged. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a familiar cyan Pegasus looking over the edge of a view point. "is that Dash?" he asked, pointing to her.  
"yeah. Yeah it is." Scoots said. "What's she doing here in Canterlot?"  
Fluttershy took a closer look. "and is that… rope? Why does she have them wrapped around her wings?"  
Edge got a not so pretty picture in his head. "Uh-oh. I think I know." He ran on over to her. Concerned, 'Shy and Scoot's followed.  
Edge trotted up next to Dash. She didn't move or react. She just stared at the ground far below with soulless eyes. "un… Rainbow?" he waved his hoof in front of her eyes. "Rainbow Dash? You okay?"  
The 2 Pegasi trotted up. "what's wrong with her?" Fluttershy asked.  
"I don't know. She's not saying a word." Edge replied.  
Scootaloo walked in front of Dash and waved her hooves. "Cous? You okay?"  
"I…" she soullessly replied. The trio looked at each other, more then frightened. "I have… nothing… to live for…" she clutched a letter tight.  
"nothing to live for?" the mares repeated. "What are you talking about?"  
Without a reply, without warning, not giving them time to react, Rainbow Dash jumped over the edge.  
"WHOA!" Edge exclaimed.  
"DASH!" The mares exclaimed.

"…thank you and have a nice day." Marble delightfully said, having just sold some cupcakes to Raindrops.  
"I really like the new you, Marble. Much better then the old Emo you." Sora said as she pulled herself up onto the counter.  
"thank Pinkie for that. If it wasn't for her and Diamond, I'd still be in a rut."  
"Agreed." Sora reached down and grabbed a cupcake for herself. She tossed down a couple of bits on the counter. Marble got a bit peeved and looked up at her. "What? I paid for it."  
Suddenly, Pinkie bounced down the stairs. Thing is, though, is that it's involuntary. "Pinkie? You okay?" Marble asked.  
"I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I'm having a d-d-d-d-d-d-do-o-o-o-ozy of a Pinkie S-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-sense-e-e-e-e-e-e."  
"Pinkie Sense?" Sora and Marble asked each other.  
"Oh, I think Applejack said something about those." Sora said. "she said to be on the lookout for Doozy's. supposedly, when they happen, something big is going down."  
Marble looked to her marefriend and gulped. "hope she's not pregnant."  
"think that wouldn't count as a Doozy."  
Pinkie still shook. "A-a-a-a-and this d-d-d-d-Doozy is a big o-o-o-o-one. I t-t-t-think something's go-o-o-o-o-oing to happen to r-r-r-r-r-r-r-Rainbow Dash."  
"Dash?" Marble and Pinkie asked.

"RAINBOW DASH!"  
Dash fell from Canterlot and towards the ground which lay 1500 feet below. With her wings wrapped in rope, there was no way she would come out of this alive. And she doesn't want to. With Shadow gone and no chance of entering the Wonderbolts now, life was no longer worth living. The ropes slipped off in the force of the wind but she kept her wings from gaining air.  
"Rainbow Dash!"  
Fluttershy flew as fast as she could after Dash but she was falling too fast. Eventually, Fluttershy stopped.  
"*pant. Pant. Pant. Pant.* RAINBOW DASH!" she called out to her falling friend. She got deathly worried. "oh, Dash." she started to cry. A orange blur fell beside her and after Dash. "was that…"

The strange thing in the bushes continued to stir. "RAINBOW DASH!" someone yelled. It looked up to see these events happening.

"RAINBOW DASH!"  
That familiar child's voice forced her eyes open. She looked to see Scootaloo falling after her. "Scootaloo?!"  
Scoots flapped her wings as fast as she could, trying to catch up to Dash but she wasn't fast enough.  
They quickly caught up to the ground. Scootaloo crashed though tree branches and landed on her chest into a pretty big branch. Dash fell though the branches and fell to the hard ground.  
A mattress suddenly appeared. Dash landed on it and bounced up a few feet. The mattress disappeared and Dash fell onto her back on the ground. Scootaloo fell out of the branch and onto Dash.  
Scootaloo sniffled as Dash opened her eyes. "Squirt?"  
"how could you…" Scoots sniffled. Dash looked at her with slight confusion. Scootaloo raised her tear-soaked head up. "HOW COULD YOU TRY AND KILL YOURSELF!?" Scootaloo's tears fell from her face and landed on Dash. "WHY WOULD YOU DO IT!?"  
"Scoots…"  
"Do I mean nothing to you? Does Soarin' mean nothing? Do your friends and family mean nothing? Do we mean nothing to the point where you'd try to take your own life?" Scootaloo's crying gain intensity. "Dammit, I don't want to lose anyone else important to me!"  
"Squirt… I…"  
Scootaloo hugged Dash and kept crying. "Why? Why would you even attempt this?"  
Dash didn't know what to say. What could she say? The rope she used to tie her wings together fell over them both. Dash picked it up and looked at the knot. It was loose. Some part of her was telling her that this was a stupid idea to begin with. Dash unfurled the letter she was holding before and passed it to Scootaloo. She tapped Scoot's shoulder, getting her attention. Sniffling, Scootaloo looked up, saw the letter, took it, and read it.  
"Scoots… I… I did this… because my…" The letter fell to the ground with even more tears following it. "my mom… died. Add Shadow leaving and anyone could see I would've done this."  
"but Suicide? That was…"  
Their tear filled conversation was interrupted when the bushes shook. The thing that was rustling though them all day finally came out and revealed itself.  
"What in the world?" Scoots exclaimed.  
"Is that a…"

"SHE DID WHAT!?" everyone in Ponyville exclaimed.  
After not being able to catch up with Dash, Fluttershy flew back up to Canterlot and told Edge. After that, the 2 returned to Ponyville and broke the news to everyone. Obviously, they did not take it well.  
"You heard us!" Edge exclaimed. "she… she…" he couldn't bring himself to say it. He didn't want to believe it either. "she… committed Suicide."  
Nobody in Ponyville wanted to believe it, including Dash's closest friends. "no. no no no." a unbelieving party pony shakingly said. "no, she can't be dead."  
"Guess Shadow leaving really did hit her hard." Ash said. "she just didn't let on about it."  
"but Suicide? That's a bit over the top, don't you think?" Carrot Top exclaimed.  
"I guess. But… people are known for doing crazy things."  
"That still doesn't justify this!"  
"Enough!" Requiem yelled. "Arguing about this isn't going to change it." she turned her attention to Edge and Fluttershy. "You say Scootaloo fell after her?" they both nodded. "okay. This is a long shot, but maybe Dash saw Scoots falling after her and didn't want her to die as well so she reacted and saved her, saving her as well. So… so let's be hopeful about that." the entire congregation muttered, half in agreement, half not really sure.  
"(Least I hope so.)" Requiem thought to herself. "If they are alive, I hope they aren't in any trouble.)"

The two Pegasi were stunned by what stood in front of them.  
"Is that a…"  
"…Draconequus?"

Begin Song: watch?v=RL8AsIRpYJg Dream Eaters - Kingdom Hearts 3D: DreamDropDistance OST.

The little baby Draconequus just stood there, staring at the two with a curious expression.  
"Discord had a kid? There's no way." Dash exclaimed in surprise. "besides, Screw Ball's the closer candidate."  
"Aw. It's so cute." Scootaloo said.  
Dash walked in front of Scoot's and put her hoof down. "abada, Scoots. Trust me, these things aren't friendly. Remember Discord?"  
"But this is a baby, Dash. What harm can a little baby be?"  
"A lot. Discord was dangerous because he had full control over his powers. This is a baby and has no idea what it's doing; ergo, it's powers are out of control."  
Scootaloo ignored her, shoving Dash's hoof out of her face and walking over to the baby. "hey there, cutie. What's your name?" the baby cocked it's head in stupidity. "do you even have a name?"  
Dash rolled her eyes. "I doubt it has a name, Squirt. Discord got his name because he CAUSED discord. Trust me, that thing is dangerous."  
"no it's not. It's just a baby. Doubt it even know's who Discord is." Scootaloo took Dash's hoof and pulled her over. Dash landed face-first in front of the baby. It laughed at the comical sight. "guess she likes Slapstick." Scoots chuckled.  
"then we'll give it to Pinkie." Dash grunted, her head still stuck in the dirt. The baby clapped her hands together, inadvertadly causing her to use her powers. Dash disappeared for a second then reappeared in the same spot, head out of the dirt. Clean even. Dash was stunned by that little trick. "What was that?"  
"That…" Scootaloo picked up the baby. "…was this little cutie here helping you." the baby reached up, wanting to hug Dash. "and look. She wants a hug."  
"Hug." the baby said in a cutsy-wutsy manner.  
"And look. Her first word. I think."  
Scoots handed her over to Dash, who really didn't want her. She held her out, completely unknown on what to do. "Un… hi." the baby cocked her head to the side. "Un… what's your name? do you have a name?" The baby stayed quiet for a moment. "told you it doesn't have a name." Dash smirked at Scoots.  
"Eris."  
That sudden word surprised them both. They both looked at the baby. "Eris." she said again.  
"I think her name is Eris." Scoots said.  
"I heard her." Eris' eyes sleepily drooped as she yawned. "and she's sleepy. Wonderful. We can leave her here."  
"We're not leaving her here!" Scoots exclaimed with force.  
"that what do you propose we do with her?"  
Scootaloo thought for a moment. "Well, we could take her back to Ponyville."  
"What? Twilight would eat her alive just for being a Draconequus. Heck, Celestia might banish her to the moon."  
"Rainbow Dash! I saved your life. You own me."  
Crap. She had her there. "Fine! We're take her into Ponyville. Maybe Requiem can take her off my hands." she proceeded to hand Eris over to Scootaloo and walked off. "besides, they might be planning our funerals already. 'shy always was one to go overboard when stuff like this happens."  
Scoot's looked at the baby in confusion, then to Dash in a bit of anger. She trotted over and plopped the baby on Dash's back. "You carry her."  
Scootaloo said as she ran off for home. She was too far away for Dash to call her out. "Crud." she looked back at the sleeping Draconequus. "one wrong move and you're on the first express train to Cloudsdale." she threatened. The baby ignored her as she continued to sleep. Even Dash had to admit, Eris looks cute when she sleeps. She shook her head, snapping her out of it, before beginning the long trek back to Ponyville.


	60. Other Otherworldly Heroes

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 23

Other Otherworldly Heroes

'Dear Diary,  
5 weeks have passed since Rainbow Dash left for Flight School and let me tell you, things have gotten BORING around here. For starters, Zatch has gone on a trip with his parents to who knows where. (he hinted he was going to a beach but I'm not sure where.) Gothic is being her usual self, being all secluded and secretive and Lightning… well, she tried to make herself faster but sticking herself with, well, lightning. She's currently in the hospital with electrical burns. Speaking of hospital's, Shine just came back from a visit, looking grim. Something's wrong with her. I can tell.  
Also, something's going on with eTu`nes. He's been acting weird lately. I think he's going though some… changes. he must be reaching the dragon equivalent of puberty; they do do things like that faster… or so I heard. Either way, I don't want to see it when it goes off. Eh… happens. Un… you know what I mean.  
But I'm thinking 'what will a grown-up eTu`nes look like? He's cute now. What, will he be handsome as a teen? Pbbt. Doubt that. But I did notice Lightning making some googliy eyes at him when we visited her at the hospital the other day. Guess she must be a dragon lover. I never understood how ponies could fall in love with other species. It's freaky if you think about it. I mean, who wants to see a Pony/Gryphon hybrid of a Pony/Diamond Dog hybrid? That would be freaky.  
Well, I should probably wrap this up. Dash's train is coming in in a few hours. I hope she brought back souvenirs… and deceived the letter. It's torture not knowing how D.D. is doing. She's 2 years older then me but she's more frail then me. If she met eTu`nes instead of me, she's probably be in a fear induced coma right now. I wish I could go back, I do. But… those 2 bullies, Lyra and Octavia, they really hurt me. If I see them again and they see my eyes… I don't know what I would do…"

Having just read that entry, and destroying Derpy's privacy, eTu`nes set the diary down.  
"Lyra and Octavia…" he muttered.  
"eTu`nes, hurry up!" Derpy called from below. "Dash's train is just outside of town."  
"Coming." he called back. He put the diary back where he found it and ran downstairs.

The train from Equestria rolled into Feather Top's station and hissed to a halt. Derpy, eTu`nes, and Shine stood there, waiting for Rainbow Dash to come out. Sure enough, Dash was the first one out, wearing a pair of cool looking shades. "what is up here in the cap town?"  
"Dash!" Derpy happily exclaimed. She ran over and hugged Dash. "you have no idea how boring it was around here with you gone."  
"Oh, I can bet." Dash smugly said with a grin. "I do bring a certain air of coolness to a place. At least 20 percent more coolness." She looked up at her mother and the dragon but felt a bit disappointed. "where's the others?"  
"Lightning, injured. Gothic, secretive. Zatch, vacation." eTu`nes said with his fingers.  
"That explains it then."  
"how was flight camp, sweetie?" Shine asked as she walked over.  
"it was great, mom. I was top of the class, made some new friends, and look…" Dash turned and showed off her rainbow colored lightning bolt coming from a cloud. "I got my Cutie Mark!"  
"Wow!" Derpy happily gasped. "you got your Cutie Mark! That's so cool."  
"Yep! I'm awesome that way." Dash said with a smile.  
While the 2 talked, eTu`nes started thinking of a way for him to get himself to Ponyville lickaty split. Surely there must be some Unicorns who can teleport there, right?  
"Oh, and by the way, I un…" Dash leaned in close and whispered into Derpy's ear so her mom or eTu`nes won't hear her. "I delivered the you-know-what."  
Derpy smiled even though she felt pain for making Dash do it. "It's okay. Thanks for doing it, though."  
"no prob. Although, your sister did find me delivering the letter. Had to make up a good excuse  
The two were separated by a suspicious Shine. "what are you two talking about?"  
"Girl stuff." both foals replied. All 3 laughed.  
Meanwhile, eTu`nes was thinking about a plan on how to get himself to Ponyville.

18 years later…

Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash walked though the forest, on their way back to Ponyville with a… unexpected guest.  
Eris softly slept on Dash's back. Dash looked back at the baby Draconequus. "can we put her on your back now? Or maybe carry her in your hooves so we can fly back?" she desperately asked Scootaloo.  
"from what I learned, you're not supposed to wake a sleeping baby. Otherwise, you'll regret it." Dash rolled her eyes. Scootaloo stopped in her tracks. "why… did you try to kill yourself, Dash?" she shakingly asked.  
Dash was caught off guard by that question. Looking back on it, trying to commit Suicide, it was a stupid idea. "I… just had a lot of bad things happen to me, Squirt. I forced Shadow to leave…" her eyes welled up. "…my mom just died…" Dash broke down and fell to the ground. Eris squealed as she involuntarily rolled off Dash's back. "dammit… why is my life going this way?" she choked.  
Scootaloo sadly looked away. "how… did she die?"  
Dash sniffled. "she had a incurable decease. Had it before I was born. It killed her slowly and painfully but she never lead on about it. Always kept it in the dark." tears fell from Dash's face.  
A sharp pain hit Scoot's heart. She knows how Dash feels. She went though the same thing. Eris, meanwhile, is completely mesmerized by a pair of butterflies. "wait, you said that you had no chance with the Wonderbolts before you jumped. What happened?"  
Dash sniffled again. "I screwed up with the Buccaneer Blaze. Messed up bad and sent two of the Wonderbolts to the hospital. My chances are pretty much shot now."  
"Dash…"  
"My life is crashing around me and I can't do anything about it." Dash cried. She continued to cry and Scootaloo let her. What could she say to make this all better.  
"Rainbow Dash." Eris said.  
Dash opened her eyes and rubbed the tears away. She looked up to see Eris offering her a wildflower. "Rainbow Dash." Eris still offered the flower.  
Dash sniffled and took the flower. She stared at it and smiled. She looked at the baby, who smiled back. "Thanks, Eris." Eris laughed and ran to Dash, hugging her. Caught off guard, Dash looked down at her, afraid that she'll catch the plague from her. "but that doesn't mean I'm keen on hugging Draconequus'."  
Eris didn't care, or rather she didn't understand. Dash scooched her away. "All right…" she took a deep breath, still feeling a little shaken. "…let's go." Dash took a few steps forward when her stepped on a stick. It kicked up and hit her in the face. Eris found this amusing and laughed and clapped.  
"Oh crud." Scootaloo winced. "last time she clapped, she teleported you out of the dirt." Eris continued to clap. "please stop, Eris. Please stop." but she didn't stop. That bogus rake thing had her laughing and clapping non-stop. "it wasn't even that funny."  
"hope this won't do anything bad." Dash winced.

After learning that Dash had jumped off the cliffs of Canterlot from Fluttershy and Edge, the gang gathered at the Library to figure out what to do. "we're gonna have to start planning a funeral tomorrow." Sora sadly said, leaning back on the door in the library.  
"two funerals." Zil added. "Scootaloo went after her, remember?"  
"forgot."  
"but why would Dash try to commit suicide in the first place?" Twi wondered. "it doesn't make sense. She was joining the Wonderbolts, even has Soarin' for a cousin… was this because of Shadow?"  
"Couldn't be." Satoshi said. "She was depressed, sure, but not to the point she would kill herself."  
Applebloom nodded. She and Sweetie couldn't believe that Scootaloo may be gone for good. Suddenly, the table under them disappeared in a flash of white light. They both yelled as they fell to the floor. "What the hay!?" Applebloom exclaimed.  
In a flash of white light, a few ferns and fichus' appeared inside the books themselves, assorted hats appeared on their heads, and several books disappeared.  
"what in tarnation is going on here?" Applejack asked. A fish suddenly appeared in her mouth. She pulled it out and tossed it away.  
"I don't know, but all these flashes…" a anvil appeared and dropped on Pinkie's head. Everyone reacted like she had died. Pinkie pulled her head out from underneath. Marble tried to hold back laughing when he saw that Pinkie's head was as flat as a pancake.  
"yeah." Halo muttered. "These are like when Di-" a BIG white flash came from above.  
Everyone slowly looked up and saw that there were multiple bodies up there. Some of them looked like they were in battle but stopped when they saw where they were. "where are we?" all 12 of them asked.  
Aura gulped. "This is going to-" the 12 newbies fell and landed right on top of everyone. Halo moved Twilight just in the nick of time, preventing her from being flattened. "-hurt." he squeaked.  
Everyone groaned in pain and agony. Satoshi pushed whoever landed on him off. "That hurt." he groaned.  
"no doubt." a familiar voice said. Both went wide-eyed as they both recognized the other's voice. They slowly looked at each other. "AH! Satoshi!?" "Fox!?"  
"Fox?" Ash asked in surprise. He's supposed to be in another galaxy.  
"Who?" someone familiar asked. Ash looked over just as the new guy looked up. "Ash?"  
"Riku?!"  
"This is going to a problem." Twilight said. Halo nodded.

A bluebird landed on a branch and chirped. Eris reached up to try and grabbed it but missed. The bluebird flew away. Eris whined as it flew off.  
"How much farther?" Scootaloo asked in a whiny tone. "my legs are killing me."  
"well, we would be there be now if we didn't have a add-on." Dash grunted, looking at Eris. Scoot's whined, lowering her head. 'dammit, I don't want to lose anyone else important to me!' Scootaloo's voice echoed though Dash's head as that painful memory played back. "(lose anyone else?)" Dash contemplated what to do with that. What could she have met by that? "Scootaloo?"  
Scoots' looked back. "yeah?"  
"back when we were at the bottom of the cliff, you said that you don't want to lose anyone else. What did you mean by that?"  
Scootaloo stopped in her tracks. "I…" she stopped. She didn't really want to talk about it.  
"Squirt?"  
"I… lost my family in a fire." Dash gasped. Eris heard the gasp and looked over. "a fireball came down from a mountain and crashed into our house as we were celebrating my mom's birthday. The fire from it quickly spread though it and hit some tanks in the basement. Blew up the place and killed everyone. I survived because my mom pushed me out the nearest window. I would've died to if Soarin' and the Wonderbolts didn't arrive to save me."  
"Soarin' wasn't there with you? I thought he was your cousin."  
This part hurt's Scoot's the most. "we're not related. He adopted me not long after the fire. I've been living with him ever since. He's the only family I have left."  
"Squirt. I-I'm sorry." Dash gave a wry chuckle. "you lost your family and didn't try to off yourself. I lose my chance to enter the Wonderbolts, force Shadow to leave, and my mom dies. Compared to you, my problems are like something out of a kid's show." Dash reached into the back of her hair and pulled out a flower.  
"What's that?" Eris walked over and stood beside Scoot's.  
"a Sunflower. Had it hidden in the back of my hair. Nobody looks there." Scootaloo slightly shrugged in agreement. "While many consider them to be weeds or food, my mom say them as beautiful flowers. She had a garden in the backyard dedicated to these things. She said it reminded her of the day she met Dad." Dash's eyes welled up again. "I never even got the chance to say good-bye. I should've visited her in the Gryphon Capitol when I had the chance."  
Suddenly, Eris grabbed the Sunflower out of Dash's hooves and ran off. "HEY!" Dash yelled. "Give that, you little twerp!" she ran after Eris. Scootaloo followed not far behind.

"okay, How is this possible?" Requiem asked. "I mean, we left you guys on other worlds!"  
"We know!" the newcomers exclaimed.  
Somehow, Riku, Lloyd, Emil, Fox, Hiccup & Toothless, Spyro & Cynder, and Lina, Gourry, Zelgadis, and Amelia have somehow teleported from their worlds and ended up on Equestria, and all parties are confused as hell how this happened.  
"one minute, I was getting ready to blast this little annoying doll to dust…" Lina snarled. "next thing I know, I'm falling on top of a white pony."  
"That hurt, by the way." Rarity snarled, rubbing her bruised behind.  
"Can we get back to the question at hand?" Lloyd asked. "somehow, we're all here and not on our worlds. Someone want to wager guess's on how that could've happened?"  
"we're in the dark as well." Sora said. "you didn't happen to perfect teleporting when we weren't looking, did you Req?"  
"I can barely move a apple to another side of a table. What does that tell you?"  
Sora got desperate. "Twilight?"  
"cutting back on magic till Starlight arrives. And before you ask, none of the Unicorn's here, or anywhere on the planet, are powerful enough to bring in beings from another planet, not even Celestia."  
With that said, everyone came to the same conclusion. Satoshi was the only one to vocalize it. "In short, get comfortable. you're going to be stuck here awhile."  
"wait wait wait. You guys have a flying ship capable of traveling between worlds." Hiccup said.  
"That's right. Who's to say you can't take us back in that?" Spyro asked. Satoshi pointed out the nearest window at the half-finished Orion. "oh."  
"well, as long as you're stuck here…" Aura walked over and pulled down a overhead. "…you may as well get caught up to speed."

Eris ran though the forest, laughing as Rainbow and Scootaloo ran after her.  
"You better give me that flower or else I'm going to turn you into a statue!" Dash threatened. Eris ran into a bush and out of view. Dash and Scootaloo dove in after her.  
Dash and Scoots skidded out though the other side, dirt getting in their teeth. Dash took her mouth out and spit out the dirt. She looked up and noticed Eris just standing there, looking at something in the distance..  
"Okay, you little cretin!" Dash got up and walked over with force. "You give me back that flower or else I'll-" she noticed what Eris was looking at and gasped with in surprise and admiration.  
Stretching out in front of them was a sunflower field. A breeze came though and lifted off petals from some of the flowers and into the air.  
"Did you know about this?" a astonished Dash asked Eris. Eris just handed the flower to Dash, who took it. "you're smarter then you look, kid." she looked from her mom's flower up to the field then back to her mother's flower again.  
"Dash? You're not going to jump again, are you?" Scootaloo asked.  
Dash gave a breathy chuckle. "no. but… I am gonna say good-bye."  
"Good-bye?"  
Dash nodded. She held the sunflower close to her for a full minute. "Bye, Mom." she tearfully said. with closure in her heart on at least one horrible thing in her life, Dash held her mother's sunflower over the edge and let it fall into the flower bed below. "…bye, Shadow." she felt a sudden gain of weight on her front left leg. She looked to see Eris hugging her. Instead of trying to force her off, Dash just smiled. "thanks, kid." she bent down and hugged Eris.  
Scootaloo smiled and glanced up at the sky. They still had 5 hours to get back home. "Come on. We should probably get going."  
"right." Dash sniffled. She cleared her throat and spoke clearer. "right. Come on, Eris." she said as she walked off. The baby followed not far behind.

After walking for 3 hours, the trio finally made it back home.  
"Finally. My leg's are killing me." Scootaloo moaned.  
"mine too." Dash groaned. Both fell over and raised their legs to the air, giving them time to breath. "this is why Pegasi have wings."  
Eris, still feeling perky as ever, ran by them and into town.

"we have officially landed in crazyville." Lina said. Each group from a different world found themselves in separate parts of the room, talking over their predicament.  
"I don't know. These ponies look like nice people." Amelia said.  
"you say that about everyone, Amelia." Zel and Gourry said.

"Well, bud. Looks like we're gonna be here for awhile." Hiccup said as he scratched Toothless. The dragon gutturally growled at Hiccup. "I know, I know. I miss our friends too. Besides, this seems like a good idea to learn about dragons on another world, right?"

"This is quite a pickle." Fox and Riku said to themselves, each in separate parts of the room. "I mean, I want to go home but I can't do that until they fix their ship. *sigh* just hope the others are doing okay."

"didn't see this coming, did you Emil?" Lloyd asked.  
"I don't think anyone did, Lloyd." he replied. "but did it have to happen in the middle of my wedding?"  
"can't control these things. Otherwise, we'd be neck-deep in Gald."

"you okay, Cynder?" Spyro asked.  
"Yeah. Just a little shaken, is all. I mean, we've been tossed from our world to this one. Who wouldn't be shaken?"  
"hm. True."  
Bahamut walked up to them, wanting to ask a question he was desperate to ask. "un… guys?" Spyro and Cynder looked to him. "is… Sapphyre okay?"  
Cynder smiled. "yes, she is. She's thinking of you every day. She keeps asking 'when will Bahamut come back?'"  
"has she really been thinking about me?"  
"non-stop." Spyro joined in. "she misses you deeply."  
Bahamut smiled. "And I miss her."

"Wait! Stop!"  
"Hold it, Eris!"  
Those 2 voices could be heard. The ponies and original humans were exited to hear those voices. "oh, thank goodness. They're alive." Spike sighed in relief.  
"wait. Eris?" Zilver muttered. "Who's Eris?"  
"Eris, wait! Agh. Will you stop moving around for a moment and let us catch you?!"  
"ah. She's heading for the library!"  
"oh no. Twilight will bite her head off!"  
The new people looked at Twi. "Not literally. But why would Dash say that? Why would I… scold someone?"  
"stop stop stop stop stop STOP!"  
"let's dive for her. No way she can dodge both of us."  
"Good idea, Squirt."  
Jax rolled her eyes. Murphy's Law was just enacted. She got up and walked over to the door. She counted to 5 with her fingers and opened the door.  
Dash and Scootaloo rolled into the library, past everyone, and right into a bookcase on the other side. "Ow." they both groaned. They both looked up to see everyone looking at them.  
"hey guys." Dash groaned.  
"hey." the Ponies replied non-chalantly.  
"what? Weren't you considered about us at all?" Scootaloo asked, a bit in anger.  
"we were until THEY appeared." Edge pointed to the new humans and dragons on the planet.  
Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash looked at each other. They knew who brought them here. "Uh-oh."  
"uh-oh what!?" Lina angrily asked.  
"un… Hehehe. We know who brought them here." Dash chuckled nervously.  
"WHO!?" the new arrivals asked.  
Eris ran in and towards Rainbow Dash. The ponies screamed and jumped up onto whatever was closest. "mind getting off of me?" Fox asked Sweetie Belle. Eris reached Dash and hugged her right leg.  
"eh… her." Dash said with a nervous smile.  
"Do you know what that thing is?!" Twi asked. "That's a Draconequus."  
"a what?" the humans asked.  
"oh, come on Twi. Eris isn't that bad. She saved my life. Besides, she's only just a baby." Scootaloo said.  
"wait. That runt brought us here?" Riku asked.  
"un… yeah?" Dash nervously said. "At least, we think so. Her powers come on whenever she claps."  
"but she's powerful enough to bring us here?" Spyro asked.  
"you're here, what does that tell you?"  
"Dash, you have to get rid of that… thing." Rarity said, not wanting to get close. "do you remember what Discord did?"  
"but she's not Discord. She's just a baby. Besides…" Dash waved her leg around. "couldn't get rid of her, even if I wanted to. She's grown attracted to me, and I to her."  
"oh, great." the ponies exclaimed. "we're stuck with the daughter of the devil." they all exclaimed.  
Fox leaned in close to Sora. "you have any idea what's going on?"  
"Not a clue."


	61. Further adjustment may be necessary

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 24

Further adjustment may be necessary

eTu`nes walked though the Gryphon Capital, trying to find a place he read in a brochure. "where is it?" he muttered. He pulled out the brochure and looked at it again.  
On the front, it had a black Unicorn in front of what appears to be a study filled with a assortment of gadgets and items. It also read: 'come one, come all. The great Mary Hoofdini will make all your dreams come true. For a reasonable price.'  
eTu`nes held up his left hand. In it was 5 bits he… borrowed from Shine. He had to do this, for Derpy's sake.

After what seemed like hours, eTu`nes finally found Hoofdini's shop. He entered though the door, causing a bell to ring.  
"Hello?" he called out. "Hello? Is anyone here?" he walked further in, towards the center. In the center was a big globe of the world. eTu`nes wings could block out both Equestria and the Badlands.  
A flash of white came from above. eTu`nes looked and saw Hoofdini walk down from the second floor. He noticed eTu`nes and reacted. "Oh. A customer." he jumped on down and landed on his hind legs. "welcome to Hoofiini's Magic Shop, where I can make your dreams come true. For a reasonable price." eTu`nes rolled his eyes. "So, what can I do for you?"  
"I need a round-trip teleportation spell. I need to get to Ponyville."  
"Ponyville? I just came from there." he pointed to the door eTu`nes came though. "whenever that bell rings in any of my world-wide shops, I get to it ASAP. Unless I'm busy at the end I'm at, of course. If you don't mind my asking, why do you need to get there?"  
"it's personal but I need a round-trip."  
"I see. I see. Hmm… well, I can take you there for 30 Bits."  
"30 Bits?! That's highway robbery!"  
"sorry, but that's my price for a round-way trip."  
"what about 5 Bits? What can I get for that?"  
Hoofdini held up a jar. "this jar of frog mucus."  
"that's it!?"  
"yep."  
"Dang it!" eTu`nes threw his coins down and fell onto his behind in a huff. "I don't believe this."  
Hoofdini, horribly confused, walked over while using his magic to pick up his coins. "did I say something wrong?"  
"I was…" he started to yell but didn't. he took a deep breath, calming himself down. "I was going to Ponyville to help take care of a problem a friend of mine has. It forced her to run away here."  
"oh."  
"she hasn't tried to deal with this and isn't planning too, but this is something that will haunt her, I'm sure of it."  
"mmm-hmm. Mmm-hmm. Do you care about her?"  
"immensity. If it wasn't for her, I would be dead. This would be my way of returning the favor." eTu'nes sighed. He lifted his wrist and stared at the bracelet Derpy gave him back in the Everfree Forest.  
Hoofdini looked over the drakes shoulder at the bracelet then at the bits he threw down. Denying him this felt bad. So, he came up with a idea. "you know, I just had a special just open up: round trip anywhere in the world. Only 5 bits."  
eTu`nes was a bit stunned when he heard that. "really?"  
"yeah. I know what this feeling is like. I have still to repay my debt to a friend of mine."  
eTu`nes suddenly hugged him. "thank you, thank you, thank you. I will repay this, I swear."  
"yeah. Okay." Hoofdini groaned. When eTu'nes hugs, he hugs tight. "Just stop hugging. Not a touchy-feely kind of pony."  
eTu`nes took notice what he was doing and put him down. "sorry."

Hoofdini led eTu`nes into a room with a orange rune in the middle. "What's that?" the drake asked.  
"that is your ticket to Ponyville. Instant Transport, as I call it." he trotted on over to a console. "just jump into the middle of the rune and we'll get started."  
Nervous about this whole thing, eTu`nes slowly stepped onto the rune. The rune glowed bright orange and sparked a bit. "huh. It's never done that before." Hoofdini muttered.  
"so… why can't you just teleport me there yourself. You are a Unicorn, after all."  
"True, but as great as I am, I haven't exactly mastered teleportation. Heck, I'm still having trouble teleporting a apple from one end of a table to another." that didn't exactly fill eTu`nes with confidence. "but don't worry. I had a more powerful Unicorn build this for me. And it works. Been using it for 5 years; no abnormalities." he pulled down on a lever. The sparks from the rune shocked up to the top of the room, opening a rift. "now… you may feel a slight tingling."  
"What?"  
Hoofdini slammed down on a big red button. eTu`nes disintegrated into particles and was pulled into the rift.

18 years later…

Lord, there's a lot to catch you guys up on. First off, Rainbow Dash decided to commit Suicide thanks to her causing Shadow to leave, her chance to enter the Wonderbolts being shot, and her mother dying. Thankfully, Scootaloo was able to save her, alone with unexpected help from a baby Draconequus female named Eris.  
Eris hit it off with Scootaloo but Dash wasn't so sure about her, on account of her being the same species as Discord. Her anger with her came to a boiling point when Eris took a sunflower Dash's mother gave her. Dash was ready to send her to the moon when she saw that Eris lead her to a Sunflower field. Believing that Eris brought her there to let go of the past, Dash said goodbye to her mother and Shadow and tossed the Sunflower in. during this process, Dash warmed up to the Draconequus.  
While on the way back, Dash and Scoots noticed that whenever Eris claps, her power over chaos goes off, similar to Discord and his Finger-Snapping. The biggest problem caused by that is bringing some of the human's old friends to Equestria.  
These visitors are: Fox from Star Fox, Lloyd and Emil from Tales of Symphonia, Riku from Kingdom Hearts, Hiccup and Toothless from How To Train Your Dragon, Spyro and Cynder from Legend of Spyro, and Lina and Gourry and Amelia and Zelgadis from The Slayers.  
Needless to say, each party is confused and the new guys are angry that they're here. Unfortunately, Dash returned just as they were talking about this and may have told them that Eris was to blame. And, well…

Eris chewed on her tail down in the library's basement, being trapped inside a impenetrable cage.  
"overkill, don'tcha think?" Req asked as she, Twi, and Dash left the basement.  
"Trust me Requiem. It's best for everyone." Twi said. "that particular species has caused a lot of trouble for Equestria over the years." the trio walked into the main part of the library. "she's better off in there and we're better off as well."  
"but she's not like Discord, Twilight." Dash retorted. "She's nice, she's kind, she's caring…"  
"AND THERE'RE MISSING!" Req yelled, referring to the missing off-worlders.  
"what's wrong with that?" Dash asked.  
"They all seemed nice." Twi added.  
"they all are, But Lina's the one I'm worried about. If she get's mad, she put out a spell that could destroy Canterlot AND Ponyville in the same spell."  
The color left Twilight's and Dash's faces. "that's not good."  
"I'll go find them. You guys keep an eye on the baby." Requiem said as she ran out.  
"Right. You do that." Dash said, not really caring about the problem with Lina.  
"hope Spike sent that letter with no problems." Twi muttered.  
"What letter?"  
"I just wrote a letter to Princess Celestia, telling her about what just happened with Eris and the newcomers."  
"What?" Dash nervously asked.  
"She, Luna, and Cadence will be here in a hour and decide what to do with that… thing in the basement."  
Twilight walked off for the kitchen, leaving Dash alone. She was stunned by what Twi said. "Celestia's… coming here… to deal with Eris?" there's no way this would end well.

"So… this giant monster came out of nowhere and completely messed up the Orion." Fox repeated, making sure he heard that correctly.  
"Yes, Indeedy." Satoshi said. "what you're seeing is just half-done. When that monster messed it up, he REALLY messed it up. Like you couldn't tell it was Orion anymore."  
"Damn. Not even the Aparoids could bang this thing up and all it took was a giant shadow cloaked monster."  
"yep. Thankfully, I had some help rebuilding it from the locals."  
"The pony things?"  
"yep. They helped with rebuilding the structure of the ship. The technical stuff, that's all me."  
"ah." Fox continued to look up at the ship. Not even the Aparoid Horde could dent Orion and a giant monster was able to turn it into splinters in 5 seconds flat? he was intrigued by the possibilities of what the monster is.

"This… is food?" a grossed out Lloyd asked, staring at a dandelion sandwich.  
"it is here." Rarity said. She took a bite out of her sandwich.  
"rrrright." Emil said, not really feeling like hay fries. "is there any… meat?"  
"ask Ash. He always seems to find it." Spike said. "Think he hunts in the Everfree Forest."  
"the what now?" they both asked.

"so what have you been up to, Riku? I thought you guys returned home to the Islands." Ash asked as both them and Halo sat in another part of the restaurant Lloyd, Emil, Spike, and Rarity were at.  
"well, turns out that defeating Xemnas caused Master Xehanort, someone worse then Xemnas, to be reborn. So, me and Sora were sent on by Yen Sid on a Mark of Mastery Exam to free 7 worlds from sleep. I was in a technological world when I suddenly appeared here."  
"that explains the techno look." Halo said, looking at Riku's black and blue cyber suit.  
"in fact, I was just about to fight a Dream Eater called a Gygamantis when I appeared."  
A confused Ash interrupted. "wait wait wait wait wait wait. Gygamantis? Dream Eaters? Master Xehanort? Yen Sid? This is new to me."  
"Oh, right. You weren't there." Riku thought for a moment. "Well, grab a pencil and paper. There's a lot I got to tell you."

The rare Night Fury roared as it zoomed though the sky, 3 of the group's 4 Pegasi and one Sol-Aura trying to keep up.  
"Hold up, Hiccup!" Aura exclaimed as he caught up. "Fluttershy and Marble aren't exactly the best of flyers. Edge, on the other hand…"  
"Think you can slow down, bud?" Hiccup asked Toothless. Toothless sputtered and slowed down considerably, allowing the ponies to catch up.  
"Thanks… for slowing down…" Edge panted. He wheezed and acted like he's going to hack up a lung. "Sorry. Haven't flew this high and that fast in a long time."  
Fluttershy ignored him and turned her attention to Toothless. "what species of Dragon is he? We never saw anything like him anywhere on our world."  
"This… is a Night Fury, a very rare breed of Dragon on Berk. They are the unholy offspring of Lightning and Death itself. Faster then the Orion and just as deadly. He can out-fly any creature on this planet."  
"Really?" Marble asked, not really convinced. "can he out-fly Rainbow Dash?"  
"I don't know but I think yes." Aura said, answering for Hiccup.  
"Ain't he confident?" Edge jokingly said to Marble.  
Fluttershy flew a bit closer to Toothless' face. "This cute guy, a offspring of Lightning and Death? It can't be. He's so cute." Toothless felt both flattered and embarrassed that a pony is calling him cute.

Spyro and Cynder flew up alongside them. "This place is something." Spyro said in admiration. "no wars, no death, nobody dying. I could get used to this."  
"Don't get to comfy, Spyro. We aren't staying." Cynder said.  
"I know." Spyro flipped on his back and flew on. "But I might as well enjoy it while I have the chance."  
Hiccup and Toothless looked at each other. "you know, that's not a bad idea. Take in the now, worry about the future on your own time."  
The group all heard screaming coming from down below. "something someone should take into consideration." Marble joked.

"AAAAAHHHHH! I can't take it anymore!" Lina shouted. "I've only been here half a hour and already I hate this world." she grabbed a nearby snake (poor guy) and stomped him into the ground. "I hate it! I hate it! I hate it!" she repeatedly said, jumping on the snake.  
Not more then 20 feet away, Gourry, Zelgadis, and Amelia were having a lovely spot of tea. "How long do you think she'll be like this?" Amelia asked.  
"Probably our entire stay." Zel said before taking a sip. "and odds are she'll starve of hunger."  
"or maybe get a more pleasant personality." Gourry said. The snake Lina stomped on hit him in the head.  
"I HEARD THAT, GOURRY!" Lina fell to her knees and moaned. "This is it. This is the end. I'm gonna die now." she eyeballed her friends but they weren't doing much.. "How can you guys be so calm with me dying of hunger?"  
"Lina, we were eating when we teleported to this world. You can't possibly by starving already." Zel said.  
"I'm a Sage! You know how we act!"  
"No. we know how you and Gourry act when it comes to food. You're bottomless pits."  
"Besides, did you happen to look in town?" Amelia asked. "There's bound to be food somewhere in there."  
"the main inhabitants of this world are PONIES, Amelia. Odds are they eat what PONIES would eat, not HUMANS!"  
"She's got a point." Gourry said. "Maybe we can ask Aura or Ash if they have me-" Lina interrupted him by forcing his head into his teacup.  
"Shut your gob before I turn it into mince meat!" She snarled though her teeth.  
"Yes ma'am." Gourry fearfully said.  
A shadow flew overhead. They looked up to see a carriage fly by. Spyro and Fluttershy barely had time to move to the side and avoid it.  
"What the heck was that?" Hiccup asked.  
"looks like… the Princess's." Aura said.  
"Princess's?" Hiccup, Spyro, and Cynder asked, looking at each other.

The princess's royal carriage touched down outside of the library. Twilight looked out the nearest window and saw all 3 of them. "They're here. They'll know what to do with that thing." she said to Dash.  
"Her name is Eris!" Dash angrily said.  
"Erys?" a VERY Familiar voice asked. Dash winced as she noticed a stunned Celestia standing in the doorway. "did you say… Erys?"  
"Oh. That's right." Twi winced. "Celestia's daughter was named Eris."  
"she had a daughter?" Dash asked in surprise.  
"please… please, let me see my Erys." Celestia pleaded.  
Dash and Twi looked at each other. They never saw the princess plead before. Neither did Luna, Cadence, or Armor. Twi's horn glowed and Eris appeared in front of them. Luna, Cadence, and Armor were taken aback by her Draconequus appearance. Celestia bent down and looked at the creature that has the same name as her daughter.

A small, black camera slithered in from the kitchen. On the other side were the west of the gang; ponies, humans, and newcomers. "turn up the volume, Fox-boy. We can't here a thing." Trixie asked.  
"It's just Fox, okay? And this ain't exactly rocket science, you know. This isn't like flying a Arwing."  
"a what?" the newcomers asked each other. Fox shushed them.

Celestia cried a single tear after looking at Eris. "Celestia?" Twilight sympathetically asked. "Are you okay?"  
"I'm fine." she with a choke. She stared down at Eris who looked up at her with a blank expression. For the first time in her rule, Celestia said something nobody thought she would say: "kill it."  
"What?" Twi and Dash asked in surprise.  
"What?" Cadence, Luna, and Armor asked, again in surprise.  
"What?" everyone watching though the camera exclaimed.  
"Kill it. That… thing killed my daughter and took her name. to make it worse, she's a Draconequus. She doesn't deserve to live."  
Eris was scared by the tone of Celestia's voice and hid behind Dash. "you can't do that. She's just a baby." Dash said.  
Celestia's horn began to glow. "Move aside, Rainbow Dash. You don't want to get caught in this."  
Dash looked back to Eris. She is scared right now. Deathly afraid. She looked up at Dash with a expression of fear that would make Darth Vader back up. She was probably be sent to the moon because of this but she had to do it. "No."  
"What?"  
"No. you can't just condemn a baby because she has the same name as your missing daughter. She didn't do anything wrong and yet you're going to kill her? Are you insane? She's just a baby. She doesn't know any better. She isn't like Discord."  
"Dash. Shut up now." Twi worriedly whined though her teeth.  
"If you're going to kill Eris, you're gonna have to kill me too. Cause I'm not moving."  
Celestia's horn glowed brighter. She was getting ready to fire her spell. She glanced at Eris, who looked at her in deathly fear. Celestia recognized those eyes. They're the same eyes as her daughter's. "Erys…" she silently said. The glow in her horn diminished before disappearing completely. Celestia fell to her knees, stunned by what she almost did. "I… was going to kill someone?"  
"sis…"  
Celestia looked at her front hooves. They shook violently, still reeling in the fact that she almost killed someone. A red flower suddenly entered her view. She looked down the stem to see Eris offering it to her.  
"See. She's innocent." Dash said. "she doesn't know any better but she does know when to make things better. Think it's a sixth sense or something."  
Celestia ignored her. She took the flower and looked at it. She tearfully smiled at it and to Eris. "(this has the same color as my Erys's eyes, and this Eris's eyes.)" she glanced over at Eris who smiled back.  
"You okay, Auntie Tia?" Cadence asked.  
"Yeah. I-I'm fine. Just had a… random moment."  
"I'd say more then random." Twi and Luna muttered.  
"so… now what, your highness?" Armor asked. "what do we do with the Draconequus?"  
Celestia looked at the baby then to Dash. "you really think she's capable of good?"  
"Think it? I know it. She helped me deal with a… still heart-breaking chapter in my life." Dash groaned as she remembered the events that made her want to commit suicide. "she's not going to be like Discord. I know it."  
Celestia looked back down at Eris who continued to smile up at her. "well… make sure that happens."  
"huh?"  
"As of this moment, the Draconequus Eris will be under the care of Rainbow Dash. She will guide the child to make sure it does not became a agent of chaos like Discord. Is that okay with you?"  
Dash nodded. "it's perfect." she walked over to Eris and gave her a noogie. "you hear that, kid? You're gonna be living at my place."  
"Rainbow Dash." Eris said.  
"that's right. Though, I guess pretty soon, I'll be going by mommy."  
Celestia turned to leave, taking the flower with her, when Twilight stopped her. "Un… princess. We did make one observation of Eris's powers."  
Celestia stopped and looked back. "oh?"  
"it turns out, whenever she claps, her powers activate. This already happened a few times."  
"what did she do?" Armor asked.  
"Nothing much. A few misplaced objects… some tough to put back."  
"how so?" Luna asked.

Outside, Emil was pleading to whatever gods they had on this planet. "Please don't mention us. Please don't mention us. Please don't mention us." one lavender glow later, the ENTIRE group reappeared in the library, right in front of Celestia. "she's gonna mention us."  
The humans who were here already and the ponies tip-toed away, leaving the newcomers alone. "these are some of the… larger objects that Eris misplaced."  
The princess's looked up at the newcomers. Cynder nervously laughed and waved at her. "hi."  
"They are from worlds that Requiem and her friends have visited. Not sure how Eris learned about them, but… here they are."  
"Can't she just clap and send them back?" Luna suggested.  
"We would but, as we said, Eris is a baby. And odds are, she might teleport the entire town into the sun."  
"good point."  
Celestia looked at the newcomers who just stood there nervous as heck. "Are they dangerous?"  
"Pfft. Who isn't?" Jax said. "but they can control themselves. Right guys?" everyone of the newcomers nodded in unison. "well… most of them can."  
"Why do I feel that that's directed at me?" Lina asked, ready to turn Jax into a doornail with her fist.  
"cause it is." Jax said. Sure enough, Lina did it. She hit Jax hard enough to nail her into the floor. "worth it." Jax dazedly said.  
"Anybody got a giant hammer?" Riku joked.


	62. Prophecy of Doom

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 25

Prophecy of Doom

A rune in a shop in the outskirts of Ponyville sparked to life. A rift opened up above it. eTu`nes' molecules came out of it and materialized into himself in the center.  
"oh, man." he groaned, holding his stomach. "it feels like my insides are on fire."  
"yeah. Guess I should've warned you about that." Hoofdini's disembodied voice said. "move off the platform, please." ETu'nes jumped off the rune and onto the floor. One spark later, Hoofdini appeared in front of him. "WOO! That always gives me a rush." eTu`nes held his mouth, feeling like he was going to vomit. "yeah, I forgot to mention that using that will mess up your insides. That's why I never allow a pregnant woman to use it. Don't worry, it'll get better in a hour or two."  
"Right." eTu`nes groaned. "Think I'll hold back on eating. *Gags* for a long while." he ran off into the shop and down the left hallway.  
"bathroom's down the left hallway, 3rd door on the right." eTu`nes ran down the other hallway, holding his mouth.

1 hour later, a much better eTu`nes left the shop and looked at Ponyville for the first time. "wow. Quite a tranquil place. Much better then the noisy FeatherTop."  
"yeah. This is a quiet place to settle down and raise a family."  
eTu`nes spread his wings and took to the air. "keep that thing warmed up. I'm just gonna be a couple hours."  
"un…" Hoofdini was going to say something but eTu`nes was long gone. He shrugged. "okay.. I was just going to warn you that people might react to you being a Dragon."

It has been a full year, to the day, when Derpy disappeared. One full year, and they still didn't believe it. Derpy's mother, May Grey, still believes she's still alive, so does Celestia, but they haven't been able to find her. About a month after she disappeared, the bullies who tortured, Lyra Heartstrings and Octavia Philharmonica, revealed that they tortured her badly and that they may have forced her to leave. The family hated them for making her leave but knew that hating them won't bring Derpy back from… wherever she was.

Derpy's sister, D.D., looking at a picture of her they had placed on top of a fireplace. "Derpy… where are you?" she sadly asked. She got up and walked out of the den, leaving her parents behind.  
"oh, Daring." May said to herself, watching her daughter walk out. She sat back and looked at a token Derpy left behind. "*sigh* Derpy… Darling… where are you?"  
Comet Skies, Derpy's father, looked though a photo album of Derpy and Daring when they were babies. "where could she have gone?"  
Daring walked past the main door when a knock came from it. She walked over to it and opened it up. "Hi, Daring!" Lyra and Octavia happily exclaimed.  
Daring looked at them, wanting them to go away. "What do you want?" she angrily asked. "You want to torture me to the point that I run away?"  
"What?" Lyra asked in surprise. "no. we just came by to see if you wanted to hang out at that new place that opened up down the street, un… Sugarcube Corner, I think it's called."  
Daring angrily stuck her head out. "Not. Interested. Now leave before I call the cops."  
"Daring, we said we're sorry." Octavia said. "If we could go back in time and prevent it from happening, we could."  
"well, you can't. and I want you to LEAVE!" Daring started to slam the door shut but a foot blocked it. The thing odd about it was that it had claws. "huh?" she slowly opened the door back up to see a black dragon standing there. Lyra and Octavia shook in fear as they held each other. Naturally, she freaked out. "MOM! DAD!" she yelled.  
Comet and May walked to her and saw the Dragon. "AHH!" May screamed.  
"What is a dragon doing here? What do you want?" Comet angrily asked.  
eTu`nes held up his arms. "I mean you no harm, Mr. Comet Skies."  
He knew his name? "how do you know my name?" he asked.  
"Are you here to rob us?" May fearfully asked.  
"no, I am not, May Grey. I'm here peacefully."  
"How do you know MY name?"  
Daring fearfully shook, looking the imposing dragon over. When she reached the arms, she noticed the shell bracelet, recognizing how it's made. "where did you get that?" she asked.  
eTu`nes looked at his arm, knowing she meant the bracelet. "your sister gave this to me."  
"Sist… you know Derpy?" Daring asked, filled with hope. May and Comet looked at him, all hopeful. Even Lyra and Octavia were hopeful.  
"yep. That's why I'm here. I know where Derpy is."

18 Years Later…

A week has passed since Eris unintentionally used her powers to bring old friends of Requiem and her gang to Equestria. They are Fox, Lloyd, Emil, Riku, Hiccup & Toothless, Spyro & Cynder, and Lina & Gourry & Zelgadis & Amelia. (I went though what series last chapter. Try to keep up.)  
In the aftermath of that, Celestia was about ready to kill Eris because she was a Draconequus and because she had the same name as her own daughter Erys but Dash stopped her, saying that Eris isn't like Discord. Hoping it's true, Celestia has Eris placed under Dash's care as a mother.  
Finding living arrangements for the new guys wasn't that difficult. Applejack offered them the barn since harvest season was over. Come Spring, however, they're gonna need to find a new place to live.  
Though it was only a week, it seemed like 3 MONTHS. Some are feeling the pressure of being stuck on a world inhabited by happy-go-lucky ponies.

"hmm… so, that would be A and… ah, that's it."  
Halo is hard at work, working on translating the writings they found in the abandoned city in the Everfree Forest. He was so busy that day turned to night.  
"mmm… maybe if I put that there and move this here…"  
A tired Twilight walked down from above dressed in a robe. "Halo…" she yawned. "are you still working on that?"  
"yep."  
Twi yawned again. "Come back to bed." she wrapped her hooves around her coltfriend. "Me and Starlight are lonely."  
Halo's face turned red when she grabbed him from behind. "un… I think I can take a break." he turned back and kissed her on the cheek.  
Twi seductively chuckled. "good." she sighed as she looked down at the paper. "so, what have you been able to translate?"  
"not much. Just the word 'Beware'. and it repeats a lot."  
"beware?" Twilight half asked in fear.  
"yeah, but I'm not sure what it is for. Could be a past warning for a flood or something; I don't know. Could be anything." Twilight glanced over at the picture they took of the mural with the giant dragon. Just looking at the picture scares her to death.  
"Hope it's not that thing." she said under her breath.

A little chirping bluebird flew off a branch and landed on the railing of the Apple farm barn. It continued to chirp and hop around on the railing.  
"Shut up." A fireball came from within the and turned the bluebird into roast chicken. "I need my beauty sleep." Lina muttered in her sleep.  
Every one of the newcomers were still fast asleep, each dreaming fond memories of their home. Unfortunately, one cold trough of water will ruin that for them. It splashed over them all, waking them up and complaining.  
"Rise and Shine, newbies." Applejack proudly proclaimed. Aura and Zilver picked up the trough and tossed it aside. "It's another gorgeous Autumn day in Equestria."  
"for about 4 more days, then Running of the Leaves hits with Winter a couple weeks after." Zil added. "better grab some blankets."  
Spyro spit out some water. "what was that for?"  
"well, you all looked so peaceful sleeping, we decided to ruin it." Aura said with a evil snicker.  
"that and ya'll need to get to work." A.J. interrupted.  
"WORK!?" everyone exclaimed in surprise.  
"yeah. We may be stuck here but we gotta pull our weight. Some of the natives got some jobs ready for you around town." Aura said. "now come on…" he clapped his hands. "…chop chop." everyone sneered at him with death in their eyes. "ey ey ey. No sneering. Now get up and come on. You got work to do." he walked off with A.J. and Zilver.  
"First chance we get, let's turn Aura into Bologna."

Water dripped down in a foreboding dark cavern. It hit puddles far below it in a steady 'drip, drip, drip.'  
Dark fire suddenly appeared in mid-air. A certain human with terrible split-personality syndrome walked out of the fire and on thin-air.  
"yoo-hoo. Oscurita. Yoo-hoo." Aqua called out. "I think he bailed."  
"no, he's here. I sense him." Ignissaid. The cave shook and rumbled as a large body moved in it. "there he is." Ventus said with a slight chuckle.  
A pair of red eyes opened wide and stared directly at Orochi. "well there. How's our favorite toy doing?" Tenebrae sneered. Oscurita snarled at him.  
"my my. Quite a temper. You weren't like that when we first found you near death." Terra snickered. "of course, like I said, you were almost dead."  
Oscurita snarled again, more angry this time. "Shame we took your ability to talk. Of course, you didn't have much to say when we met." Fulmen sadistically joked. "but that's beside the point."  
"we're here to finish this, once and for all." Lucis said as he took over. "that's right, it's time to complete your conversion over to our side. So you have one attachment left to this world. That's not going to halt this."  
The leader personality, Glacies, took over and raised his right hand, which glowed with dark fire. For the first time since he turned into this monstrous form, Oscurita was worried.

Halo worked hard on the translations from the mural and tapestries. He was working on the one with the dragon first since it frightened him the most.

Twilight was outside, putting Riku and Fox to work.  
"Okay. I want you two to remove anything that doesn't look like it belongs in the tree." she told them.  
"just this little tree?" Fox asked. "Pbbt. Easy peasy. This will take 10 minutes tops." he pulled out his staff and aimed at it.  
Twilight stopped him. "without setting it on fire."  
"aw, man." Riku said. He sent his Keyblade away. "looks like we're doing this the hard way." he said to Fox.  
"it shouldn't take more then a hour, tops." Twi said. She walked back to the library door.  
"great. Lucky us. We do all the work." Fox sarcastically said. "why doesn't she do it?"  
"pregnant." Riku quickly said as he walked to the tree.  
"oh."

"this… is… embarrassing." Lloyd whined. With some pull from Sparkler, she was able to get them jobs at Cavern on the Green. As Janitors. "I'm so glad that Colette isn't seeing me in this lousy get-up."  
"I don't know. This sort of grows on you after awhile." Emil said as he looked himself over. "I think Marta would've liked this."  
"She'd like you in a chicken suit." Lloyd muttered. He gave a groaning sigh and lowered his head. "there's someone worse off then us, right?"

There is but it wasn't Hiccup & Toothless. They were liking their job as mailmen.  
"well, this isn't all that bad. Simple, easy, something fit for us, right bud?" Hiccup asked Toothless. Toothless growled in agreement as he scratched his head.  
"here you go." Derpy said as she flew over. "a package for you to deliver. 213 Sycamore Lane. Think you can do it?"  
Hiccup scoffed. "Can we do it, she asks?" he climbed on top of Toothless and grabbed the package from Derpy. "let's show this world the fastest animal in existence." Toothless gave a smirk. "ready?" Toothless crouched in preparation. "Let's go!"  
Toothless shot out of the post office, leaving behind a mini-tornado that sent everyone spinning. After just 30 seconds, Toothless and Hiccup returned. "un… where is 213 Sycamore Lane?" Derpy shakingly handed him a map. "Thanks." Toothless shot off again, leaving behind a shock-wave.  
"he would give Dash a run for her money." Raindrops groaned, caught in a precarious position.

Spyro and Cynder helped Bahamut herd some sheep into a paddock.  
"That was easier then expected." Cynder joked.  
"it usually is." Bahamut said. He flipped and flew on his back. "this place isn't like Warfang. There's some pretty easy jobs here."  
"we noticed." Spyro said. "and it's quite beautiful and peaceful here. More so then the Valley of Avalar."  
"yeah. This place is better then Warfang in that regard." Bahamut said. "but nothing will beat Sapphyre's beauty."  
"you really miss her, don't you?" Cynder asked as she flew over.  
"I dream of her every night and I'm sad when I don't see her when I wake up."  
"yep." Spyro answered for him.  
A hopeful Bahamut prayed to himself. "I wish I could see her again; her sparkling sapphire scales, her gorgeous emerald eyes, her slender and great body…"  
"we get it." Spyro and Cynder both said, not wanting to hear anymore. They get enough of that from each other.

Trixie lead Lina and her friends to the center of town. "now, the Mayor asked me to put you to work. And I thought of a good one for you potty-mouth's."  
"Lina's the one with the mouth." Zelgadis said.  
"That's not true, Zel!" Lina exclaimed.  
"it's true." Amelia and Gourry said.  
"hey!"  
Trixie groaned as she pinched her eyes. "this is giving me a headache." she shook her head and got back to work. "So… you've been tasked with cleaning up the town a-"  
"The entire town?!" all 4 exclaimed.  
"shouldn't be to hard for magic users." Trixie said. "I'd do it myself but I'm not that skilled." she said with a mean smile.  
Everyone groaned as they went to work. "We're gonna get you for this, Pony." Lina snarled. Trixie mocked her, knowing she was making empty threats. And if not, her girlfriend is a ruler of Equestria. She'll send Lina to jail.  
Speaking of Luna, guess who arrived. A shadow flew over Trixie. She looked up and smiled. "Sorry for the delay, Trixie. Celestia was babbling on and on. Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah."  
"I understand. Twilight's the same way." Trixie joked. Both chuckled. "just glad you could make it, Luna."  
Hearing that word made Lina go wide-eyed. "uh-oh." her friends said, fearing the worst.  
"l-l-ll…"  
"is she okay?" Luna asked.  
"GYAH!" Lina ran off as fast as she could. "keep her away from me!"  
A horribly confused Luna and Trixie watched as she ran off. "was it something we said?" they both asked.  
"Lina has a sister who's also called Luna." Amelia said. "whenever she hears that word, she freaks out, no matter how it's used."  
Trixie and Luna looked at each other. They both had the same idea for this situation. "Princess?"  
"Princess."

The day passed on by quicker then anyone expected. First sign that winter was almost here. After their jobs were done, the newcomers slogged to the library to rest. Plenty of room there for rest. Plus, movie. This weeks presentation: Gremlins 2.

Rainbow Dash held up a card with a circle on it in front of Eris. "you see this? This is called a circle. Can you say 'circle'?"  
Eris blinked at the symbol. "sircle?"  
Dash smiled. "yeah, that's right. Sircle."  
Fluttershy watched this display and smiled. "Dash has really grown into this role as a mother. It fits her."  
"I think that's what Celestia thought to." Satoshi said, playing checkers with a surprisingly calm Pinkie. "maybe." Pinkie jumped all of Satoshi's pawns except for one and landed on the other side. "King me." Satoshi's mouth dropped. He's getting his butt kicked by a super-hyper pony.  
Toothless groaned as he walked in and plopped down on the floor. "poor guy." Hiccup said as he slid off his back. "We've been flying non-stop all day. Even Night Furies need rest."  
"no argument." everyone replied in unison.  
Ash shook his head 'no'. "they're capable of taking down foes with powers of gods yet they can't do a simple task."  
Halo continued working on the translation, something Twilight saw as sad. "come on, Halo. The movie's about to start." Halo gasped. He was finally done but what he had translated scared him. "What's wrong?"  
"it's a prophecy."  
"Prophecy? A prophecy of what?" Requiem asked, unintentionally getting the attention of everyone in the room.  
"a prophecy of doom."  
"Doom?" Everyone asked in surprise.  
"what doom, exactly?" Spike asked.  
"the doom of the world."  
"the doom of the world!?" every pony exclaimed.

Glacies raised his arm and aimed it at Oscurita. "The time has come for you to seize your true destiny." dark fire swirled into the palm of his hand. For the first time in his existence, Oscurita was afraid.  
Glacies snickered evilly as…

Begin Song: watch?v=qyHeUtacaNc the Key - Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep OST

…the fire shot out of his hand and at the monster, striking it in the heart.

At everyone's insistence, Halo read the prophecy, and it wasn't something they wanted to hear.  
'Lowe and Behold, the Might of Oscurita, the God of Destruction.'

"Oscurita?" Riku muttered. That name sounded familiar to him.

'His mighty black wings shall rain death upon the world, ultimately leading to it's awesome destruction.  
His minions of shadow shall spread upon the land, killing all before the world's ending.'

"that sounds familiar." Jax muttered, thinking back to the day they first met the ponies.

Oscurita roared in pain as the dark fire continued to shot into his heart. He slowly felt himself being stripped away of what made him into him.  
His memories raced though his head, recounting the days of his youth, including a Pegasus.  
His eyes shot open and glowed red.

'His roar shall shatter the skies, raining death down and killing all.  
His role of death shall be brought about by a force of evil from another realm: a eight-headed beast of dark intent.'

"Eight-headed beast?" Satoshi muttered, looking at a equally worried Sora. Req glanced over to the picture of the mural.

'naught can be brought to stop the Might of Oscurita;  
the Demon of Death, the God of Destruction, the Harbinger of The End.'

Everyone was dumbstruck by that. Oscurita? Eight-Headed beast? Harbinger of The End? This was a lot to take it.  
"Pbbt." Emil went. "it's just a prophecy. Half the time, those don't come true."  
"I wouldn't be so sure." Requiem muttered. She held up the picture of the mural and the dragon on it. In her other hand, she summoned up a orb of darkness. It hovered over to the picture and washed over it.

Oscurita's body began to pulse.  
"He's resisting the change. Abort, Glacies." Ventus pleaded.  
Glacies stopped what he was doing but the monster continued to pulse. "his ties to this world are too great. We have no choice but to kill her; the last tie."  
Oscurita roared in pain as the pulses became erratic.

The orb Req summoned washed over the picture, leaving only the eyes intact. Her friends reacted, knowing full well who it was.  
"Recognize anyone?" she said as she held up the picture of the monster of shadow.  
"That's the monster that stranded us!" Bahamut exclaimed.

The pure power of darkness inside him reached it's peak and the pulse's fastly became one steady 'beep'. he roared to the sky as the darkness shot out of him.

The entire planet violently shook. Tremors opened up around the world, leading to nothingness below.

Just east of Ponyville, a beam of darkness shot out of a mountain and pierced the sky.

Celestia watched from the palace, worried about what was going to happen.

Elsewhere, a being with holes in her dark legs and rapidly fluttering wings watched the event and smiled. She finally had a secret weapon for her plan.

The group ran out to see the beam shot into the sky.  
"I'd hate to say it, Halo…" Requiem began to say as the wind picked up. "…but I think that Prophecy is true."  
Thunder rumbled from where the beam touched the sky, resulting in a violent display of lightning.


	63. Running of the Leaves

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 26

Running of the Leaves

CLAP! CRASH! ZAP!  
eTu`nes groaned as he crawled out of the rune in Hoofdini's Feather Top Shop. "kill me now."  
"you're the one who insisted on coming back not long after we arrived." Hoofdini said as he appeared. "I warned you of the consequences."  
"And I'm the idiot who went along with it." eTu`nes groaned. He took several deep breaths before getting up off the floor. "I just hope Derpy will forgive me for what I did." he huffed as he walked out.  
"forgive you?" a confused Hoofdini asked himself. "did I do something wrong?"

eTu`nes moaned is he walked back to Shine Dash's place. Using that teleported really screwed him up on the inside. He felt a small pain on the side of his head. "Guess that's to be expected." he moaned as he rubbed it.

Derpy was fast asleep on the couch in the den. Rainbow was in the kitchen making herself a sandwich and Shine was humming while dusting. The door swung open and a much better eTu`nes walked in.  
"There you are!" Rainbow exclaimed. "we've been looking for you all day."  
"Sorry, I had some… things to take care of."  
"like what?" Shine asked.  
eTu`nes thought for a moment. He could trust them with their reactions; it's Derpy's reaction he's worried about. "well… guess I can tell you guys." he gestured them both to come closer, unaware that Derpy was sleeping on the couch and was just waking up.  
"don't tell Derpy this but I went to Ponyville."  
"Ponyville?" Shine asked. "Why?"  
"I… went to tell her family that she's here in Feather Top." Derpy went wide-eyed. He didn't really do that. He couldn't have.  
"why?"  
"*sigh* guess it's time to tell you the truth. The real reason she ran away was because these 2 bullies tortured her something fierce, forcing her to leave. She doesn't want to go back because of those 2. Add her new eyes into the mix and she'd basically kill herself if those 2 found out."  
"oh, dear." Shine gasped.  
"her families' on her way to get her now and take her back. They'll be here in a couple of days to pick her up."  
"how could you do that, eTu`nes?" Derpy asked. The dragon winced when he heard that voice. He knew he should've checked the room when he had the chance. He glanced over to the couch to see an angry and sad Derpy staring at him. "Why would you go and stab me in the back."  
"Derpy, I…"  
"Shut up!" Derpy yelled. "I trusted you and you go and tell them where I am. I told you I didn't want to go back, not while those 2 are still there."  
"Derpy…" eTu`nes walked over but Derpy just ran to the stairs.  
"I never want to see you again, eTu`nes! You hear me? Just leave me alone! I hate you!" Derpy ran upstairs. Dash ran after her.  
eTu`nes fell back into a chair. "I knew this was a mistake. I just couldn't bear to see her like this."  
"you did the right thing. Just give her some time, she'll forgive you." Shine said. She looked at the stairs for a moment. "wait here. I'll be right back." she flew up the stairs, leaving eTu`nes behind.  
"did I make a mistake?" he muttered to himself.

"Derpy. Come on, open the door." Dash asked. A sudden slam against it shut her up. "and that was the chair." she muttered. Shine flew on up and landed beside her daughter. "mom, talk to her. She's going to destroy the place."  
"That's what I'm planning on doing, Dash." Shine said. She moved Dash aside and knocked on the door.  
"Go away!" Derpy yelled.  
"Derpy, it's Shine. I just want to talk to you."  
"Why, so you can stab me in the back too?"  
"honey, eTu`nes did what he did because he cares about you. He didn't want you to keep running from your problems." Silence came from the room. Shine knew she was making progress. "Sooner or later, you're going to have to face them. That's what eTu`nes was doing; he was making it so that you wouldn't bu haunted by these demons anymore."  
The door creaked open and Derpy slowly walked out. "I didn't consider that." she softly said. "but that still doesn't excuse the fact that he did this without my permission."  
Shine smiled. "well, if someone cares about you very, very much, they'll do whatever they can to make you happy and take the consequences up front."  
The way Shine was going on, eTu`nes was starting to look like a knight in shining armor. "I guess I… have been a bit harsh to him."

eTu`nes leaned on his arm and sputtered. "so much for making her feel good."  
He heard hoof steps coming down from the stairs. Derpy reached the floor first. Shine and Dash waited half-way. "eTu`nes…" she started to say. "I'm… sorry for yelling at you. I was just… just so mad that you went behind my back and told my parents. I just…"  
eTu`nes interrupted her with a pat on her shoulder. "it's okay, Derpy. I should've asked your permission before doing this and I'm sorry."  
Derpy giggled. She suddenly kissed him on the cheek, surprising him completely. "thanks for looking out for me." she said with a smile. eTu`nes smiled back. "So… *sigh* when do my parents get here?"  
"2 days from now. It took us that long to get here, remember?"  
"I remember." Derpy sighed. "well, better get my things together." she walked back upstairs, passing Shine and Dash.  
"well, I better get ready to leave." eTu`nes sighed. "I don't think they'll let me come with them.

18 years later…

It's been a week since that display of darkness in the sky, and when Halo read that prophecy. 'Beware the Might of Oscurita; the Harbinger of The End.' this mystery has them scared. Thankfully, most of the gang had already forgotten about it or pushed it back to the recess's of their mind; worrying about it now won't give them any answers. They only know one thing: that 'Oscurita' is likely the monster that stranded Requiem and her friends on Equestria. Even then, it's likely a long-shot. It could be anything under that cloak of darkness; speculating that it may be a dragon isn't helping much.  
Fortunately, there are plenty of distractions to keep them occupied. One such thing is the Running of the Leaves.

"running of the who-now?" Sora and Fox asked in confusion.  
"Running of the Leaves." Twilight insinuated. "it's quite a popular event here in Ponyville." she walked off the grab a book about it.  
"you ever hear about this?" Fox asked Sora.  
"no I have not. And I've been on this planet longer then you guys." she said back.  
"Ah man. Guess I can't find it." Twi sadly said. "aw, well. I think I can explain it easy enough." she jumped down to the floor. "you see, the Running of the Leaves is how the ponies here in Ponyville help change the season from Autumn to Winter. They run though the wilderness as fast and as strong as they can, the shockwaves from it causing the leaves to fall." Fox sat back on a chair as Sora leaned on a wall. "it also doubles as a contest to see who's the fastest. Last year, it was a tie between Rainbow Dash and Applejack... Though they were feuding at the time."  
"Contest to see who's fastest, huh?" Sora muttered. "Toothless would cream them in a second."  
"they have to run, not fly." Fox corrected.  
"Oh. Then anyone one of us would be dead last."  
Twi thought about that for a moment. "well… maybe not." now she's just being crazy. "not if you have the right, eh… equipment."  
"equipment?" Fox and Sora looked at each other. "what equipment?"

Time to turn Fall to Winter. The starting line for the Running of the Leaves was set up and the participants are ready to go.  
"This should be fun." Applejack said.  
"yeah. We're not trying to show each other up." Dash chuckled. A pair of ponies talked nearby. They seem to be… placing bets?  
"5 bits says Dash beats Applejack this running." Sea Swirl betted with Shoeshine.  
"you're on." Shoeshine replied.  
"Can I get in on this?" Noteworthy asked.  
A.J. and Dash looked at each other and came up with the same idea. "how about we make this interesting, Dash."  
"how interesting?" A.J. looked around, making sure no one was in hearing range. She gestured Dash to come closer, which she did. A.J. whispered the 'plan' into her ear, making Dash smile like a mad man. When A.J. was done with her explanation, Dash snickered. "that'll get them good."  
A familiar lavender sight trotted up with, once again, the number 42 over her cutie mark. "Twilight?" A.J. asked in surprise.  
"what are you doing here?" Dash asked.  
"what? I'm want take part in this again. It was fun the last time I did this. Besides, might as well get all the exercise I can. Pretty soon, it'll be tough for me to move."  
"so I remember." Applejack said. "mom was having a hard time moving around when she was carrying Applebloom. Could barely get up."  
Twilight's eyes half closed. "gee, thanks for the warning."  
"you didn't ask for one." A.J. said with a chuckle. Dash snickered. Twilight not knowing something; that's a good one.  
"okay, Racers. Get into positions!" Mayor Mare announced. The racers, which numbered at 3 dozen, lined up at the starting line.  
"we're gonna make a lot of ponies unhappy." Applejack said as she cracked her back.  
"I know." Dash said, making sure the rope around her wings was tight. "but it's gonna be funny."  
The Mayor nodded to Ash, who nodded back. Hs spun one of his pistols and raised it to the air. "on your marks…" the ponies got ready. "…get set…" Dash snickered. "Go!"  
Ash fired into the air and the ponies were off.

With them gone, the crowd began to relocate at the finish line. There was no Pinkie Pie or Spike in the sky, giving announcements this time; they had other things to do.

Derpy tossed down a couple a bits and grabbed some Cotton Candy from Marble. She took a big bite out of hers. "man, I love Cotton Candy."  
"You and me both." Cynder said, walking along-side her with her own Cotton Candy. "and this is the first time I've had it." she took another big bit out of hers as they met up with Daring and Bolt. "where have you been all my life?"  
"not on your world, apparently." Derpy chuckled. She handed another cone to Daring and Bolt.  
Cynder chuckled along with her. She fingered the cone for a second. "um, Derpy? I have something I want to ask you." Derpy, mouth full with Cotton Candy, looked to her. "what's it like, being a mother?"  
Derpy almost choked. Her sister patted her back as she coughed. "*cough cough* what? *cough* Where'd this come from?"  
"well… before we were brought here, me and Spyro were… planning of having kids. But, seeing as we're stuck here, it's given us some time to think about it."  
"oh." Derpy didn't have to think about what to say; she just said what came natural. "well… being a mother is one of the best things that could happen to you. Seeing that little boy or girl in your… err… claws, in your case, is one of the best moments of your life. You have the opportunity to shape a life as you see fit. There's no other feeling in the world. An-"  
they heard laughter coming from nearby. They looked to see Dinky trying to catch a butterfly. She jumped up to catch one but missed and fell in a mud puddle. "uh-oh." Derpy flew on over, leaving Cynder, Daring, and Bolt behind.  
"ew…" Dinky exclaimed as she pulled herself out of the mud. Derpy arrived to comfort her.  
"You okay, Dinky?"  
"yeah, I'm fine Mom. Just had a little accident." Dinky said, wiping herself off.  
Derpy wanted to do something to make her better. She looked at the Cotton Candy cone and got a idea. She placed it over Dinky's horn. Dinky looked up with a confused look. "I asked for Cotton Candy, not Chocolate Pudding."  
Dinky chuckled. "and you like pudding, mom. Come on, take a lick."  
Now Derpy's wishing she thought off a better joke. "eh… no thanks. I'm not a big fan of pudding."  
Dinky sinisterly snickered. She got up and crept closer. "Come on, mom. Got to get this off me somehow."  
"with a bath." Derpy exclaimed as she backed up. "Dinky, you get me dirty, you're grounded."  
"duh! I can't fly."  
Derpy looked at the camera. Wrong kind of grounded.  
Lyra and Bonbon passed by the group but stopped when they noticed Derpy running away from a muddy Dinky. "Help! Help! Help! Got a dirt monster after me!" Dinky jumped up and tackled her mother. Both fell into the same mud puddle.  
Derpy's eyes blinked open out of the mud. She looked down at a equally dirty Dinky. Both chortled in their mouths but eventually burst out laughing.  
Bonbon sighed with a smile. "Derpy is such an amazing mother." Daring and Cynder heard her and leaned over to them.  
"she's not an amazing mother." Lyra said. "she's the best mother in the world."  
"agreed." Bonbon and Lyra looked at each other with a smile. "we should probably take notes."  
"no argument from me."  
Cynder smiled, watching Derpy play with Dinky, it gave her her answer.  
Daring, however, was completely surprised. Her younger sister, a mother. After 4 weeks, she still didn't believe it but, watching Derpy, she knew that Derpy was meant to be one. The way she's playing with Dinky; it's like then they were kids. It made her think about her life. She spent 10 years hunting artifacts and relics that she didn't even think about settling down and having a family. The big question in that, however, is what a Pony-Gryphon hybrid would look like.

Requiem grabbed a book off the bookshelf and looked it though. There was a reason why Equestria was cut off from the rest of the world. By that, she meant why ponies changed the seasons, they cared for animals that could take care of themselves, why Celestia and Luna raised the Sun and Moon.  
She was hoping for something to get Twilight out long enough for her to go though the place without her asking questions. She was never going to go to Twi about this; this whole thing might be Hearsay. She had to keep quiet about this.  
She looked outside at the sun. she only had 3 hours till Twi comes home. Till then, she was going to do all the research she could.

A cloud of dust moved down the road and towards the finish line. Behind the dust cloud was a long road of fallen leaves. Guess this year's Running of the Leaves was a rousing success. Clear as day, Rainbow and Applejack were neck and neck, not far ahead of the pack, unlike last time.  
As the two approached the finish line, they looked at each other and nodded. They stuck their hooves into the dirt and skidded to a halt. A.J. stepped to the right, Dash to her left. The other ponies ran right pass them and across the finish line. The Cyan Pegasus and Orange Earth Pony stepped back where they were and slowly walked across the finish line.

"I think we just made a lot of betters unhappy." Applejack chuckled.  
"you think?" Dash retorted. They looked back at a lot of angry ponies yelling at the unfortunate bookie. She didn't watch where she was going and rammed into another pony. Naturally, Dash got mad, as did the Pegasus she bumped into.  
"Hey! Watch where your-" they both shut up when they saw who it was. "hey! It's you!"  
"you two know each other?" A.J. asked.  
"oh, right." Dash gathered herself. "Applejack, this is Thunderlane. I bumped into him when I was… less then great."  
"Great? You were practically depressed when we met on that train." Thunderlane said. "you seem to be doing better, though."  
"yeah… but I did have a rough week."  
"you call Suicide rough?" A.J. laughed in surprise.  
"Suicid-"  
"abdadadadada." Dash stopped him before he went anywhere with it. "I was able to pull myself out of that rut."  
"Rainbow Dash!" yelled a familiar voice. Eris ran over, holding a Cotton Candy cone.  
"Hey, Squirt." Dash chuckled.  
"Gyah!" Thunder exclaimed. "What the heck is that thing?"  
Dash looked at Eris and smiled. "This is the little girl that pulled me out of my rut. If it wasn't for her, I'd be dead."  
"oh." Thunder looked up at the sun. "Listen, I'm late for a meeting at Canterlot. Think we can pick this up when I get back. Say, over coffee?"  
"I'd like that, Thunder."  
"Great. See you tomorrow." He said. He unfurled his wings and took off.  
Dash watched him fly off. She turned around to leave. "sounds like you're going on a date." A.J. said.  
"What?" Dash squealed in surprise. "No. no no. it's not a date. We're just having coffee. That's it."  
"Then why are you blushing?" A.J. joked. Dash embarrassingly covered her face. Eris, out of it as always, blinked in confusion.


	64. Best Mother Ever

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 27

Best Mother Ever

Derpy couldn't get to sleep. She was feeling… different. This was her second to last day here in Feather Top and she was feeling… under the weather, so to speak. On one hoof, she was angry that eTu`nes went behind her back and went to Ponyville and told her parents she was here. On the other hoof, she was glad that he did. Feather Top was a bit too big for her tastes. She also missed D.D. something fierce and was happy to be seeing her again. But… there's also those bullies that started this whole mess in the first place; Lyra Heartstrings and Octavia Philharmonica. How was she going to deal with them? How are they going to react to her and her new eyes. That part scares her more then most. She rolled onto her side and closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep.

eTu`nes, meanwhile, was thinking about what he'll do next. When Derpy goes back to Ponyville, it's likely he won't be able to come with. He'd only have been there for 2 hours and already the townsfolk were ready to run him out of town. His first meeting with Derpy's family didn't go well either; her father looked like he was going to slay him and be a town hero. They probably didn't believe that he was friends with Derpy. With that in his mind, he was thinking of what he'll do. Will he stay in Feather Top? Go with Derpy part of the way? Leave and hope for the best? He can't exactly go home; he was beaten to near death last time by his own kind; including his parents. This was going to eat at him all night. He rolled onto his side, facing opposite of Derpy, and closed his eyes. Either way, he's going to get hurt. Good choice in this situation is the one that would hurt less.

Both didn't want to say goodbye to the other; they didn't want the other to leave. But what could they do to get the other to stay?

18 Years Later…

"this is a Z." Dash held up a card with that letter printed BIG and showed it to Eris. "can you make that sound? Z?" Eris curiously blinked her eyes. "ZZZZZZ." Eris blinked again.

Dash had come to Fluttershy's place to help get it ready for winter. Dash finished her tasks with ease and has now turned to teaching Eris the alphabet. Bahamut also helped with Eris, holding the cards for her. Fluttershy was just about done with hers and Edge… well, being a Changeling, a Changeling in disguise, he doesn't like the cold that much. And in his case…

"just say it slow, Dash. That always works." Edge cynically said.

"what's your problem?" Bahamut asked.

Edge sputtered as he went back to his job. "I'm not a fan of the cold."

"no pony is." Dash said.

"No Pony." Eris said in the cutest way possible.

"Hey. Nice going, Eris. You're saying words other then my name."

"My Name."

"Oh, she is just so cute the way she says them." Fluttershy said.

"Fluttershy."

Fluttershy happily gasped. "Oh. And she knows my name."

"Guess she's a quick learner." Edge grumbled.

"Mirror's Edge." Edge rolled his eyes.

Bahamut chuckled. "pretty soon, she's going to be saying everyone's names."

"Bahamut."

"See?"

Dash got up and stretched her wings. "Well, i gotta get going. Gotta help put the snow clouds in position." she walked to the door and opened it. "can you guys keep an eye on Eris until I get back?"

"Sure thing." Fluttershy and Bahamut replied. Edge just grumbled.

"see you later, Squirt." she said to Eris.

"see you later, Rainbow Dash." Eris replied.

"Wow. She spoke a full sentence." Fluttershy said in admiration.

"I bet when you get back, she'll be speaking philosophy." Bahamut joked.

Dash shrugged. "you never know. She is a Draconequus, after all." Dash flapped her wings and hovered above the floor. "From the stories I heard, they are… were the smartest species on the planet."

Dash flew out and headed for the sky. "were?" Bahamut muttered. Did something happen to the Draconequus' that they ain't saying?

Dinky threw items out of her closet, trying to find a certain item. "where is it?" she worriedly said. When she couldn't find it, she got worried. "Mom!"

Derpy, down in the kitchen and in a apron, heard her. "what is it, dear?"

"do you know where I put my necklace?"

Derpy thought about that for a moment but couldn't place it. "Em… no, I haven't dear."

"oh, man." Dinky got up and grabbed her CMC cape. "I was hoping that I'd show it off to Pipsqueak." she said to herself before heading into the living room.

Jax laid back on the couch, reading a comic when a sad Dinky walked in. she would ask what's wrong but Dinky's a pony. Not in her nature to be concerned for equines.

"was that necklace something important?" Derpy asked.

"yeah. It was a gift from Auntie Shine. I was hoping to show it to my friends, but…"

"You lost it." Derpy concluded.

"yeah."

Dinky depressingly looked to the ground. Derpy couldn't stand seeing her daughter sad. That's when she got a idea. "Wait right here." she told Dinky before flying off into her room. Both her and Jax were wondering what Derpy has planned. Derpy flew back out. "here." she said, offering a gold ring with a chain though it.

"what is it?" Dinky asked.

"a gift my very best friend gave me just when I got pregnant with you." Derpy looked at it and smiled. "Take it. I have plenty of memories about him."

Derpy handed her daughter the necklace. Dinky begrudgingly took it and looked it over. "okay…?" Dinky took it and put it around her neck. "it's actually pretty cool." Dinky gave her mom a kiss on the cheek and ran out the door. "Thanks, mom." Derpy waved good-bye before returning to what she was originally doing.

"what happened to him?" Jax asked. Derpy was surprised to see Jax actually being concerned about a pony. She looked back to her. "what happened to your friend?"

Derpy stayed silent for a moment. Thinking back to that day hurt her in more ways then one. "we… had a argument. I can't remember what it was about. I think it was about something stupid. All I do remember is the result; he left and I haven't seen him in 7 years." Derpy held her heart tight. "I just hope he's okay."

"if he survived you, he's probably alive." Jax said. She straightened her comic and kept on reading. Derpy rolled her eyes and went back into the kitchen.

(Picture of the following segment. You can read that if you want. I'm still gonna type it.  albums/zz224/monsterlord-18/487715_364198020315113_1389991729_  )

Derpy walked to the counter and continued chopping carrots.

"hehe!" "No way!" "Really?"

Those sounded like Dinky's friends. She walked to the window and looked out. Her friends were outside, not aware that they were just outside the kitchen. It seems Dinky was telling some story.

"Uh-Huh! And she STILL delivered the letter!" the CMC gasped wow. Dinky let her joy burst out. "I have the coolest mom ever!"

A couple of tears ran down Derpy's face as she smiled. "oh. My little muffin." 'Coolest Mom Ever.' that was her title and nobody's gonna take it away. But she does wish that Dinky could've know her father a bit more.

Dash moved several clouds into position above Ponyville. At midnight tonight, it starts snowing, starting winter in Equestria. She immediately bolted to another cloud cluster and moved them into position.

"my, you're working fast today." Cloud Kicker joked. "and that's a rare case with you."

"sorry, Cloud. I just want to get this done as soon as possible."

"Ooohhh. You have a date tonight?"

"what? No no no. I don't have a date. I just need to get back to someone."

"Sounds like a date to me."

"It's not a date."

"hey there, guys." Thunderlane said as he flew over.

A flabbergasted Cloud Kicker turned to him. "hi, Thunder."

"so, how's everything going over here?"

Dash shoved a cloud into position but it was stuck between 2 larger clouds. "just… about… done…" she shoved it in. "you?"

"got the clouds over Canterlot into position. I'm about to go back to Cloudsdale."

"same here." Kicker said. A pop came from a cloud. Snow began falling prematurely. She put her hoof in it, plugging it. "After I get this plug dealt with."

"Okay. See you two in Cloudsdale." Thunderlane flew off. Cloud Kicker watched him fly away with dreamy eyes.

Dash noticed this and snickered. "Oh… you have a thing for Thunderlane?"

A flustered Kicker blushed and tried to hide it. "n-no I don't."

"Then how come you're blushing?" Dash insinuated. Kicker had no reply to that. "Why not ask him out?"

"*scoff* because it's Thunderlane. He's too tough and too cute to go out with someone like me."

Dash rolled her eyes. Sounds like Halo all over again. "Kicker… you got to be more confident in yourself. Just ask him."

"I… I don't know."

Dash patted her on the back. "trust me. He'll go for ya. Although it probably won't hurt to make you pretty. Not many ponies go for the rugged look these days."

"otherwise, you'd have a coltfriend, right?"

"Hey! I had Soarin', remember?"

"till you found out you were both brother and sister."

Dash blushed. She was hoping that that story didn't make it this far.

"*sighing groan* ogh. Finally." Twilight groaned as she closed the last book. It took her a while but she finally read every book in the library on Pregnancy, Foalbirth, and Child Rearing. She memorized every lick of information and is prepared for whatever the growing Starlight will throw at her.

Requiem and Rarity walked in and instantly tripped over a pile.

"Ow…" Rarity groaned. "that hurt, you know."

"why are there all these…" Req picked up a book and looked at the title. "oh, brother. Twilight. Did you read all these pregnancy books?"

"of course I did. Now I'm prepared for whatever this pregnancy will throw at me."

Requiem and Rarity looked at each other and chuckled. It's cute to think she can plan this out. "Twi… you know, books aren't always reliable when it comes to the real deal." Req said.

"how so?"

"well…. You heard me mention Jessica, Aura's sister right?"

"Yeah?"

"well, she was like you and read every book she could find about this yet she was COMPLETELY unprepared for morning sickness, cramps, swelling of the ankles… childbirth." Twilight whimpered in fear. "see, this is one of those things that no matter how much you prepare, you're always unprepared."

Twilight stood there in fear. Rarity waved her hoof in front of her face. "nice going, Req. I think you scared her senseless."

"not what I was going for, though." Req snapped her fingers, summoning a urn of water that washed down on Twilight. That snapped her out of that trance.

"Thanks." Twi shivered.

"no prob."

Rarity picked up one of those books and looked at it. "mind… if I borrow this?"

Rarity? With a book Twi read about her scenario? Both Twi and Req got suspicious. "Why?" they both asked.

Rarity got a little nervous. "um, well… you know me and Spike have been going out for a month now, right? And you know we've been… for lack of a better word, active, right?"

Req got a good feeling where Rarity was going with this but wasn't sure herself. "what are you saying, Rarity?"

"well… I'm not really sure if it's true or not, I've yet to make sure but… I think I'm pregnant."

"WHAT!?" Twilight and Requiem yelled out. Rarity shushed them down but the impact was done.

"Who? What? when, where, why?" Twi jabbered.

Req rolled her eyes. "now that we got the 5 W's out of the way, are you sure your pregnant?"

"well… not really no. I got the symptoms. I missed my period. And me and Spike have been-"

"aba da da da da. That's something we don't want to know." Req said. "just a simple 'got the feeling' would do."

"wow." Twi gasped. "this is big. A Pony/Dragon hybrid. Those haven't been seen in a century." she headed for the door. "We have to tell Spike."

Rarity suddenly appeared in her path and blocked the door. "no, you can't tell him."

"What?"

"at least… not yet. Not until I'm certain."

"Rarity…"

"Please!"

Twi gave a sighing groan. She didn't like this. Req didn't like this. And she was certain Rarity didn't like this. And this involves Spike, the little dragon she raised when he was a egg. "fine. We're keep quiet. For now."

"oh, thank you." Rarity hugged Twilight who didn't feel like hugging back.

"you nervous?" Req asked.

"hell, yeah I am." Rarity nervously chuckled. "I'm the probable mother of a Pony/Dragon hybrid. I'm nervous on how it'll turn out. Will it be ugly or cute? Will it be a normal foal or a egg? Will it be just one or a litter? I… I… there's so many possibilities."

Requiem picked up a book and looked though it. Luckily enough, it was one focusing on hybrids. "Well… in most cases like yours, the child usually turns out normal with some elements of mommy or daddy. Take a Pony/Gryphon hybrid, for example. Most times, the child turns out to be a normal Pony with Gryphon elements, like larger then life wings or a lion tail, or a normal Gryphon with Pony elements, like a bushy tail or smaller wings."

"What about Pony/Dragon hybrids?" Rarity asked.

Req flipped though a few pages and found the page focusing on that. "well… normally it's a pony with Draconic elements like dragon wings or a dragon tail. It's mane is replaced with Dragon spines. Everything else is incorporated from mom. Depending on who she is, the baby will be more dragon or more pony."

she flipped to the page in front of that chapter then to the page behind it. "ah. Here's what your hoping for. With all hybrid possibilities, the way the child is developed is focused around the mother. If it's a dragon or gryphon, it's born as a egg. But as a pony…"

"it's the same as always." Rarity said with relief.

"yep."

"of course, that depends if Rarity is pregnant." Twi said.

"I know." Rarity said. "I'll go the doctor first thing tomorrow. Better make sure if this is real or not."

"Good idea." Req said. "till then, I recommend taking it slow. If you are pregnant, you don't want to put strain of the baby."

"I know. And I will." Rarity walked to the door and stopped 2 feet away. "me. A mother. Hehe. Kind of hard to believe."

Rainbow Dash laughed as she returned to Fluttershy's cottage.

"oh… Cloud Kicker is so lovestruck, it's funny." she laughed as she walked in. "Hehehe. I got the best plan for her to impress-"

"Shh." Fluttershy went as she walked down. "Eris is sleeping." she whispered.

"oh." she walked in and helped Edge and Bahamut pick up Eris' toys. "so, how was Eris?"

"oh, she was a angel. Really nice. I wish I had someone like her in my life."

"unlike the other Draconequus on the block who would distort you before loving you." Dash interrupted, looking to Canterlot.

Bahamut thought about what she said. "what exactly are Draconequus's, anyway?"

Dash, 'Shy, and edge looked at each other, trying to figure out a explanation. "emm… we don't know." Dash said. "The only ones we met were Discord and Eris, and they are on two different sides of a good/evil spectrum."

Bahamut didn't really understand. "so…"

"oh look. It's snowing!" Fluttershy exclaimed. She flew over to the window and looked at a the slowly falling snow.

Confused, Dash walked on over. "what? It's not supposed to snow for another 5 hours."

"Maybe someone decided to start it early." Edge guessed.

"but I'm the leader of Ponyville's weather team. It wasn't supposed to start until midnight. I checked the schedule. Something's wrong here."

"so it started snowing earlier. It doesn't mean it's the end of the world." Bahamut said. As much as she would hate to admit it, Bahamut was right.

A tired Eris walked down from Fluttershy's room, rubbing her eyes. "Eris. What are you doing up?" Dash asked.

"I had a bad dream." she said with little difficulty.

Dash was surprised to hear her speak full sentences. Well, the way Eris was talking before she left, she shouldn't be surprised. "oh, it's okay squirt. It was just a dream. I can't hurt you." Eris yawned and her eyes drooped. Dash chuckled and put Eris on her back. "we're heading home. Bye guys." Dash said as she walked to the door.

Eris tiredly waved back. "Bye, Mirror's Edge. Bye, Bahamut. Bye, Fluttershy."

"bye, Eris." they all replied.

Eris yawned and got comfy on Dash's back. "good night, mommy."

Dash froze in place when she heard Eris say that. "mommy…" she softly repeated. She thought about it and smiled. she was a mommy. And she loved it. Meeting Eris was the best thing that may have happened to her. She looked back to the sleeping Draconequus and smiled.

"Good night, Eris."

"such a wonderful night." Trixie said as she and Luna looked at the landscape as the snow began to drop. "have I told you I always loved the snow? It always seemed so… mystical and free; being able to become what you want to be, being able to go wherever you want."

"You make it sound like something out of a fairy tale." Luna delightfully chuckled.

"yeah." Trixie looked at a box she had hidden in her mane. She was waiting for the perfect moment to ask and she already had a good plan. "Say, have you ever been to Colomaro?"

"no, but I heard it's quite the winter get-away. Why?"

"well, I have some old friends there. I could pull a few strings and get us the nicest cabin there."

"oh, that would be nice. But I could use my authority to get us the cabin."

"I couldn't let you do it. Think of this is a Hearth's Warming Eve present from me to you."

"oh. Pretty extravagate. But there must be something I can do."

Trixie thought for a moment. She wanted there to be a audience when she asked. Not a big one but still, a audience. "you know, there is." she used her magic to summon a pen and paper. "how well can you write invitations?"


	65. Everything Changes

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 28

Everything Changes

Derpy slowly sighed as she sat on the edge of the bed. She was finally going home; see her family again. So why does she feel bad? It's feels like she's leaving a big part of her life behind. It's like she was leaving eTu`nes behind.  
A knock on the door knocked her out of her trance. "Come in, Dash."  
Dash walked in. "how did you know it was me?"  
"Lucky guess." Dash walked to Derpy and sat down beside her. "so… I'm leaving in a couple of hours."  
"yeah. The gang is certainly going to miss you." Dash paused for dramatic effect. "I'm gonna miss you."  
"and I'm gonna miss you too. But this is my family. I haven't seen them in a year. I miss them. I miss D.D."  
Dash suddenly hugged Derpy, catching her off guard. "I'm going to miss you, Derpy. I don't know how we're gonna get along with you gone."  
"Dash. It's not like I'm dying. I'm just going back home." Dash whimpered. It wasn't good enough for her. She wanted Derpy to stay. She doesn't want to say good-bye. Derpy sensed this and thought up with something to cheer her up. "listen, whenever you're in Ponyville, look me up. I'll show you the best places to hang out."  
"Really?"  
"Really really."

eTu`nes lamentably sighed as he fingered the bracelet Derpy gave him on the living room couch.  
"are you okay, dear?" Shine asked, sitting down beside him.  
"no. no, I'm not." he sadly said. "I've been thinking all this over. When I told Derpy's parents where she was, they didn't exactly… like me, in a sense. I think they thought I kidnapped her."  
"but you didn't. you were supporting your friend."  
"I know, I told them but they didn't believe me." eTu`nes paused for a moment before continuing. "I… don't want to be alone again. Before I met Derpy, I was all alone in the world. She was the first… THING that ever cared about me." a despaired eTu`nes held the bracelet tight. "I don't think I'll survive being alone again."  
"have you told her this?"  
"no. and I don't plan to. If I tell her, she might change her mind and stay with me, and I don't want that to happen. That's why, when she meets her parents, I'm just gonna quietly slip away."  
Shine couldn't believe her ears. He wants to stay with Derpy but he's going to leave? What's wrong with this dragon? She was about to tell him her two cents when they heard hoofsteps come down. They looked to see Derpy descend down them.  
She took a deep breath and sighed. "well… I'm ready…"

The train from Ponyville rolled on into FeatherTop's station and hissed to a halt. A fearful and yet hopeful Derpy stood there, going over in her mind what could happen next. Shine and Dash stood behind her and eTu`nes leaned against a pillar, not wanting to be caught in the middle of this.  
The car doors opened and the passengers disembarked. First out in Derpy's field of vision was a little Pegasus 2 years older then her. As soon as she left, the 2 sisters immediately saw each other.  
"Derpy!" D.D. happily exclaimed. She ran over and hugged her sister. "I thought I would never see you again!" she cried.  
Derpy hugged her sister back and gently stroked her mane. "sorry for leaving without saying good-bye." she tearfully said back.  
Comet Skies and May Grey departed from the train and saw the 2 sisters in a embrace. May broke down, ran over, and hugged her long-lost daughter. "we've given up hope that you were alive." she cried.  
"I'm sorry for leaving, mom. I really am. But…"  
Comet walked over and smiled. "it doesn't matter. You are alive. And that's all that matters."  
Derpy sniffled and broke the hug. "I'm sorry for leaving without saying anything. I was… I just…"  
"we know what happened." Comet said. He looked to the train. "THEY told us what happened."  
Derpy looked to see Lyra and Octavia standing there, smiling nervously. Derpy angrily frowned and walked over to them. "hey. You're alive." Lyra said.  
"We were afraid that you were… well…"  
Derpy interrupted them both by punching them both in the face.  
"We deserved that." Octavia said as she rubbed her cheek.  
"why would you say or do those things to me!?" Derpy exclaimed. "How would you feel if I did those to you!?"  
"worse then we feel now." Lyra said. "listen, Derpy. We didn't mean for you to run away. We were just trying to look cool to the cool kids."  
"And for that, you tortured me?"  
"it's not like we enjoyed it." Octavia said. "We hated doing it as much as you hated being the sponge. We also felt horrible when you ran away for a year. We're so, so, so sorry."  
"Can you ever forgive us?" Lyra pleaded.  
Derpy huffed as she looked away from them. She glanced back to them. They were being truthfully sincere. "I still hate you for what you did to me. So no, I won't forgive you." Lyra and Octavia sadly looked to the ground. "but… I'm sure Dash can think of a way for you to make up to me."  
"Dash?" both Lyra and Octavia asked in confusion.  
"That would be me." Rainbow Dash said, joining in on the conversation. "name's Rainbow Dash; top flyer extraordinaire."  
"right." Lyra and Octavia said, not really believing her.

Meanwhile, Comet and May were talking with Shine. "Thanks for looking after her, Shine." May said.  
"who would've thought we'd meet again after all these years thanks to our daughter?" Comet said.  
"yeah. I still can't remember why we never spoke to each other until now." Shine wondered.  
"Neither can we. I think Golden Day was the cause of our little group breaking up." May suggested.  
"yeah." Shine chuckled. "He was a trouble-maker."  
"I'm sorry if Derpy gave you a hard time, Shine."  
"no, it was fun. She brought a lot of fun to our little abode." Shine thought for a moment. "you know, a passing Zebra told me that there are no accidents; that everything happens for a reason. Surely, there must've been a reason for Derpy to run into the Everfree Forest, meet eTu`nes, and come here to meet me and Rainbow Dash."  
"what are you saying, that this was on purpose?" Comet asked.  
"I don't know. But it's probably the only way to explain this whole mess."  
"wait, eTu`nes?" May interrupted. The fillies walked over to the grown-ups as she asked. "who's eTu`nes?"  
"you already met him, mom." Derpy said. "he's that dragon that told you I was here."  
Comet and May looked at each other with disbelieving eyes. "Him!?"  
"yeah. eTu`nes is my bestest friend in the whole wide world. If it wasn't for him… I would be dead now."  
"oh. We never knew." May gasped. "we thought he kidnapped you."  
"kidnapped? No. he wouldn't do that. Once you get to know him, you'll know." Derpy walked away from them and to eTu`nes only to see him gone from the pillar. "he was right there."

Claws clicked against the stone walkway as their owner walked away from the station. He looked back at the station and sadly smiled. "bye, Derpy. I hope you have a good life." he said as he walked off.  
"Wait!"  
eTu`nes stopped in his tracks and looked back. "Why are you leaving?" Derpy asked.  
"Trust me, Derps. It's better for both of us this way." he said as he began to walk off again.  
Derpy moaned in fear. She didn't want him to leave. So, she did what she had to do. "Come back to Ponyville with me."

Begin Song: watch?v=GU8N64BAzTg Destiny's Union - Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep OST

eTu`nes stopped again but for good this time. "what?" he asked in surprise as he looked back.  
"you heard me. Come back with me to Ponyville. We've been together too long for this to end with a good-bye." eTu`nes somberly looked away. "eTu`nes, please. You saved my life from that Leviathan and healed my eyes. This isn't much but at least I can give you a home."  
"I've been to your home, Derpy. They weren't exactly happy to see a dragon there."  
"I'll explain to them what I told my parents; that you saved my life." eTu`nes stood silent. "eTu`nes… please…"  
eTu`nes sighed as he looked back at her. She was afraid, afraid that he'll leave. He laughed and scoffed. "Fine. Okay. I'll come with you."  
Derpy's heart leapt in joy when she heard him say that. Tears filled her eyes as she ran over and hugged him. "thanks for staying." she said as she hugged him tighter.

The two walked back to the station to see the grown-ups still talking and Dash telling what-for to Octavia and Lyra. Both groups stopped when they saw the pony and the drake walked up.  
"Mom. Dad. Everyone. This… is eTu`nes." the dragon walked up and nervously waved with a nervous smile.  
"So… you're eTu`nes." Comet said.  
"yes, sir." a nervous as hell eTu`nes said.  
"he's quite the handsome drake." May said. "you're not dating already, are you?" she asked Derpy.  
"Dating!?" both Derpy and eTu`nes exclaimed in surprise. "no no no. we're just friends. That's all we are." they both said.  
May giggled. "I'm just messing with you." eTu`nes groaned as Derpy face-hoofed.  
"you ready to go home, Derpy?" Comet asked.  
Derpy looked back to the city and remembered everything she had been though; meeting eTu`nes, being injured by that Leviathan, meeting Zecora, traveling to Feather Top, meeting Shine and Rainbow Dash, meeting Lightning and Zatch and Gothic. She had one heck of a year, and she loved every minute of it.  
"Yeah. I'm ready."  
She start to walk to the train when someone yelled out, "WAIT!"  
Everyone looked back to see Lightning, Zatch, and Gothic flying towards them.  
"Guys?" Derpy gasped in surprise. The trio screeching to a halt. "What are you doing here?"  
"You weren't planning on leaving without saying good-bye, were you?" Zatch asked.  
"We've been together for 7 months for you to just up and leave us. We deserved a good-bye." Gothic said.  
"I thought that, since you were all busy, that…"  
"That what? We wouldn't be able to say good-bye to you?" Lightning asked. "We're the Daring-Flyers. We always stick together, no matter how far."  
Derpy chuckled. How could she have forgotten the motto? "No matter which way the wind will blow…" she started.  
"no matter how far the distance…" eTu`nes continued.  
Lightning, Dash, Gothic, and Zatch nodded.  
"we Daring-Flyers will always stick together though thick and thin!" everyone raised their hooves or claws and clapped them together.

The horn bellowed and the wheels clacked as train slowly began to move out of the station. Derpy leaned out the window to wave good-bye.  
"Bye! Thanks for everything!" she called out.  
"Bye!" the Feather Top group replied, waving back.  
Both groups continued to wave as the train pulled out and headed for home.

Derpy chatted up a storm, telling her family what happened when she ran away; meeting eTu`nes, the Leviathan, all of it.  
eTu`nes looked out the window in a seat across the aisle from Derpy's family.  
"why aren't you sitting with us?" Derpy asked as she sat down next to him.  
eTu`nes sighed. "when I told them about you, they gave me such a mean stare. And not just them but all of Ponyville. I'm worried about what they'll do to me."  
Derpy didn't know what to say to make him feel better. Instead, she just grabbed his claw. "you'll do fine. Trust me." eTu`nes looked at her and smiled meaningfully. Derpy smiled back, same as eTu`nes.

The train clickidy-clacked over the bridge linking Equestria to the Gryphon Kingdom, carrying two fateful passengers back home. Little did they both knew that their lives together was only just beginning.  
And that a test of their relationship was fast approaching.

18 Years Later…

End Song

Begin Song: watch?v=qdrTqz8pSyQ Strange Whispers - Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep OST

Oscurita panted heavily, trying to pass off what happened to him. 2 weeks. 2 full weeks he was in pain. 2 full week Orochi tortured him, trying to turn him into a pawn of darkness. And resisted. His ties to this world kept him from turning fully. His hatred for Orochi reached a new point but he couldn't do anything to kill him.  
He was too powerful.

Orochi sat on a snow-covered tree branch outside the cave where Oscurita was hiding in, peeling a apple. The pure evil emanating off of him melted the snow and icicles under him.  
"well, so much for forcing it." Fulmen said.  
"this is getting annoying. We have to kill his ties." Ignis suggested in his usual angry tone.  
"but she's in the possession of those humans. they defeated Catalyst and he was twice as powerful then us." Lucis said. "getting rid of them won't be easy."  
"we'll think of something." Glacis said. He sent the knife away and took a bite of the fully peeled apple. "we always do."  
"do you always make a habit of talking to yourself?" a unknown female voice asked. Ignis took over and summoned a fire axe. He looked down and noticed a… odd looking pony with bug-like wings and holes in her black legs. "my my. Do you always make it a habit of threatening those who want to talk?"  
"Who are you?" Aqua asked.  
"my name is of no importance. But I do have a proposition."  
The 8 personalities talked amongst themselves for a moment.  
"what kind of proposition?" Glacies asked.  
The mystery black pony slightly smiled. Only Ventus noticed that. "you wish to destroy your… toy's remaining ties to this world right?"  
"yes."  
"well, what I have planned will get rid of them in one fell swoop."

End Song.

"YEE-HAA!" Applejack exclaimed as she and Applebloom sledded down a snowy hilltop. They weren't able to control the direction and crashed into a snowdrift. They didn't care. They laughed anyways.  
The entire gang had relocated to a hill outside of town perfect for sledding. It's also perfect for Yeti's to hide but, thankfully for Emil, there weren't any Yeti's on Equestria. Twilight, obviously, stayed out. She's in the middle of her 4th month and was starting to have trouble getting up and is starting to show. Some of the group didn't even need sleds. They had some ready to go.  
"ye-ho!" Hiccup exclaimed as he sledded down on Toothless. "wait! Turn right. Turn-" the two slammed right into a tree.  
"Oh." Riku winced when the 2 hit. "That had to hurt."  
Elsewhere, Rainbow and Eris were just about to go down a more gentle slope.  
"Ready, Eris?" she said as she sat down on the sled.  
"Ready, Mommy." she replied. Mommy. Dash still isn't used to that. With both of them ready, Dash pushed them off.  
Rarity watched them go on down and smiled. That may be her and Spike doing that someday. "well?" Twi asked as she walked over.  
"Well, what?"  
"did you get a reply from the doctor yet? Are you pregnant?"  
"no. it's taking forever. I'm really nervous, too. You think I'm fit to be a mother?"  
Twilight scoffed. "well, duh. Of course you are, Rarity. Plus, you have Spike, arguable the best dragon… no no no. the best PERSON we know. Trust me, you two are going to make good parents. If you are pregnant that is."  
"I know. The wait is killing me."  
"what wait?" Spike asked as he walked up. Rarity yelped as she jumped up a few feet. "did I say something wrong?"  
"no, no. you just caught her off guard." Twi said.  
"oh." Spike shrugged to the camera. "if you say so." he was about to walk off when he gagged and held his mouth. He let out a loud burp, alone with green fire. A letter materialized out of that letter and hovered there.  
"Guess some things never change with age." Twi chuckled as she took it.  
"OH! A letter!" Pinkie hopped on over. "What's it say, what's it say?" she impatiently asked.  
"Give me a moment, Pinkie, and I'll tell you." Twi said, shoving her off her back.  
"you send letters via dragon?" Lina asked. "that's a bit odd."  
"look who's talking." Lloyd and Spyro said. Lina's response left them with sore cheeks. Twi rolled her eyes and began to read it. "wait. This isn't a letter. It's a invitation."  
"invitation? To where?" Req asked. Twi ignore her and read it.

'Princess Luz de la Luna and Trixie Lulamoon invite you and the other couples to a week-long getaway to the Winter Wonderland Colomaro. Enjoy luxurious spas, satisfying hot springs, and breath-taking views at this ultra-romance resort.'

"Luz de la Luna? That's her full name?" Twi said in surprise.  
"This sounds more like a brochure then a invitation." Satoshi said.  
Fox took it and looked at the pictures. "nice place. Reminds me of that resort on Fichina."  
"wait. It said only couples. Guess some of us aren't going." some of the group groaned, sad that they weren't going to go to this swank looking resort.  
Fox flipped to the other side and found tickets taped to the back. He pulled them off and counted them.  
"let's see…" Twi muttered, thinking of how many couples there were. "there's me and Halo, Pinkie and Marble, Applejack and Zilver, Requiem and Aura, Spyro and Cynder, Spike and Rarity…"  
"4...5...6..." Fox recounted them but sure enough, there was one extra. "there's 7 tickets for your couple retreat."  
"There's another couple in our group?" Dash said in confusion. Ash and Sora looked at each other. It was obvious it was them but they were keeping their relationship tight-lipped so Jax won't throw a hissy fit.  
"you know… I think it was when you were dating Soarin', before ya both found out you were related." A.J. said.  
"oh, yeah. Well, that leaves one extra ticket for 2 lucky people." Dash muttered.  
"it's your ticket. What do you want to do with it?"  
Dash grabbed the last one and thought for a moment. Her thoughts lead her to a shy non-social Pegasus. "say, Fluttershy, you want to go?"  
"Me? A-are you sure?"  
"yeah. I never was a big fan of spas or slowing down. Oh, but you need a date. It is couples only." the humans knew they were out. It was going to be another pony, that's for sure. but only Dash and 'Shy were the only single ones left. Well, them and… "hey, Edge. Have you been to Colomaro before?"  
"no. I haven't. I hear it's beautiful in the right time of the year, though."  
"well, pack your bags. You're going as Fluttershy's date." Dash flicked the ticket over to those 2 'lucky' lovebirds.  
"wait, we're what?" they both asked in horrid confusion.

The cabin Luna and Trixie choose is luxurious, spacious, and pretty. In a word, it's big, big enough for all of them and more. Trixie and Luna were already there, as well as Cadence and Armor.  
"This is going to be great, Luna. A couple's getaway from all the chaos and hubbub of… for lack of a better word, normal life." Trixie said and fell back onto a beanbag chair.  
"glad you thought of it, Trixie. I needed a vacation. How'd you even get this place?"  
"I saved the manager a couple of times." She thought back to those events. "un… first time, I pulled him out a snowdrift when he was face-first in it for half-a-hour. How he survived, I'll never know. Must be a advantage to being a Gryphon. Second time, his best friend passed out and I gave him CPR."  
"CPR?" Luna scratched her head. "I never heard of that."  
"oh, no." Armor and Cadence softly said with a chuckle.  
Trixie rolled her eyes. "get on your back."  
Luna blushed a bit. "don't you think we should save that for the-"  
"no no no no." Trixie blurted out, trying to hide their… bedroom activates from Cadence and Armor. Too late. They heard it and they silently laughed. "I-I-I'm gonna teach you CPR."  
"oh. Okay." Luna reluctantly laid back on the floor.

A long carriage rolled up to the cabin and stopped just in front of door.  
"This is going to be great!" Pinkie squeaky exclaimed as she hopped out.  
"I hope so." Spyro said. "last time I was at a snowy environment, I was fighting for my life."  
"then thank whoever you believe in that this is just a vacation." Zil said.  
A nervous Rarity was the last one off. Twi noticed her and walked over to her. "you okay?" she asked.  
"no." she held up a piece of paper.  
"is that…"  
"the test results. This says if me and Spike are going to be parents."  
"And? Are you?"  
Rarity looked at the note and sighed. "I don't know. I never got the courage to open it. I'm… afraid."  
"afraid?"  
"… do you think I'm ready to be a mother?"  
Twi was surprised that Rarity would ask that. "you're more then qualified. You practiced with Sweetie Belle, right?"  
Rarity thought about it and chuckled. "yeah. I didn't realize that."  
"Hey!" Aura called out. "you two mind hurrying up!?"  
"Coming." they both said.  
Halo rolled his eyes and opened the door. They watched in confusion as Trixie pressed down on Luna's chest. "Whoa!" Halo exclaimed.  
"I knew it! This is a vacation of death! Run!" Pinkie ran off into the snow and quickly out of view.  
"What's going on?" Luna asked.  
"we're suppose to ask that." Edge exclaimed.  
"I was just showing her CPR." Trixie explained.  
"by using her as a test dummy?" Spike asked.  
"couldn't use Cadence or Armor. She's pregnant and he's a guy."  
"Hey there." Armor said, he and Cadence waving to the guests.  
"hey." Twi said, waving back.  
"was I the only one who thought that this was a turn-on?" Luna muttered to herself.  
"So, this wasn't a trap for you guys to kill us?" Marble asked. Luna and Trixie shook their heads 'no'.  
Cadence reached to the cookie jar only to have Pinkie's head poke out of it. "Okay. Let's unpack."  
"how did she do that?" Cynder asked.  
Requiem sighed and shook her head. "it's Pinkie Pie. There's no explaining her."

"have I ever told you guys how much I love hot springs." a very contented Requiem said, sinking deeper into the pear-shaped hot spring not far from the cabin.  
"yes you did but I'm too relaxed to respond." Aura said.  
The hot spring was big enough to fit everyone with plenty of room to spare.  
"is this even safe for babies?" Cadence asked, her and Twilight standing on the edge.  
"Jessica kept going into a hot spring outside Teria when she was pregnant and her kid came out fine." Aura explained. "and last I checked, all equines are tougher then humans."  
"True." though reluctant, Cadence and Twilight slipped into the hot spring. "oh, it feels like a lifetime of stress is washing away." Cadence cooed.  
"Yeah." Twi agreed. She sat back and relaxed.  
"Come on, Edge." Fluttershy grunted. The group looked to the cabin to see Fluttershy dragging a reluctant Edge behind her.  
"I told you, I don't like hot springs!" he exclaimed.  
"he hates snow, he hates hot springs." Zilver sighed. "there's something wrong with that pony."  
"if you try it, you'll love it." 'Shy grunted, pulling as hard as she could.  
"No. I won't!" Edge exclaimed. He pulled himself loose and bolted for the cabin, legs moving like out of a cartoon.  
"Edge!" Fluttershy ran after him.  
"that is one odd pony." Trixie muttered. "anyone notice that he doesn't do the normal things ponies do?"  
"yeah. I did." Marble muttered. "eh. He's probably just being loony."  
"well, being saved from near-death can do that to you." Spike said.  
Trixie looked up at the moon to catch the time. "un, I gotta bail." she said as she pulled herself out.  
"Why?" Luna asked.  
"it's personal." she said. She kissed Luna on the cheek before heading for the cabin.  
"personal?" Cynder said. "what's so personal, she has to bail on a hot spring?" everyone there shrugged, not knowing themselves. Halo got more suspicious then everyone else. When Edge ran back to the cabin, he swears he saw Edge's left-back leg turn black.  
"Speaking of personal, where's Rarity?" Spike asked. Twi and Req looked at each other. They knew where she was and why she wasn't here.

In the main dining room, which was right next door to the living room, Trixie was pouring her and Luna a couple glasses of wine. She was humming a very familiar tune. "this night is going to be perfect. The kind of night of which I dreamed since I was small…"

Rarity sat alone in her and Spike's room, fiddling with the note. She's still too nervous to see what it says. Will she be a mother or not?  
"Still too nervous, huh?" Twilight asked as she and Requiem walked in.  
"Deathly. And now I have something new to worry about." Twi and Req looked at each other, feeling as nervous as Rarity. "how will Spike react?"  
Twi spurted out in laughter. "you're worrying about that?"  
Rarity got angry. "Twilight…"  
"This is Spike you're talking about. When was the last time he-" Twi remembered the last time he did something… eh, for lack of a better word, inconsiderate, he got his friends in trouble while trying to find himself. "okay, he can get a bit upset and/or inconsiderate every now and then but he's good with kids. Remember, he was one until 2 months ago."  
"yeah. And who's to say he won't accept this with open arms?" Req said.  
As much as she would hate to say it, Req was right. Why isn't she coming up with these obvious answers by herself.  
The door burst open, a worried Aura standing in the doorway. "you better hurry. Halo and Edge are almost at blows."

"tell us the truth!" Halo exclaimed. "There's more to you then we know, isn't there?" Edge snarled, growing in anger. The rest of the gang was as far to the sides as possible. "You're always so secretive, it's suspicious! There's always unknown and kingdoms out there, always itching to get at Equestria. The only thing we know about you is that Fluttershy healed you. So what are you? Are you a spy to gather information? A assassin to kill Celestia or Luna?"  
Edge scoffed with a chuckle. "What brought about this sudden accusation against me?"  
"when you were running back to the cabin, I saw your legs turn black. No pony in Equestria, not even Luna herself, have legs that dark. So why, why would you need to hide something like that if you weren't planning something devious."  
"that's why you're accusing me of being a spy? A assassin. Just because you think you saw a black leg?"  
"Then why would you need too-"  
"Stop it!" Fluttershy yelled out. Halo and edge stopped arguing and looked to her. "this is needless and you know it! Edge is one of the nicest ponies I have ever met and you know it." Halo frowned angrily as Edge stood there in surprise. "when was the last time you saw him do anything suspicious in town? Did you see him take notes or plot something."  
"he did act suspicious when we met him for the first time."  
"he was out of his natural environment. He was born and raised in Trottingham, a completely different town then ours. Naturally, he would have some difficulty adapting and…"  
"Save it, 'Shy." Edge interrupted. "he's one of those ponies who won't listen to a single word you say."  
"but Edge…"  
Edge looked away from her. "there's no changing someone's mind when it's made up."  
Trixie and Luna looked at each other. This is so not what they had in mind. "what happened here?" Trixie asked. "I set this up as a getaway for us couples, not a place to start throwing accusations and lay deceit." Halo and Edge looked away from each other in a huff. "(geez. I can't work with this atmosphere. I need something to break the tension.)"  
Rarity walked out and joined with Spike. "What's going on?"  
"Edge and Halo are about to murder each other, that's what's going on." he explained. Rarity sadly looked to the floor. "What's wrong?" Rarity glanced down at the open note and handed it to Spike. Twi and Req noticed this and glanced over. Not really sure what's going on, Spike read what was in it. It only said one word; 'Positive'. "Positive?" he wondered as he scratched his head. Cadence heard this and glanced over. Twi and Req gasped in excitement, getting the others attention. "I don't get it. What's positive?" Cynder face-palmed and groaned, along with Marble and Armor. "What?"  
Pinkie knocked his head like a door. "open your brain, silly. Or did you growing up mess with your brain?" Spike snarled at her. "She's positive." she enunciated. Spike still didn't understand. Pinkie rolled her eyes and spoke into his ear, somehow causing a echo. "hello? Anyone home?" Spike swat her away like a bug. "she's pregnant, silly."  
It took a shocked Spike a minute to process this before turning to Rarity. "Pregnant?" Rarity looked up at him. Spike smiled wide, hugged her, picked her up, and spun around. "Woo-hoo! We're gonna be parents!" he cheered.  
"you mean you're not mad?" Rarity asked in surprise.  
Spike stopped spinning her. "are you kidding? I was going to ask you about this; see what your stance was. If I was to be mad, it's that you didn't tell me sooner." Rarity smiled and kissed her knight in shining armor.  
"Ahem." Spike and Rarity forgot they had other people with them. "hehe. Sorry for that romantic display."  
"Don't be." Trixie said. "in fact, you set the mood just right."  
"just right for what?" Applejack asked.  
"you'll see." she smirked. She took Luna's hooves and took her to another part of the room. "I want this to be just perfect." she used her magic to open the door to the falling snow and activated the fireplace. The men all looked at each other and shrugged. The girls had a good idea what was coming, even Luna.  
"Luna, ever since we met, I have loved you more then life itself. I would have gladly gone to Tartarus and back just to hear your beautiful voice. I would do anything to make you happy and I wish to be with you forever and ever." Trixie used her magic to summon a small box. She grabbed it and bent down on one knee. The girl's squirmed in anticipation, messing with their hair as Luna just stood there, her eyes watering. "Princess Luz de la Luna…" Trixie opened the box, revealing a glamorous diamond ring. "will you marry me?"  
Luna happily gasped, holding her hoof to her mouth. Happy tears fell down her face. "yes. Yes. A thousand times yes." she happily exclaimed. Trixie smiled and put the ring on Luna's hoof. They held each other close and kissed.  
Inside, the group applauded; some even whistled. "Congratulations!" Rarity said. Rarity Pregnant. Luna and Trixie getting married. Nobody even remembers the argument Edge and Halo were having. Halo and Spike thought to themselves how they're gonna propose to their respective marefriends.

Orochi nodded, having heard the mystery ponies plan. "okay. Deal." Glacis said. "but remember; if you fail in your plan, we're be forced to take…" a lance made out of ice appeared in his hands. "…extreme measures."  
"I know. I heard you're one who takes no prisoners." the black insect-like pony waked into the cave containing Oscurita.

Her hoof prints echoed though the cave as she made her way in.  
"Come out, come out, wherever you are." she playfully called out. Something stirred to her left. She took noticed and sadistically smiled. Her horn glowed green and stopped a hand from grabbing him. "I should warn you, I'm no weakling."

Begin Song: watch?v=Xtlalymx848 Full of Unrest - Tales of Vesperia OST

her magic grew stronger and slammed the hand down, pulling Oscurita into view. "now that I have your attention, I have a proposition for you." Oscurita snared and tried to bite her but his mouth was clapped shut by a green whip. "be sure to hear me out before trying to turn me into lunch." she walked forward a bit. A green orb appeared beside her, representing the hold she had on his mouth and hands.  
"I'm about to go on a… violent property venture soon. Violent as to I'll have to crack open a few skulls and break a few spines. And when I'm done, a new age will dawn for this world. But, there's a problem with that. See, I tried this last time by trying to send my troops in during a wedding. Needless to say, it didn't go well. I made a foolish error by announcing my attack beforehand and I certainly wasn't expecting…" she paused and stopped with that part of the explanation. "so, I plan to invade again, but this time, I planned for every possible contingency. And the only way for it to go off without a hitch…" she glanced over to Oscurita and smiled.  
He snarled at her and attempted to break the magic holding him. "oh well." she sighed. "I guess you can stay this way forever. I know of a way to turn you back the way you were." the cave became silent, much to her pleasure. She looked back at the more timid Oscurita. "now you're interested, aren't you… eTu`nes?" Oscurita went wide-eyed when he heard that name. he hadn't heard it in forever, not since…  
the mystery pony sent the orb away, breaking the magic hold over him. She flew on over and got a bit too close for comfort. "Listen carefully."

The cork of a champagne bottle popped off as the gang celebrated Luna's and Trixie's engagement and Rarity's pregnancy.  
Edge felt a shiver go down his spine and shook with it. A fearful Edge gasped and looked out the nearest window. Fluttershy noticed him this and got worried.  
There was a storm coming, a powerful one that will change the very foundation of the world.

End Song.

The story continues with the start of a war in the side-story 'a Changeling's Lament'


	66. A Normal Life

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

A Changeling's Lament

Chapter 1

A Normal Life

Her hoof prints echoed though the cave as she made her way in.  
"Come out, come out, wherever you are." she playfully called out. Something stirred to her left. She took noticed and sadistically smiled. Her horn glowed green and stopped a hand from grabbing him. "I should warn you, I'm no weakling." her magic grew stronger and slammed the hand down, pulling Oscurita into view. "now that I have your attention, I have a proposition for you." Oscurita snared and tried to bite her but his mouth was clapped shut by a green whip. "be sure to hear me out before trying to turn me into lunch." she walked forward a bit. A green orb appeared beside her, representing the hold she had on his mouth and hands.  
"I'm about to go on a… violent property venture soon. Violent as to I'll have to crack open a few skulls and break a few spines. And when I'm done, a new age will dawn for this world. But, there's a problem with that. See, I tried this last time by trying to send my troops in during a wedding. Needless to say, it didn't go well. I made a foolish error by announcing my attack beforehand and I certainly wasn't expecting…" she paused and stopped with that part of the explanation. "so, I plan to invade again, but this time, I planned for every possible contingency. And the only way for it to go off without a hitch…" she glanced over to Oscurita and smiled.  
He snarled at her and attempted to break the magic holding him. "oh well." she sighed. "I guess you can stay this way forever. I know of a way to turn you back the way you were." the cave became silent, much to her pleasure. She looked back at the more timid Oscurita. "now you're interested, aren't you… eTu`nes?" Oscurita went wide-eyed when he heard that name. he hadn't heard it in forever, not since…  
the mystery pony sent the orb away, breaking the magic hold over him. She flew on over and got a bit too close for comfort. "Listen carefully."

The cork of a champagne bottle popped off as the gang celebrated Luna's and Trixie's engagement and Rarity's pregnancy.  
Edge felt a shiver go down his spine and shook with it. A fearful Edge gasped and looked out the nearest window. Fluttershy noticed him this and got worried.  
There was a storm coming, a powerful one that will change the very foundation of the world.

watch?v=4By8YHOnILo

Edge fell to the ground, bloodied and beaten. Above him, Chrysalis and the Changeling horde mocked him.  
"how could you join with those vile ponies?" Chrysalis demanded. "They will never accept the real you as one of their own. You would have to keep up your pathetic excuse for a disguise for the rest of your life."  
"but they aren't all bad." Edge retorted, hoping to get thought to his queen.  
"like that Fluttershy pony? Please, she hates you the most."  
"no. no, that can't be true."  
Chrysalis' horn glowed green, the glow forming into a blade. "for acts against the Changeling horde, I sentence you to death!"  
"no." Edge gasped. Chrysalis smiled a sadistic smile and sliced down at him. "No!"

Edge shot awake and nearly fell from the couch. He panted, trying to wrap his mind around his dream. Thankfully, it was just a dream. He held his head as he panted, only to feel something wet. He moved his hoof back to see water on it. He must've been sweating in his sleep.  
"heh. Didn't know Changeling's could sweat." he panted to himself. He looked out the window and saw that it was still night. He looked at the clock, seeing the time as 4 o'clock A.M. he sighed and fell back.  
"5 months. Has it really been that long?" Edge lamented as he closed his eyes.

5 months, 12 days, 8 hours.  
Mirror's Edge has been counting the days he had been rescued from near death by Fluttershy. Since then, he had been grateful to her. So grateful that he found himself unable to leave until he paid her back. Of course, that's when she say's he finally paid back. But during that time, he had grown into a productive member of the town, becoming one of them. For a Changeling, this is quite the feast. Changelings feed on love but everyone's giving it to him willingly; mostly due to the fact that he has himself disguised as a crimson unicorn.  
During his stay, he realized that Chrysalis' plan of taking it by force is stupid. There was a better way, even if he has to be in a eternal disguise. He has a good life and he's not going to ruin it by revealing the truth.

Edge grumbled as he woke up again that day. He had another nightmare, worse then the first one. With puffy eyes, he got up and looked out the window. It was already mid-day.  
"Damn." he groaned. "Rainbow's going to kill me." he moaned and groaned as he got off the couch and cracked his back. He really needs to find a bed; even bad backs can effect changelings.  
He looked around and saw that Bahamut was already long gone. He started heading for the kitchen when he noticed a certain yellow Pegasus sitting in the snow outside. "Fluttershy? What's she doing out there?" he grabbed a scarf and headed outside to find out why.

Waking up with the love of your life next to you is something not everyone can experience. For Spike, however, it is the best feeling in the world.  
He stared down at his slumbering mistress and smiled as he rubbed her belly. Growing inside her was their child. His child. Even two weeks after finding out, he still couldn't believe it. It seems like a dream.  
Rarity woke up to the feeling of him rubbing her belly and smiled. "Morning." she said.  
"morning." he replied with a kiss on the snout. "how are you feeling?"  
"Well, not getting any morning sickness yet so that's good."  
Spike chuckled. "you know, I keep thinking about how our little guy or gal will look like. After all, Dragon/Pony hybrids haven't been seen in centuries."  
"I know; I was thinking that too till Req found a book that focused on Hybrids. Turns out it all depends on who the mother is. And since I'm the mom, it's obviously going to a pony with elements from you like wings or a tail or something like that."  
"And if I was the mom?"  
"Then it would be a dragon, like you, with pony elements like my hair or charming personality."  
"I think Applejack would disagree on the personality thing."  
Rarity chuckled. "yeah, guess she would." Spike was about to get up when Rarity stopped him. "we're gonna make great parents, aren't we?"  
"certainly. And we had practice. You raised Sweetie Belle; I'm raising Peewee."  
"but she's 7 years old and he's a phoenix."  
Spike went 'un…' for a moment. "well, I didn't say it was perfect."  
Rarity got up and out of bed. "well, nobody is. And those who think they are are stupid."  
"No argument here."

Speaking of perfect, Trixie woke up to a perfect day with her perfect fiancée. Just 2 weeks from now, she's going to be married to Princess Luna. She's practically giddy with anticipation. And both of them didn't have to worry with planning the wedding by themselves. Celestia helped, Twilight helped, Rarity helped, Amelia, Sora, and Requiem helped; everyone they knew was helping. Heck, even Cadence is saying this looks to be a bigger wedding then her's and Armor's.  
And she was right… in more ways then one…

Someone else, who's hiding not far from Canterlot, was giddy as well.  
"another royal wedding after just 8 months?" she snickered. "how intriguing. And it's not some out-of-nowhere princess. It's Princess Luna and some street performer. This sounds too easy and too hard."  
"what do we do now, my liege?" her subordinate asked.  
"There's lesson's to be learned in defeat." she looked back to the subordinate and smiled. "we won't make the same mistakes twice, my little changeling. No we won't." she looked down at her hooves. They were still injured from the last time they tried this. "and I know how to go about this."  
Something stirred not far from them. They both looked back at it, the female smiling. "and with HIS help, it will succeed."

Edge dragged his way though the snow to Fluttershy's location, complaining as he went along. "I hate snow. It's always wet and inconsistent. Plus, it's cold."  
As he got closer, he could hear the faint sounds of singing, getting louder as he got closer to the animal lover. When he finally got close enough, he heard the song and was instantly mesmerized by it.

Begin Song: watch?v=oDfqCNgeHTU Serah's Theme - Final Fantasy XIII OST

Fluttershy was singing all by herself to the remaining woodland critters that were still awake fro the winter. Edge slowed to a crawl when he heard it.

Fluttershy:  
Make my wish come true, let darkness fade to light  
Show me there's still hope, show me it's not over  
Battles we can win, our struggle lies within  
Will we live to greet the dawn?  
Love will not leave you, hate will not heal you  
Promise me one day that peace shall reign

1:03. End Song.

Fluttershy closed her eyes and held her heart when she stopped. She heard snow being trampled and looked back to see Edge walking up to her. "Edge? What are you doing outside? I thought you hated the cold."  
"I do but I saw you sitting out here and wondered why. And when I came… I heard your beautiful singing."  
'Shy blushed. "it was nothing special."  
"no. it was the most amazing singing I ever heard. There's no words to describe it."  
Fluttershy blushed even further. If he was a regular pony, she would swear he was flirting with her. "you really like it?"  
"like it? I love it."  
"well, truth be told, it's a lullaby my mom's sang to me when I was a baby. I wasn't able to remember till I reunited with them in Las Pegasus. Thanks, by the way."  
Edge smiled. "No prob." he winked at her. "what are friends for?"  
Fluttershy silently chuckled. "oh. Speaking of which, Rainbow Dash was looking for you."  
Edge freaked out. "Ah! I forgot." he concentrated and put on his disguise. "thanks for reminding me." he turned around and ran as fast as he could to Ponyville. 'Shy smiled as he ran off. Edge really changed. he wasn't resentful and out-of-place; he was fitting in quite nicely. If only other Changelings were like him.


	67. A Christmas Musical

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

A Changeling's Lament

Chapter 2

A Christmas Musical

"Traitor!"  
"Degenerate!"  
"Coward!"  
These words echoed though Edge's mind as he held his head in pain. "no. no, I'm not a traitor." he grunted in pain. 2 hooves entered his vision. He slowly looked up to see Chrysalis standing over him, her horn glowing. "I'm not." the glow turned into a sword and she slashed down at him.  
"I'M NOT!"

Edge woke up with a yell. He panted and held his head.  
"not again." he groaned. He got up and headed into the kitchen. He turned on the sink and splashed his face with water. He stared up at the mirror and panted again. "why is this happening now?"  
Edge's little episode was overheard by Bahamut, who had one eye open.

"good morning, Edge!" Fluttershy happily exclaimed in his face. Edge moaned in anger as he rolled onto his side. "oh, come on." she flew on top of the couch and looked down at him. "Do you know what day it is today?"  
"the day you let me sleep in?" he said into the couch.  
"No. today's Hearth's Warming Eve! The last time this came around, me and my friends were in a play."  
"good for you." Edge shoved a pillow onto his head. "now let me sleep!"  
"oh, come on, Edge." Edge raised his hoof and made the 'zip the lip' sign. Fluttershy looked at Bahamut, who had just woken up, and sighed. "okay. Guess I'm going to have take my present for you back to the store."  
That got his attention. "present? You never mentioned a present."  
"oh, didn't I. oh, it's a stable of Hearth's Warming Eve."  
Edge felt… happy that he was getting a present. But he wasn't being given it like love or sorrow or any other emotions he fed off of; The feeling was coming from him. "I get a present?"  
"right." she said with a smile. She got up and headed upstairs. Happy that someone actually cares about him, Edge got off the couch and stretched.  
"Are you okay?" Bahamut asked. Edge looked at him like he was talking nonsense. "it sounded like you were having quite the nightmare last night."  
Edge looked away from him and chuckled. "you heard that, huh?"  
"what was it?"  
Edge sighed. He didn't want to talk about it but he knows what Bahamut is like when he get's angry. "it's the same dream over and over. My own kind is calling down at me, calling me traitor or freak. Then, Chrysalis appears and kills me. That's when I wake up."  
"why does she kill you?"  
"I don't know. Maybe it's because… I never tried to find my own kind; that I've been living with ponies for the past 5 months. I guess this dream is like a premonition that if Chrysalis comes to find me, she'll kill me."  
"…" Bahamut knew what he was going though. He was almost killed back home since he was raised by humans. "I know from experience what you're going though, Edge. I nearly got killed myself by my own kind. But I had my friends to help me out."  
"but I'm a Changeling. You, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and the CMC might help me out but everyone else? They'll hate me if they find out I'm a Changeling."  
"…" Bahamut hadn't considered that. "Well, maybe if you explain that you're not a typical Changeling. Plus, you've been their friends for weeks. They have to understand that."  
Edge just sputtered like a normal horse. "if you say so." he got up and grabbed his scarf. "but I'm not sure."  
Fluttershy came down, dressed in winter clothing. "ready to go, you two?" she asked.  
"yep." they both replied. Edge donned his ponysona and opened the door.

*sweet tranquil music begins playing*

A bluebird flew down from a snow covered branch and landed on Edge's nose. He moved his snout around, forcing it off. Fluttershy giggled at the display. She looked up at the flying bluebird as snow began to fall.  
Fluttershy: " is there ever… such a glorious time as winter…? "  
Edge and Bahamut went wide-eyed in confusion before looking at each other. Is this turning into a musical segway?  
"Fluttershy: " with the falling snow and the bright sky, no, there can not be such a time. "

A window at the library was opened wide by Twilight. She leaned forward and looked at the fields of snow as the same bluebird chirped as it flew by.  
Twilight: " with the time of winter, one can clearly see, the importance of family and the friendships you hold dear… "

*music gains tempo*

At a forest not far from town, a pine tree fell over to Gourry's axe. Spyro, Fox, and Lloyd walked over, grabbed it, and heaved it back to town. Gourry went to work chopping down another Pine tree.

Requiem: " winter is, without a doubt, my favorite time of year… with the sun shining bright, it just feels so right, to have a cup of cheer… "

The CMC sat in their clubhouse, looking over more plans to get their cutie marks.  
Scootaloo: " with school out. "  
Applebloom: " our Cutie Marks. "  
Sweetie Belle: " we will find. "  
Dinky: " will it be a Vet? "  
Pipsqueak: " or a Mime? "  
All: " that is what we plan to find… "

Back at Canterlot, Trixie and Luna were busy getting ready for their big day next week. Luna took her fiancée aside to a balcony where they shared a waltz.  
Trixie and Luna: " Winter is such a amazing time, to be with the ones you love… with the glistening fields white and the eternal delight, why wouldn't you join in the fun…? "

Jax, having been talked into putting up decorations at Sugar Cube Corner.  
Jax: " must I suffer another rip-off of our holidays on this backwater world? I just want to go home and forget about this… "  
Pinkie interrupted Jax before she went further.  
Pinkie: " Winter, Winter, Winter. The best time of year. Winter, Winter, Winter. It always brings good cheer… "  
Marble: " Cozying up next to a fireplace with the one you care and sharing a cup of hot cocoa… "  
Both: " This is, without a doubt, the best time of the year… "  
Jax just rolled her eyes.

Sora was busy putting up Christmas Reefs on the doors of houses around town. She stopped at Derpy's place and sighed.  
Sora: " back home, Christmas was never my favorite day of the year. " Ash walked back and smiled at her. She smiled back. " but right now, with friends I love, this is now my most favorite holiday. "

The pine trees rolled into town by both sets of off-worlders. The largest one was put up in the center of town, right next to the town hall.

*music reaches 'epic' heights*

Fluttershy: " there is no doubt, within my heart, that this is my favorite time of year… " she paused and looked up to see the same bluebird fly away.  
" with your friends right there beside you, with your loved ones always there to love you, there is no doubt, within my heart… that this is my favorite time… of the yearrrrrrrrrr…

*music calms down then fades out.*

Edge stood to the side, completely mesmerized by Fluttershy's singing. He was so mesmerized that his ponysona disappeared.  
Fluttershy held her heard for a moment before opening her eyes. She looked over to Edge with a smile. Edge broke out of his trance and smiled back.  
"Gonna say I was good again?" She asked.  
Edge smiled. "no need. Why try to prove what the world clearly knows?"  
Fluttershy smiled. "you're such a flatterer, Edge." she said with a giggle before walking off. Edge stood there and smiled. Flatterer. Not a word you hear every day for a Changeling. "Come on. We're gonna be late." 'Shy called back.  
"Oh, right." Edge put his ponysona back on and walked after her.

From a trio of pine trees not far from Fluttershy's cottage, a pair of green eyes watched them leave.  
"It seems our brother has taken a liking to the Ponies way of living." a female voice said with a hiss.  
"it seems so. We have that Yellow Pegasus and her Dragon companion to blame for that." another voice, clearly male, said.  
"although. This is a good opportunity."  
"how so?"  
"he lives among them, talks to them, walks with them. So maybe he can spy on them."  
"Oh. That's devious. I like the way you think."  
"I aim to please. Come, we should tell our queen of our idea."  
Both creatures' wings fluttered like insect wings then took off.

The day quickly passed them by, which is no surprise since this is winter. For Hearth's Warming Eve, the gang gathered at the library, which was the biggest place to hold them all, and exchange gifts and have fun.  
Just hope nobody brings the eggnog.

Too late.  
"Christmas, Christmas time is here…" Aura and Ash sang like the chipmunks in their drunken stupor.  
In the center of the library sat a big ol' pine tree, fitted with the decorations of the holidays. Dash flew up to the top and let Eris put the star on. Both smiled and hugged each other.

Jax angrily sat in a corner, not wanting to be part of the festivities. She likes Christmas as much as the next guy but she doesn't want to celebrate it with ponies. Dinky walked by her spot and noticed her sitting alone. She looked at the top of her own head, taking notice of the menorah she had on. She took it off and placed it on Jax's head, catching her by surprise. "there. Much better." Dinky said before walking off. Jax looked up and took the menorah off. The sides of her mouth went up a bit.

Lina snapped her fingers, making all the candles in the room light up. Zilver and Fox applauded that. No way they'll do that, not in a million years.

Requiem, being the romance lover that she is, was going around the room with Mistletoe, making other people kiss. It lead to a few humorous moments that would make some people gag.

"here you go, Edge." Fluttershy said, offering him a present.  
Edge, who was in the middle of drinking a glass of milk, set it down and grabbed the present. "what is it?"  
"my present from me to you."  
Edge looked down at the present and shook it close to his ear. "I was expecting something better then a colored box with string."  
Fluttershy giggled. "it's in the box, silly."  
Feeling like a complete idiot, Edge took off the string and opened the box. What he saw surprised him to his core; it was a thin chain necklace with Fluttershy's cutie mark the size of a key chain. Edge's eyes welled up, much to Fluttershy's surprise. She didn't think Changeling's could cry.  
"Are you okay, Edge?"  
"yeah. I just… it's that nobody's ever given me a present before." Edge said, all choked up. He immediately put the box down and put it on. It was a perfect fit. "Thanks, Fluttershy. Wish I had something to give you."  
Fluttershy smiled. "It's okay. Your company is all I need." Edge smiled back, still teary eyed.  
Then the moment was ruined when Req walked by, putting the Mistletoe above their heads. They both looked at her with angry eyes. "oh, come on. What's the worse that can happen?" Edge and 'Shy looked at each other and shrugged. What is the worse that could happen? They leaned in to kiss each other on the lips when the stick carrying the mistletoe came between them. "nu un un un. On the lips for 5 seconds."  
Edge angrily put his lips to the side as he angrily growled at Req. "oh, come on Edge." 'Shy said. "Req's not going to give up till we do." he knew that was true. Might as well get it over with now.  
Both of them nervously gulped and got uncomfortable. They closed their eyes tightly and leaned to each other.  
Req gestured to the others but they were already tuned in. The Mane 6 themselves were squealing with anticipation. This was going to be Fluttershy's first kiss. Req rolled her eyes at how long they were taking. She nodded to Cynder, who nodded back. They casually walked behind 'Shy and Edge and pushed them at each other.  
Edge and Fluttershy opened their eyes in surprise when they kissed each other. Req counted the time limit they had to do. "1...2...3...4...5... There. Times up."  
They broke their kiss and stared at each other with a mix of surprise and embarrassment.  
"wow." Edge gasped.  
"um… that was… that was..." Fluttershy said with a very deep blush. She shook her head and snapped out of her little trance.  
"ooh!" all the girls went. 'Shy felt embarrassed and covered her face. "Fluttershy and Edge, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G…" 'Shy stammered and ran over, trying to get them to stop, much to the male's entertainment.  
A stunned Edge, on the other hand, felt something weird deep in his chest, like a warm feeling that can't be explained. There can only be one way to explain what it is, something he thought he'd never be able to create on his own.

It was love.


	68. Confliction

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

A Changeling's Lament

Chapter 3

Conflicted

Begin Song: watch?v=Xtlalymx848 Full of Unrest - Tales of Vesperia OST

"I see." Chrysalis snickered to herself for a moment. Her two subordinates, bowing before her, looked at each other with concern and confusion. "Mirror's Edge has made a life for himself?"  
"yes, indeed, my queen." the Male Changeling said. "He seems to have been taken in by a yellow female Pegasus."  
Chrysalis wasn't sure she heard him correctly. "a yellow Pegasus?" she repeated. The subordinate nodded in approval. "did she have any outstanding features?"  
"yes. She appears to have a Cutie Mark shaped like 3 Butterflies and is quite timid. She also seems to have a good heart if she took care of one of us."  
"yes." Chrysalis muttered, already coming to a full conclusion. "Fluttershy. The Element of Kindness. And the only way for Mirror's Edge to have fully healed is if she willingly gave him love."  
"She would do that for one of us?" the female Changeling asked.  
"it's in her name. she's the Element of Kindness. She wouldn't bat a eye to anyone in distress; apparently we're no exception." Chrysalis muttered to herself for a moment. "then maybe…" she looked to her subordinates. "and he's living with the ponies?"  
"Not as himself. He seems to have adopted the persona of a crimson Unicorn who specializes in making mirrors, or at least did before he suffered 'amnesia'."  
Chrysalis smiled wide. "I think I know of a way we can use this to our advantage."

End Song.

Edge found himself in a lonely flower field by himself. The smell of citrus and roses filled the air. He took a big whiff and sighed contently.  
A sultry voice called out to him, pulling him near. "Edge…"  
Edge turned around and smiled again. Standing there was a Ultra-Super cute Fluttershy, her hair blowing in the wind, flowers in her hair and in a glamorous see-though dress. Being the unfortunate victim, he was struck by the Siren's call and hovered on over, his wings doing no work.  
The 2 got close to each other, closed their eyes, and leaned in to kiss. Their lips were just 2 inches apart; both ready for what was about to happen.  
Which wasn't that.

BBBBBBBRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIINNNN NNNNNGGGGGGGGG!

Edge yelled and fell out off the couch, landing hard on his back. "ow…" he groaned. He looked to the window and at a annoying alarm clock. He snarled, walked over, grabbed the clock, threw it to the floor, and jumped on it until it broke.  
"Damn clock." he snarled before opening the door and kicking the remains out. "and in the middle of a good dream." he fell back down to the couch and went back to sleep, hoping to get the dream back.

The 2 Changelings flew to the outer edge of Ponyville and put on their disguises.  
The night earlier, they hovered though town, taking surveys on the town's population so they don't get caught by the original they're copying. Fortunately, they didn't have to worry about it as the forms they choose.  
The male choose a golden Pegasus body with a green mane and the female choose a teal Unicorn body with a maroon mane. Satisfied with their new looks, they went into town to find their long-lost comrade.

Luna yawned as she woke up to Celestia's new day. She rubbed her eyes and looked to her left. Trixie still soundly slept; chest rising up and down, up and down, up and down. Luna smiled. 1000 years ago, she never knew what love was; or even if she'd even experience it. Now she knows and she loves it. Guess there was one benefit for having Nightmare Moon possessing her and being banished for a 1000 years.  
She kissed her Fiancée on the forehead before getting out of bed. She walked over to her desk, grabbed a piece of paper, a pen, and went to work writing the invitations. Trixie's been doing most of the work. Time for her to let Luna take over.  
"(hmm… maybe now would be a good time to bring Twilight and her friends. After all, they did such a good job with Cadence's wedding. Maybe I should invite her human friends as well; see what they do for weddings.)"

As hard as he tried, Edge was not able to get his dream back, he just slept a dreamless night. He woke up and yawned. He noticed that Bahamut was long gone and he heard some commotion upstairs. Hoping Fluttershy isn't hurt, he went upstairs to investigate.

Fluttershy grunted and groaned as she struggled to get a sweater on, only to fail in comedic ways. Edge came up and saw her get her head stuck.  
"Fluttershy? What are you doing?"  
"Trying to get a sweater on." Fluttershy said in a muffle. "it's not going well."  
"Why are you even putting on a sweater? You haven't before."  
"that's because today is abnormally cold."  
Edge sputtered. "doubt that." he walked over to the window, opened it up, and peeked outside. He immediately pulled his frozen head back. "n-n-n-n-n-n-never m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-mind." he shivered.  
"Told you."  
Edge grabbed a hammer and shattered the ice off his head in one hit. "guess getting to work is going to be tough."  
"you finally got one?"  
"Yeah." Edge pulled down on the sweater, trying to help get it on. "Waiter at Cavern on the Green. Sparkler put in a commendation for me after I helped her with her winter homework. Starting to think she was trying to get out of studying."  
"that's Sparkler. And Cavern on the Green. That's a fancy place."  
"I know." Edge pulled down as hard as he could. He was able to get Fluttershy's head though. As soon as he saw it, he immediately blushed. "Edge, why are you blushing?"  
"Huh?" he looked to the mirror and saw that. "ah. Think that's the cold talking." he said. He looked away and silently cursed himself for making up such a bogus lie.  
"oh. Well, the cold can do that."  
Fluttershy hopped a few feet before she tripped on a brush and started to fall. Edge reacted and tried to catch her, only to have them both fall to the floor. "ow…" they both went.  
Fluttershy had falling on top of Edge and both were in a precarious position. "That hurt." Edge moaned.  
"Tell me about it." Fluttershy moaned back. Edge tried to get up but Fluttershy was on top of him. He blushed a deep shade of red when he realized that. "Edge. You're blushing again."  
Edge didn't hear her; he was too mesmerized by her beauty. "w-what?" both just stared at each other for what seemed like forever when the bite of a apple broke their trance.  
"Dear Penthouse Forum…" Bahamut joked, reading the magazine. Fluttershy got off of Edge and blushed in embarrassment as Edge got up as well. "so… you two are kinky."  
"I-I-I was just helping Fluttershy put her sweater on when she fell on me." Edge explained.  
"un-huh." Bahamut didn't buy it. He took a bite of his apple and snickered. "sure."  
Edge got very embarrassed and just stammered. "um… I un… I gotta go. I-I'm gonna be late." he headed out of the room as fast as he could.  
"that was odd." Fluttershy muttered.  
"It's Edge. He's always weird." Bahamut said. "come on. I'll help. Claws help with things like this."  
"thanks." Bahamut turned Fluttershy's sweater and pulled it down; making it fit. "Edge's been acting weird lately."  
"you just noticed?" Bahamut joked. "Maybe the cold's getting to him. He is a insect, after all."  
"he's bug-like in appearance. It's not like he is a bug."  
Bahamut thought about it. "True but he's still acting weird. He even destroyed my alarm clock last night. He said he was having a good dream, too."  
"Weirder and Weirder." Fluttershy sighed.

Edge kicked himself as he drudged though the snow. "Stupid, stupid, stupid." he sighed and leaned on a tree. "What was i doing? I was acting like a total idiot." he smacked himself and sighed. "why is this happening now?" Fluttershy's face entered his face. He reacted and shook his head. "no way. I can't be in love with Fluttershy. It's physically impossible for us Changelings. There's just no way." he told himself.  
He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the necklace Fluttershy gave him for Hearth's Warming Eve. He smiled and put it on. He was never gonna part with this; no matter what.

"before, they just left a burning sensation in my belly. Now they're leaving a horrible aftertaste." Spike groaned as he rubbed his neck.  
Just 2 minutes earlier, he and Twilight were busy re-shelving the library when a letter from the princess' arrived via insta-Spike.  
"you didn't complain the last time." Twi said as she read it.  
"Because I didn't notice it." he popped in a cough-drop and sucked on it.  
Twi finished reading the letter and chuckled. "well, isn't that kind of her?" she muttered. "where is everyone, Spike?"  
"off doing their own work. Why?"  
"cause this letter entails to them as well."

Edge played with his necklace, holding it up to the light. The light reflected off the pendent part and shone in his eyes. "Fluttershy…"  
A pair of hooves hit the counter. "Edge!" Sparkler exclaimed. Edge yelped, nearly lost the necklace, and fell off a stool he was sitting on, landing head first in a garbage can. "If you're thought messing around, you got a couple of customers at table 7, waiting for you to take their order."  
Edge pulled the can off his head and tossed it aside. "don't surprise me like that."  
"sorry but I was calling your name 15 times before going forceful." something reflected in her eyes. She looked down, saw the necklace, and picked it up. "What's this?"  
Edge yelled and snatched it out of her hands. "it's something… very important to me."  
That sounds like something juicy but she decided not to pursue it. "okay. Remember, table 7."  
"yeah, yeah."  
Sparkler walked off to a different part of the fancy-shmancy restaurant. Edge got up, brushed any garbage off, put his necklace on, grabbed a order pad, and walked to the table where a golden Pegasus and a Teal unicorn sat. "good afternoon. Welcome to Cavern on the Green. My name is Mirror's Edge and I will be your waiter for the day."  
"why hello there, Edge." a slithery female voice said.

Begin Song: watch?v=Xtlalymx848 Full of Unrest - Tales of Vesperia OST

Edge recognized it instantly and went wide-eyed in horror. "oh, no." she looked to the female and gulped. "F-Friction?" the female snickered. Edge turned to the male. His eyes shimmered, giving Edge a big clue. "L-Leon?"  
"nice to see you too, Edge." Friction snickered. "it seems you've gotten quite comfy."  
"What are you two doing here?" Leon forced Edge to sit down. "Did something happen to the hive?"  
"no no. the hive is fine." Leon said. "We've all reunited, except for you and the original Ditto. You two are hard to find."  
Edge wasn't buying it. These are 2 of Chrysalis' best subordinates. She never sends them unless something big was happening. "what are you two really doing here? And speak truthfully."  
"Truthfully. That's new." Friction snickered. "back then, you would have tortured us for the truth." Edge angrily looked away. "you've changed, Edge."  
"what are you two doing here?" Edge insisted.  
"oh, Chrysalis sent us to… get some information."  
"Why. Is she planning another invasion?"  
"we're not at liberty to say." Leon said.  
"so she is."  
"you could say that." Friction snickered.  
Edge already knew where this was going. "Sorry, but I'm not going to spy for you. These ponies are nice people and I'm not going to betray them." he got up to leave, his necklace slipping out. Leon noticed this and stopped him.  
"my my." he tapped the necklace and pulled it out. "what's this? Oh, my. It seems that one of the ponies has gotten friendly with our Edge. Maybe we should give some… incentive for our friend to work."  
Edge snarled and slapped him away. "You stay away from Fluttershy!"  
"I think you hit a nerve, Leon." Friction said.  
"you touch one hair on her mane and I'll… I'll…"  
"do what? We're the two most powerful Changelings other then our beloved queen." Edge knew that was true and didn't go anywhere with his threat. "tell you what; we won't touch your little Pegasus friend if you promise to tell us any and all information about Canterlot these coming couple of weeks."  
Edge didn't want to say anything but he doesn't want Fluttershy to get hurt. He was between a rock and hard place. "look, all I know is that there's a big wedding that's gonna happen next week. That's it."  
"a wedding." Leon said in a mix of surprise and deviousness. "interesting. Chrysalis' plans fall into fruition at the same event that lead to her greatest defeat."  
Edge chuckled. "doubt she's gonna win. This is the wedding of Luna; Princess of the Moon. She's tougher and more powerful then Cadence. And, there's a few new, eh… toys that will stop her."  
"if you mean the humans, we are well aware of them." Friction said. "that's why our queen has a secret weapon of her own."  
Edge got suspicious and worried. "what secret weapon?"  
"we're not at liberty to say." they both said with sinister tones.  
"…edge." Halo trotted in. "Edge, you here?" he walked further in and saw him sitting with the two disguised Changelings. "who…"  
Leon and Friction looked at each other and went to work with their already prepared cover story. "anyway, we hope to hear from you soon." Friction said in a calm and peaceful voice as she and Leon got up. They put down a couple of bits then headed for the exit. Friction stopped and looked back. "and we hope you consider our offer, Mr. Edge. It would be foolish for you to turn it down."  
The two walked out, leaving behind a air of wickedness for Edge and confusion for Halo. "Who were those two?" he asked.  
Edge wanted to tell him the truth; honest he did. But he knew that if those two found out, there would be hell to pay. Alone, each had enough power to take down 5 Manticores. Together, they had enough power to rival the Princess' and Chrysalis. "they were… a couple of business ponies from Canterlot, offering me a job."  
"hope you said no. Fluttershy would cry if you left without talking it over with her."  
Edge glanced down at the necklace. "I'm… still uncertain. Just need some time to think about it."  
"oh. Well, when you get a chance. Come by the library. Twilight got a letter from Luna and it's addressed to all of us." Halo turned around and left.  
Edge continued to sit there, angry and stunned by what had happened. He grabbed the necklace and held it tight.

End Song.

Edge was the last to arrive at the library and he did so with a heavy heart. He took a deep breath and went inside.  
"good. Edge is here." Twi said.  
"so what's so important that you call to call us all, Twi?" Applejack asked.  
"including us?" all the newcomers asked.  
"If you'll give me a moment, I'll tell you." Twi said. She took the letter she had received earlier and read it.

'Dearest Twilight Sparkle,

If you don't mind the pleasantries, I'll get straight to the topic. You know that my and Trixie's wedding is coming up in a few days and I'm sure, like us, you're looking forward to it. But that is not the point for this letter.  
I write this letter to you in hopes that you and your friends can help with the preparations for the wedding. Like with Cadence's wedding, I wish for you to help out where you did last time; Pinkie with the Reception, Rarity with my gown and Trixie's tux(she decided to go as the groom at her insistence), Applejack with the food, Fluttershy with the songs and music, Rainbow Dash with the Sonic Rainboom, and Twilight with making sure everything goes well.  
And I am wondering what your otherworldly friends do for their weddings so invite them along; I wish to see their customs and how they work. If they are free, that is. Thankfully, I don't think we have to worry about another invasion attempt. Changelings are bugs. They probably die out whenever Winter rolls around. Well, whatever the case…  
Please come to Canterlot as soon as you can. We await your arrival.

Sincerely,  
The Future Princess Luz de la Luna Lulamoon.'

"we get to help out with another wedding? That's so awesome!" Pinkie exclaimed.  
"And it's the same jobs as last time. It's gonna be easy this time around." Applejack said.  
"and she want to see our wedding customs?" the Newcomers said in unison.  
"She's gonna be… er… for lack of a better word, weirded out." Hiccup said.  
"Agreed." Spyro and Zelgadis said.  
"well, she did say she was interested in your customs." Twi said, holding up the letter. "and to be quite honest, I am too."  
"well, I see no problem in going." Riku said.  
"Me neither." Lloyd and Emil said.  
Req snickered over to her friends. "well, I think we're all agreed."  
"okay then. To Canterlot?" Twi asked.  
"To Canterlot!" everyone excitedly exclaimed.  
Edge wasn't among those who cheered. He was still thinking about Friction and Leon said. If he didn't help, they'll kill Fluttershy. He looked over to her smiling form. He didn't want her hurt. So, without anyone looking, he ducked out. Halo, however, did take notice of it.  
"can I just ask what a Changeling is?" Fox asked, not really sure what they are. Both sets of off world groups asked as well.

Begin Song: watch?v=Xtlalymx848 Full of Unrest - Tales of Vesperia OST

Edge slowly walked though a alleyway, hoping not to get seen. Unfortunately, he was by Friction and Leon. They jumped down from above and landed in front of in, disguises completely gone.  
"well? What did you find out?" Leon asked.  
Edge grunted as he looked away. He couldn't bare to stare at them. "we're… going to Luna's wedding to help put it together. As far as I know, there will be no guards outside of the ones watching over the ceremony."  
"You're sure?" Friction asked. "they aren't prepared for another invasion?"  
"they figure that since we're bug-like in appearance that we operate like bugs and die out or enter hibernation when Winter rolls around."  
"hmhmhmhm. They are gonna be sorely surprised." she snickered.  
"the wedding takes place in a week, right?" Leon asked to confirm it.  
Edge sighed heavily. "Yes."  
"we'll see you there, then." Leon and Friction spread their wings and took off.  
Edge watched them fly away and painfully held his chest. Something bad was going to happen at the wedding. He just knew it. He fell against the nearest wall and hit his head against it before sliding to the ground. "Dammit." he sighed.

End Song.


	69. Betrayal

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

A Changeling's Lament

Chapter 4

Betrayal

Begin Song: watch?v=Xtlalymx848 Full of Unrest - Tales of Vesperia OST

Chrysalis took in what Friction and Leon said and chuckled. "they think us as mere insects?"  
"Indeed. Guess when it comes to us, they do judge books by the covers." Leon said.  
"Can't exactly blame them. We didn't leave a good impression the last time we came." Friction said.  
"Still… we can use this for our advantage." Chrysalis said. The sounds of snoring came from within the caves they were at. They trio looked at the cave mouth and heard it. "and if push comes to shove, we can always launch the invasion ahead of schedule."  
"is he willing to go though with it?" Leon asked.  
"that scum Orochi told me that he's… hard to work with but, with the offer I have for him, he'll follow my every word."  
"What do you want us to do now?" Friction asked.  
"go and ready the troops. This time next week, Canterlot will be ours."  
"and what of yourself?" Leon asked.  
Chrysalis summoned up a mirror and a little notepad with writing dribbled all over that. Not long after that, her body began to glow green. "I'm gonna have myself a wonderful time at the ball."

End Song.

Edge sighed as he laid back on the bed given to him for his stay at Canterlot. "what am I going to do…?" he asked himself before he closed his eyes.

Just before they all left for Canterlot to help Luna and Trixie with the wedding, Friction and Leon came to Edge again and pulled their magic. They told him to write about everything that happens in the week leading up to the wedding so they can get a idea of what they're up against. They also said that if he refused, Fluttershy was gonna sleep with the fishes, and to show they were serious, they brought some cinder blocks. So, Edge had no choice but to record every detail.

'Day 1.  
We arrived in Canterlot; the humans are acting like it was their first time here. I must tell you, this place looks beautiful in the winter. Looks so much better when it's not ravaged with war. Celestia showed us to our rooms for our stay. She didn't have enough room for all of us so the humans decided to camp out in the audience hall. Before we went to sleep, however, Applejack went right to work thinking of some great food ideas for the reception and rehearsal. Lina and Gourry, being the bottomless pits that they are, volunteered to taste test. Nobody bought that for a second.

Day 2.  
They waste no time getting to work. Applejack went into the kitchen with her coltfriend Zilver, Bonbon, and Req. turns out that Req was a baker back at her home before she… well, according to her, got her life flipped upside down.  
I got stuck looking after Eris since Dash is practicing her Sonic Rainboom. Thankfully, the CMC were able to take her off my hands.  
Pinkie and Marble, along with Berry and Derpy, went to work, thinking of a good theme for the reception. Thankfully, Marble and Sora are able to counteract Pinkie's infantile mind.  
Rarity got right to work designing Luna's Wedding Dress. She says she's gonna model it after the night. Which is odd cause Luna is the princess of the night. Well, whatever. She also has Lloyd and Fox working on Trixie's tux. Hope they know what they're doing; they are designing for ponies and not humans.  
And Fluttershy… Fluttershy… … I wish I could tell her how I feel. Blblblblbl. I'm okay now. Anyway, Fluttershy, along with Lyra, Octavia, and Vinyl are hard at work on the music. I just hope they don't screw it up; having more then one person looking over the music can go bad.  
As for the rest… I'm not sure what they're doing. They disappeared as soon as we arrived. They seem to be planning something; they're being secretive.

Day 3.  
I called it. Fluttershy, Lyra, Octavia, and Vinyl are almost at blows with what music to play. Vinyl wants Dupstep while Lyra and Octavia want traditional band music. Fluttershy is staying out of it, which is good thinking. I don't want her to get hurt.  
Anyway, they aren't the only division to be having trouble. Applejack and her group are arguing over what to serve the guests. It's stupid, really. Hiccup and Toothless went out for a little competition with Dash to see who is the fastest flyer. It was a tie. Trixie had Spyro and Cynder fly out to the towns in Equestria to send invitations. Guess they want a big audience. They should be back in time for the rehearsal.  
Amelia and Zelgadis are planning to make fireworks with their magic; a task harder then it sounds. Even with Jax reluctantly helping, it isn't going well.  
Anyway, the 'secret' group has gone out again, doing something. If only they told us what.

Day 4.  
Red Alert! Red Alert!  
Luna and Trixie had a argument. I'm wasn't sure what it was about but it sounded big. Twilight's hard at work to try and calm them down but there's only so much she can do. Thankfully, Cadence just arrived and helped calm them down. Turns out they were arguing over how many guests will be at the ceremony itself. Really? They argued over that? They have the same friends. What, was it the other hundred who're gonna be there? I don't know.  
While that was going on, everyone kept doing their jobs. Thankfully, the 'brawls' between the music group and the food group were able to resolve their differences and get back to work.  
Fluttershy told me that they decided to go with a combination of Vinyl's Dubstep and Lyra & Octavia's Traditional. Think that's how they did it Cadence's but I don't know. We were blown out of Canterlot, remember?

Day 5.  
I've been feeling… weird today. Every time I was around Fluttershy, my chest tightened and my heart beat a mile a minute. I also got sweaty hooves and shallow breathing. I-I'm not sure what this means but Cadence thinks I have a crush for Fluttershy.  
I… there… that can't be the case. I'm a Changeling. We can't fall in love or have a crush. There's no physical way. Chrysalis told us that we are incapable of producing love by ourselves. There's no… no… but is it possible… that I could be. That would explain why I've been acting weird. Ever since Req held that mistletoe over us and we kissed, I was… I was feeling weird whenever I was around her. And that would explain why I said to do this to Leon and Fracture.  
Could this be… could this be what love is? But… if it's true, she's a Pony and I'm a Changeling. There's no way… this would work out.  
As for the day, nothing really big happened. Spyro and Cynder returned from sending invitations to the towns. That's about it.

Day 6.  
Tonight is the rehearsal. It's going on just as I'm writing this. Also, the mystery group is going to reveal what they were working on this past week. Also, I was seeing some weird things around Canterlot lately. Ponies have been acting weird and I think know why.  
Chrysalis is making her move and replacing ponies with her forces. I'm more worried about who the queen herself is going to replace. Odds are she's not going to pull the same move twice and replace Cadence. They all know what she acted like when it was Chrysalis and there's no way she can hide the pregnancy; she says it'll be any day now. I'm worried. I don't want to betray my kind but I don't want to betray my friends. And Fluttershy.  
… at the rehearsal, I am going to tell her about my feelings. If this truly is love I'm feeling for her, then she deserves to know so she'll make a informed decision in case she meets a special somepony fit for her. I also plan to tell her Chrysalis' plan, that she plans to invade again. But if Leon and Friction find out, they'll kill her.  
Ugh… I'll decide whether to tell her the plan later. Right now, I'm gonna tell her my feelings. I know I run the risk of breaking my heart but I have to tell her.

Leon. Friction. Please. Talk Chrysalis out of this. For my sake. I don't wish to see my friends… my Fluttershy, hurt. Or worse.  
Please. Try to talk some sense into her.'

Leon and Friction finished reading the report left by Edge in a alleyway outside the castle. They both looked at each other with sympathetic eyes.  
"Changelings can't fall in love. Can we?" Friction asked  
"Edge did. And he's one of the toughest Changelings around. To see him fall from a ruthless foe to this. He softened."  
"For the better?"  
Leon wasn't sure. But he was curious why their queen would lie to them about them not being able to fall in love. Why would she lie? "well, we won't come to any conclusions by sitting here. Come on." they got up, donned their disguises, and flew off.  
A black hoof came down on the report and pulled it up. "well, well Edge. I wasn't expecting this from you. Seems that I'm gonna have to change my plans a bit."

Edge eventually found the group at the Great Dining Hall just 30 minutes after the rehearsal was over. Fluttershy noticed him come in and looked back at him. "Edge. Where were you?"  
Edge panted as he ran up to her. "I had some… things to take care of. What did I miss?"  
"you missed the rehearsal, for one thing. Now, Req and her friends disappeared for some reason."  
"Why?"  
"I don't know."  
They were about to find out as a full stereo and stage suddenly rolled into the room by itself and stopped right in the middle.  
"is she really doing this?" Hiccup asked, fully knowing the answer.  
In a flash of smoke, Req appeared in the middle of the stage.  
"She is." Aura said, not really surprised by this.  
"Req, what is this?" Luna asked.  
"my wedding present from me to you two." she replied. She spun a microphone into her hands. "a little song to dance too." she snapped her fingers, making a little flash as a guitar-bearing Ash and Vinyl & her mix-table appeared with her. "just a bit of foreword; the song I choose might not fit for you guys but if you think about it, it kind of does. I mean, Nightmare Moon was a beast." Luna and Trixie looked at Twi with confused expressions. "Think about it after listening to the song." she cleared her throat. "And feel free to dance. I mean it."

Begin Song: watch?v=q4fFIGkiHxY Beauty and the Beast - Jordan Sparks version.

Requiem:  
Tale as old as time  
True as it can be  
Barely even friends  
Then somebody bends  
Unexpectedly

"Beauty and the Beast?" Aura and Bahamut exclaimed in confusion. Not a song to play at a wedding. It does fit a couple but it wasn't the bride and groom.  
"beu-what and the who-now?" Applejack asked.

Requiem:  
Just a little change  
Small to say the least  
Both a little scared  
Neither one prepared  
Beauty and the Beast

After a few seconds of listening, they have to admit that it does kind-of fit them. Luna was pocessed by Nightmare Moon, technically turning her into a beast and Trixie does have some enchanting qualities.  
Luna offered her hoof to Trixie and she took it. Luna pulled her close and the two began to dance.

Requiem:  
Ever just the same  
Ever a surprise  
Ever as before  
Ever just a sure  
As the sun will rise

Spyro & Cynder, Halo & Twilight, Pinkie & Marble, Rarity & Spike, Lyra & Bonbon, Lina & Gourry, Zelgadis & Amelia, Applejack & Zilver eventually joined in the dancing. Since their significant other was on stage, Aura and Sora danced together. some ballroom danced like Trixie and Luna, others did a hip-hop variant.  
The rest did their own moves to the song. Derpy danced with a imaginary version of her true love, Dash did some playful dancing with Eris, and Celestia remembered back to her days with Cosmos and when they danced. The rest of them just clapped along.

Requiem:  
Certain as the sun  
Rising in the east  
Tale as old as time  
Song as old as rhyme  
Beauty and the beast

While dancing, Spike whispered something into Rarity's ear. She gasped softly before tears welled up in her eyes. She whispered something back to him, causing him to smile. They held each other closer as their dancing slowed.  
"what did he say to her?" Twi wondered, noticing it as she and Halo danced.  
"something just right." Halo said with a smirk.  
"I think I already know what you're talking about." she looked to them and smiled. "and I wish them luck."

Requiem:  
Ever just the same  
Ever a surprise  
Ever as before  
Ever just a sure  
As the sun will rise

Fluttershy sighed as she sat down on a chair right next to Edge.  
"why aren't you dancing?" he asked.  
"I don't feel like it." she said. "This is a dance for couples, new and old. Besides, none of the other single people are dancing."  
Edge did notice that but he didn't care. He got off his chair and grabbed Fluttershy's hoof. "Come on. You deserve a dance."  
Edge dragged her out to the dancefloor, much to her surprise. Before she knew it, they were dancing. Slow dancing.

Requiem:  
Tale as old as time  
Tune as old as song  
Bittersweet and strange  
Finding you can change  
Learning you were wrong

The whole world seemed to disappear as 'Shy and Edge danced together, losing each other in the other's eyes. If others were looking, they didn't care.  
"Fluttershy… there's something I've been wanting to tell you."  
"What?"  
Edge got nervous. Nervous enough to make him sweat.

Requiem:  
Certain as the sun  
Rising in the east  
Tale as old as time  
Song as old as rhyme  
Beauty and the beast

His necklace reflected light up into his eyes. He blinked and looked down at it. Staring at it gave him confidence.  
"Fluttershy… I love you…"  
She gasped and held her mouth when he said that.

Requiem:  
Tale as old as time  
Song as old as rhyme  
Beauty and the beast

"Well… what do you say?" he tenderly asked.  
Fluttershy wasn't sure what to say about that. He was a Changeling and she was a Pony. It would be… weird.

Requiem:  
Tale as old as time  
Song as old as rhyme  
Beauty and the beast

End Song.

The crowd stopped dancing and clapped at Requiem's performance.  
Edge and Fluttershy didn't. he was still waiting for her answer.  
"Well?" he asked.  
"Edge, I… you're a Changeling. There's no way this would work out. If they found out who you were, they'd take you away and I don't want to face that."  
Edge knew where she was going and sadly looked down. "I see." he let go of her and turned to leave. "Sorry for troubling you for this. I guess this was just a foolish Changeling's insanity." he walked away, defeated and heart-broken.  
Fluttershy sadly watched him leave but didn't feel as heart-broken. She's certain he was just saying that because of the necklace she gave him. "Yeah. That what it was." then why was she feeling like she put her heart is in a million pieces.  
Jax, sitting in a chair cause she didn't feel like dancing, overheard this. She tried to remember where she heard the word from. "Changeling? Wasn't that the…"

Edge depressingly walked though the castle halls, not caring if anyone saw him. He knew having his heart broken was a big possibility, but he never thought it would hurt this much. He eventually made it outside and found himself inside a rotunda. He leaned on the railing and looked down at the land far below. He dropped his disguise with a sigh and planted his forehead on the railing. "That was a stupid idea."  
"why yes it was, but you did it anyway." a familiar sinister voice said.  
Edge wasn't surprised when he heard that voice. He turned around to see Chrysalis standing there in the entrance. Leon and Friction were with her as well. She walked on in as her two best troops took up positions inside the rotunda.  
"look at you. You're a shell of your former self." Edge looked away from Chrysalis. "it just goes to show that love is only good for food, nothing else. Falling in love will lead to heartbreak and devastation. But of course, I don't have to tell you that."  
"Why are you here?" Edge depressingly asked.  
Chrysalis brought out the reports he wrote. "According to you, they aren't expecting us. This is going to be like taking candy from a filly." she sent the report away. "so, do you know of the plan?"  
"yes. Leon and Friction told me when I gave them the report."  
"What plan?"

Begin Song: watch?v=lAtYoTLrxCU Shepard's/Estate Betrayal - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 OST

Jax, Halo, Hiccup & Toothless, Twilight, Sora, and Ash walked across the grounds towards the rotunda.  
"Ah. Twilight Sparkle. Long time, no killin'." Chrysalis joked.  
"I was hoping not to never see you again!" Twilight angrily said.  
"But I was hoping to see you." Chrysalis evilly snickered. "I have a lot of nasty things I wish to do to you and thankfully for me, you can't fight back unless you want your unborn foal to get hurt." Halo stepped in front of Twi to protect her. "Oh. And you got yourself a boy toy. How quaint. He can watch while I kill you."  
"who is this?" Hiccup asked.  
"oh. I heard there were unknown creatures here. I just didn't realize they were so ugly."  
"Ugly!?" Sora exclaimed.  
"just what are you planning, Chrysalis?" Twi insisted.  
"Ugh. Ever the stubborn one. Well, if you must know, I plan on taking over Canterlot. And this time, I won't fail."  
Ash scoffed. "yeah, right. You were defeated before. You can be defeated again."  
"not true. This time, I planned ahead." her horn glowed green. Everyone's body stiffened as they were lifted into the air. "and this time, I made no mistakes." a green blast shot out her horn, hit the group dead center, and sent them flying back into the snow. Chrysalis slowly walked out after them as they struggled to get up. A whip came out of her horn, broke into 7, and held them all in place.  
Jax struggled to get up when she noticed royal guards watching from above. "Hey! Get Help!" she called out. The guards glowed green and revealed themselves to be Changelings.  
"I planned for that as well." Chrysalis said as she walked up. "My first mistake last time was announcing that I was going to attack. A mistake I am certainly not making again. The second was not having any of my forces in position. As you can see, I made sure of that."  
"the others will find out about this!" Halo snarled.  
"Will they?" Chrysalis snickered. Her body glowed as green fire swirled around her and made her disguise.  
"What?" Twilight gasped.  
Standing before them was another Twilight but with no preggo belly and with wings. "the 3rd mistake was taking someone's place with a recognizable personality. You figured out right away that I wasn't Cadence. But this time, if I keep my mouth shut, then they won't figure it out." Leon glowed and took on Halo's guise and Friction took on her spying persona. "and the 4th…" she summoned out a enchanted knife and a life-sized picture of Celestia. "is not killing Celestia when I had the chance." the knife hovered far from them. "as soon as Celestia says 'you may now kiss the bride'…" the knife shot thought mid-air and sliced though Celestia's picture cleanly. Twilight snarled as she tried to get out of the whip.  
Hiccup noticed that one of that hadn't changed yet. "Seems you're short one persona, queeny. That guy there isn't changing."  
"Oh." Chrysalis playfully said. She looked to Edge and snickered. "you might as well do it. Your heart is already broken anyway and there's no way they'll forgive you when they do find out."  
Edge sighed as he looked away from everyone. His body glowed with green fire as he reluctantly changed back into his Ponysona. Everyone collectively gasped when they saw it was their friend. "Edge?"  
"Edge?" Chrysalis playfully mimicked. "Yes, It was Edge. Your friend is one of us. Spying on your every move." Chrysalis's horn glowed, causing a ring of green fire to appear around them. Leon and Friction gasped when they saw it. "now, since you know so much, it's time for you to say bye-bye."  
"Not again!" Twi exclaimed, knowing full well what happened last time.  
Halo snarled as he looked at Edge. "I knew all along something was off with you, ever since the cabin 2 weeks ago." the fire created a dome and began to sink into the ground. "I hope your happy with yourself, Edge." Halo's words hit Edge right in the heart. First he was love-broken now his friends hate him.  
Chrysalis sensed this and comforted him as she lowered the dome into the ground. Everyone inside yelled out, hoping someone will listen and rescue them. "Ponies will never accept us as one of their own, Edge. They will always view us as freaks of nature; beings that shouldn't exist. They may pretend to be your friend but they are just pretending to be your friend. At the first chance they get, they will take your heart and smash it."  
Edge knew that wasn't true. Fluttershy didn't smash his heart; She broke it into a million pieces.  
The 4 Changelings watched the dome sink into the ground, taking any nuisances with it. That sight gave Leon and Friction second thoughts about this.


	70. This Day Shall Be Mine

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

A Changeling's Lament

Chapter 5

This Day Shall Be Mine

'Previously on My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic…'  
'Edge depressingly walked though the castle halls, not caring if anyone saw him. He knew having his heart broken was a big possibility, but he never thought it would hurt this much. He eventually made it outside and found himself inside a rotunda. He leaned on the railing and looked down at the land far below. He dropped his disguise with a sigh and planted his forehead on the railing. "That was a stupid idea."  
"why yes it was, but you did it anyway." a familiar sinister voice said.  
Edge wasn't surprised when he heard that voice. He turned around to see Chrysalis standing there in the entrance. Leon and Friction were with her as well. She walked on in as her two best troops took up positions inside the rotunda.  
"look at you. You're a shell of your former self." Edge looked away from Chrysalis. "it just goes to show that love is only good for food, nothing else. Falling in love will lead to heartbreak and devastation. But of course, I don't have to tell you that."  
"Why are you here?" Edge depressingly asked.  
Chrysalis brought out the reports he wrote. "According to you, they aren't expecting us. This is going to be like taking candy from a filly." she sent the report away. "so, do you know of the plan?"  
"yes. Leon and Friction told me when I gave them the report."  
"What plan?"

Begin Song: watch?v=lAtYoTLrxCU Shepard's/Estate Betrayal - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 OST

Jax, Halo, Hiccup & Toothless, Twilight, Sora, and Ash walked across the grounds towards the rotunda.  
"Ah. Twilight Sparkle. Long time, no killin'." Chrysalis joked.  
"I was hoping not to never see you again!" Twilight angrily said.  
"But I was hoping to see you." Chrysalis evilly snickered. "I have a lot of nasty things I wish to do to you and thankfully for me, you can't fight back unless you want your unborn foal to get hurt." Halo stepped in front of Twi to protect her. "Oh. And you got yourself a boy toy. How quaint. He can watch while I kill you."  
"who is this?" Hiccup asked.  
"oh. I heard there were unknown creatures here. I just didn't realize they were so ugly."  
"Ugly!?" Sora exclaimed.  
"just what are you planning, Chrysalis?" Twi insisted.  
"Ugh. Ever the stubborn one. Well, if you must know, I plan on taking over Canterlot. And this time, I won't fail."  
Ash scoffed. "yeah, right. You were defeated before. You can be defeated again."  
"not true. This time, I planned ahead." her horn glowed green. Everyone's body stiffened as they were lifted into the air. "and this time, I made no mistakes." a green blast shot out her horn, hit the group dead center, and sent them flying back into the snow. Chrysalis slowly walked out after them as they struggled to get up. A whip came out of her horn, broke into 7, and held them all in place.  
Jax struggled to get up when she noticed royal guards watching from above. "Hey! Get Help!" she called out. The guards glowed green and revealed themselves to be Changelings.  
"I planned for that as well." Chrysalis said as she walked up. "My first mistake last time was announcing that I was going to attack. A mistake I am certainly not making again. The second was not having any of my forces in position. As you can see, I made sure of that."  
"the others will find out about this!" Halo snarled.  
"Will they?" Chrysalis snickered. Her body glowed as green fire swirled around her and made her disguise.  
"What?" Twilight gasped.  
Standing before them was another Twilight but with no preggo belly and with wings. "the 3rd mistake was taking someone's place with a recognizable personality. You figured out right away that I wasn't Cadence. But this time, if I keep my mouth shut, then they won't figure it out." Leon glowed and took on Halo's guise and Friction took on her spying persona. "and the 4th…" she summoned out a enchanted knife and a life-sized picture of Celestia. "is not killing Celestia when I had the chance." the knife hovered far from them. "as soon as Celestia says 'you may now kiss the bride'…" the knife shot thought mid-air and sliced though Celestia's picture cleanly. Twilight snarled as she tried to get out of the whip.  
Hiccup noticed that one of that hadn't changed yet. "Seems you're short one persona, queeny. That guy there isn't changing."  
"Oh." Chrysalis playfully said. She looked to Edge and snickered. "you might as well do it. Your heart is already broken anyway and there's no way they'll forgive you when they do find out."  
Edge sighed as he looked away from everyone. His body glowed with green fire as he reluctantly changed back into his Ponysona. Everyone collectively gasped when they saw it was their friend. "Edge?"  
"Edge?" Chrysalis playfully mimicked. "Yes, It was Edge. Your friend is one of us. Spying on your every move." Chrysalis's horn glowed, causing a ring of green fire to appear around them. Leon and Friction gasped when they saw it. "now, since you know so much, it's time for you to say bye-bye."  
"Not again!" Twi exclaimed, knowing full well what happened last time.  
Halo snarled as he looked at Edge. "I knew all along something was off with you, ever since the cabin 2 weeks ago." the fire created a dome and began to sink into the ground. "I hope your happy with yourself, Edge." Halo's words hit Edge right in the heart. First he was love-broken now his friends hate him.  
Chrysalis sensed this and comforted him as she lowered the dome into the ground. Everyone inside yelled out, hoping someone will listen and rescue them. "Ponies will never accept us as one of their own, Edge. They will always view us as freaks of nature; beings that shouldn't exist. They may pretend to be your friend but they are just pretending to be your friend. At the first chance they get, they will take your heart and smash it."  
Edge knew that wasn't true. Fluttershy didn't smash his heart; She broke it into a million pieces.  
The 4 Changelings watched the dome sink into the ground, taking any nuisances with it. That sight gave Leon and Friction second thoughts about this.'  
'and now the continuation…'

Ash groaned as he opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was Toothless looking over him. "someone mind getting him out of my face. He has terrible dragon breath."  
"first seconds up and that's what you say?" Hiccup asked as he walked over.  
Ash decided to have some fun. "oh, I'm sorry." he said with a rude tone. "I thought that after waking up in a unknown location, we were supposed to break out the doilies and have a tea party."  
"well, talk about rude." Toothless growled in agreement. Ash sighed and rolled his eyes.  
"GYAH!" Jax slammed her chakrams into the crystals but didn't leave a dent. "Damn, these things are tough."  
"I told you." Twilight said.  
"Do you know where we are, Twi?" Ash asked as he walked over.  
Twilight looked up at the crystalline ceiling. "unfortunately, yes. These are the same crystal caves Chrysalis sent me and Cadence when she did this during Cadence's wedding. They snake throughout the mountain that Canterlot is built into."  
"Well, obviously, you got out." Sora said as she looked up.  
"yeah, but I don't recognize this part of the caves."  
"well, you shouldn't." Chrysalis said as her voice echoed though the caves. Toothless angrily snarled as Ash and Sora pulled out their weapons and aimed them. "Hahaha." Chrysalis' face appeared in one of the crystals. "I feel like this happened before, don't you think?" she jokingly asked. "this must be the Déjà vu everyone talks about."  
"What do you want, Chrysalis?" Twilight snarled as she asked.  
"nothing really, just to let you know that in a few hours, Canterlot, and with it Equestria, will be mine and Celestia will be dead."  
"Why are you doing this? What could you have to gain from igniting a war?" Halo asked.  
"I discovered something about love. It's always the sweetest and the strongest during wartime. When despair hits them in events they can't control, they turn to each other for comfort and love. With the love I plan to gain from this war, we Changelings will be powerful enough to take over the entire world!"  
"yeah? Well everyone will notice we're gone soon!" Sora exclaimed.  
"not true." Chrysalis glowed green fire and changed into Twilight. "as long as I stay quiet, nobody will notice the difference." she said in Twilight's voice. "besides, if I do have to talk, I made sure to act just like you. As for your boy toy…" on another crystal, Leon appeared and changed into Halo. "nobody will complain about food poisoning, will they? And for the rest of your friends, I got a few good guess's."  
She glanced over to the Viking and the night fury. "like for them. I'm sure everyone will believe they went on a flight that went on for too long." she looked over to Sora and Ash. "and I'm sure I can think of a 'orgasmic' excuse for them." Sora and Ash blushed as they looked away, hoping Jax wouldn't understand. Luckily for them both, she didn't. "and for Jax… well, her hatred for us equine folk has already spread far and wide. I don't think anyone will protest if she doesn't show up."  
"how do you know all that?" Ash asked.  
Chrysalis/Twilight snickered. Edge's profile appeared in the crystal next to hers. "Did you already forget that I had a spy in your midst?" Edge looked away, not wanting to look at them. "I know everything about you and your friends thanks to my precious little spy."  
"you son of a bitch…" Ash snarled. Edge closed his eyes, not wanting to see them. A single tear ran down his face before his pic disappeared.  
"well, I must be going. Got a world to conquer and all."  
"We'll find our way out! Me and Cadence did so last time and we'll do it again." Twilight exclaimed.  
Chrysalis slyly chuckled. "you can try but you will fail, beautiful. But if you are, I would hurry. I have a big surprise for you all; something that will guarantee me victory. And don't be surprised if you see citizens from the capital in here; I have plans for them and this place as well."  
she evilly chuckled as her picture disappeared. The crystal which she was on blew up. Ash took his smoking gun down and put it away. "great. Now what?"  
"What else? We book it and hope we make it in time." Jax said.  
"Right. But which way?" Sora asked. They didn't have a direction to go. Last time, Twilight and Cadence had a twinkle to go with. Now, they don't have it.  
Hiccup snapped his fingers. "Wait. I think I have something that can help." he reached into the saddle bags he hung off Toothless' neck. He rummaged though the bag, trying to find it.  
"What'cha looking for?" Sora asked.  
"Something Satoshi gave me back on Berk." he found it and pulled it out. It was a small canister.  
"What the heck is…" Ash asked before remembering what it is. "wait. Is that…"  
"Yep. One of Satoshi's beacons. It should hone in on it's twin onboard Orion."  
"but we have'ta get back to Canterlot." Sora exclaimed.  
"the entrances and exit's to the crystal mine should come out in the mountain it's built into. Depending where we come out, it should be a climb or a fall to the capital." Halo pointed out.  
"oh. Well then, lead on Hiccup." Hiccup nodded and pressed down on the bottom on top of the canister. A small orb of light, no bigger then a ping-pong ball, came out the bottom. It shot off, zigzagging though the caves, leaving a trail behind it. "All we need to do is follow that and we're good."  
"great." Twi sighed. The group started for the light, following the trail it left.  
"Ah!" Twilight yelled out in pain, prematurely bringing their journey to a halt. She fell to her knees and held her stomach.  
"Twilight!" Halo yelled out. He ran over to her. "you okay?"  
"no." she said in pain, keeping one eye open. "My stomach feels like it's burning."  
"Can't be the baby, can it?" Sora asked Ash.  
"Can't be. It supposed to be a good feeling when it kicks, right?" Ash asked.  
"yeah. Maybe Chrysalis did something to her when she transported us."  
"that would probably do it."  
Twilight panted as the pain passed. "I'm fine." she painfully said. "I'm fine. It's gone." she shook her head and got up.  
"you're sure?" a concerned Halo asked.  
"yeah. I'm fine. Whatever it was is gone now. Besides…" she looked back at her belly. "I'm not the one you should be worried about."  
"are you guys done talking?" Jax asked a few feet away from them. "or are gonna let that bitch win?"  
The group looked at each other, nodded, and walked after Jax.

A pocketwatch swung though the air, held in place by a finger. The owner, who hid behind a stalagmite, tossed it up and caught it in midair. "not what I was expecting." Tsylatac said. "she's more strong-willed then I expected." he said before he disappeared.

Chrysalis/Twilight snickered as she watched the ponies and humans she had sent to the caves walk away. "they won't get out. And even if they do, they won't make it back in time to stop me."  
"If you say so, my queen." Leon said.  
Friction felt something was off and counted the people in Twilight's room. "where's Edge?"  
"out at the rotunda. He hasn't left since last night." Leon said. "should we have left him alone?"  
"ignore him." Chrysalis/Twilight said. "he's broken now and won't be a threat to our plans. But if you are so concerned, Friction, go keep a eye on him."  
Friction bowed to her. "As you wish, my queen." she donned her pony disguise and walked out. Leon donned his disguise as Halo and walked out after her. Chrysalis used her magic to close the door and shut the windows.  
Once she was certain she was all alone, she laughed and cheered. "Yes! It's all coming together!"

Begin Song: watch?v=fjdmYPvEQac This Day Aria (instrumental) by Youtuber MysteriousBronie

She evilly snickered, completely giddy that her plan is coming together.

Chrysalis/Twilight:  
this day is going to be perfect.  
The kind of day of which I dreamed since I was small.  
Celestia will soon fall and the world not long too.  
Who says a girl can't really have it all…?

Back underground, the group ran as fast as they could after the orb.

Twilight:  
who would've thought this would've happened again?  
It seems like a horrible case of déjà vu.  
If Chrysalis gets her way, then our friends will surely pay for a price they never asked for.

Chrysalis/Twilight:  
Celestia, Luna, Cadence. They will all pay.  
On these lips, I vow when I say…  
That my rule shall be ruthless and my hoof of iron,  
I will crush all who get in my way…  
Before too long, Celestia will fall and her Empire with her.  
Soon the world be all MIIIIIIIIIINE…

Back down in the caves, the group continued their way, now running as fast as they could. They eventually reached a fork in the road; the trail was leading them left.  
Something twinkled to the right, far off in the distance, catching Jax's attention. It distracter her long enough for her to take the right path instead of the left path. Unfortunately, she didn't notice it until she was too far down the path.

Edge leaned over the edge of the rotunda, sadly looking at the necklace Fluttershy gave him. He had his heart broken by the one he loved and betrayed his friends. What a model citizen he was turning out to be. He couldn't bare to look at it anymore. It's just going to remind him of so many painful memories.  
He tossed it into the snow and walked away.

The group stopped to take a breather.  
"I never ran this fast in my life. And I was chased by a demon for half of it." Sora panted.  
Halo looked up and noticed they were short one short-tempered girl. "where's Jax?"

Jax ran down the path she inadvertadly choose. She may not be going down the right one but hopefully one that would lead out at a exit.

Chrysalis/Twilight evilly smiled as she put on the real Twilight's bridesmaid dress. She bent her wings enough to make it look like she's 5 months pregnant. She used her magic to bring the knife that will do the deed over to her.

Chrysalis/Twilight:  
soon the moment will arrive for me to be this world's new queen.  
They will never make it and their friends will pay for it.  
This world is rightfully mine.  
"All mine." she laughed evilly into that good day.

End Song.

Someone knocked on Twilight's door, catching Chrysalis off guard. "Twi? You okay?" A.J. asked.  
"un… yeah. I'm fine. Just feeling a bit course in the throat." she said.  
"Oh. Well, hurry up. You are one of Luna's bridesmaids after all." that part, Chrysalis didn't know. That puts her closer to Celestia. She played with the knife and silently chuckled. "Hurry up, will ya? Everyone's waiting down at the audience hall."  
"Coming." Chrysalis/Twilight replied. She tucked the knife underneath her left bent wing and walked out.

Edge sadly walked though the halls in his pony disguise.  
"Edge!" Fluttershy called out. Originally, he would have turned instantly with a big smile. Now… he doesn't care. She caught up to him and tried to look at his eyes. "Edge…"  
"What do you want, Fluttershy?" he depressingly asked.  
She could hear the hurt in his voice and felt guilty for making him feel that way. "look. I'm sorry for hurting you. I shouldn't have…"  
"Forget it, Fluttershy." he coarsely said. "What's done is done." he slowly walked away, as far as he could from her. Fluttershy felt even more guilty for what she did. There must've been a better way to put him down gently, right?

The guests gathered in the audience hall, waiting for the wedding to commence. Edge sat as far back as he could. He didn't want to be around anybody.  
"You okay, Edge?" Dinky asked him with curious eyes.  
"no. I'm not."  
"What's wrong?"  
Edge deeply sighed. "nothing for you to worry over, Dinks." Dinky wasn't buying it. There was something wrong with her and she was going to figure it out.

Trixie tugged at her tux with sweaty hooves and nervous demeanor.  
"Nervous, sis?" Zilver asked.  
"Yeah. I never thought I'd have a wedding with anyone. And here I am, about to marry a princess."  
"Love transcends all boundaries." Zil said.  
Trixie was surprised to hear him say something like that. "Since when did you start sprouting philosophy?"  
"since a few months ago." he looked over to Applejack and winked at her. She winked back and slightly blushed.  
"I have to ask. What does that even mean, anyway?"  
"it means that love can come from anywhere and anyone. Take Daring and Bolt. She's a pony and he's a Gryphon and they're happily in love. Same with Rarity and Spike. Love can come from anywhere; even a wanna-be magician and a princess of the night."  
Trixie raised a eyebrow at the comment. "Wanna-be magician?"  
"I call 'em like I see 'em."  
Trixie rolled her eyes and chuckled. She took a deep breath and looked to Celestia. "Ready." she said.  
Celestia nodded to her then looked to the organist. He cracked his hoofs and began playing.  
The doors at the other end opened wide, revealing a GORGEOUS Luna in a equally Gorgeous wedding dress.  
"Wow…" Trixie gasped in joy.  
"Best work yet, Rarity." Spike said.  
"I try." she chuckled. "I just hope I look as glamorous as her for our day."  
"you will. You are the best fashion designer in Equestria, after all."  
"oh, you."

"JAX!" Ash called out.  
"JAX!" Twi added. "JAX!"  
Halo stopped and slid down from atop a crystal he was standing on. "This is getting us no where. If she's alive, she'll either come looking for us or find another exit. Either way, we can't worry about her now."  
"I hate to say it but he's right." Hiccup said. "if we don't go now, there's no telling what will happen up there."  
Sora didn't want to admit it but they were right. She looked back where they came and sighed. "I hope you're all right, little sis."

Begin Song: watch?v=wQVTpi6Mdek Le Sanctuarie - Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance OST

Jax grunted as she was sent into a crystal. She fell to the ground and landed on her front.  
A giant scorpion, made out of crystals and gems, shrieked as it pinched it's claws.  
Jax grunted in pain as she got up. She wiped the blood from her mouth and chuckled. "You want to play, toots? Okay. Let's play." She grabbed her chakrams and charged at the giant beasty.

Luna arrived at the alter and smiled to Trixie. Trixie smiled back.  
"all my life, I never thought little Lulu would get married." Celestia said. She kept up a calm front but she was crying in joy for her baby sister.  
"Same here, Tia." Luna tearfully said, choking up. They shared one last hug as sisters.  
Celestia cleared her throat and went on with the ceremony.  
Chrysalis/Twilight, who was on stage with the rest of Luna's bridesmaids, looked down to Leon/Halo and nodded. He nodded back and slipped out. Beneath Chrysalis' dress, the knife glowed with a dim glow and slowly gained power as Celestia went on.

The scorpion lunged one of it's claws at her. She jumped up, landed on the claw, and ran up it towards the arachnid's face. The scorpion swung it's tail down and almost hit her. She easily dodged to the right and hooked one of her chakrams on it.  
The scorpion swung it's tail up at the ceiling and slammed her into it. She grunted in pain as her vision blacked out.  
She fell to the ground. The scorpion opened it's mouth wide, ready to eat her.  
Jax snapped her eyes open. "PSYCH!" she yelled out. Her chakrams glowed brown as she threw them into the scorpions gaping maw. "GROUND DASHER!"  
Hundreds upon thousands of stalagmites and stalactites burst out of the scorpions body, killing it.

End song.

Jax panted and dusted herself off. "well, that was fun. And pointless." Growling came from behind her. She grabbed her chakrams and turned to face it. "oh, crap." she said, recognizing what they were.

A super-duper fancy black carriage rolled up the path to Canterlot, being pushed by it's constructors.  
"Man, they are going to be surprised when they see this." Lloyd said.  
"I hope." Spyro said. "took forever to build it."  
"You never built a thing in your life, did you purple boy?" Fox asked.  
"No, not really, no."  
"and it showed." Riku laughed.  
"I don't hear any words of praise being sent your way." Lina said with a sneer. Zelgadis, Amelia, Gourry, Cynder, and Emil sighed with a groan as they held their faces.

The path left by the beacon lead the group outside.  
"SUNLIGHT! At last!" Sora exclaimed in happiness before falling over.  
"Never thought I'd see it again." Halo said as he joined her.  
"It's only been 9 hours." Ash said.  
Sora raised her arm up. "and you were asleep for most of it so shut up."  
Hiccup turned off the beacon and put it away. He looked up and saw the city. "Looks like we have to climb."  
"well, you get to fly." Twi said with a slight sneer.  
The pushed carriage rolled on by. Amelia took notice of them. "Oh, hey guys!" she called out to them. She stopped what she was doing and ran over to them. Everyone stopped pushing it and ran over as well. Zelgadis snapped his fingers, making blocks appear to hold it in place.  
"what are you guys doing out here? Shouldn't you be up at Canterlot?" Emil asked.  
"We would but it's a long story." Twi said. She looked on by and noticed the carriage. "looks like you were busy as well."  
"yeah. Took all week to build it." Cynder said.  
"Looks great." Ash said. "really. Trixie and Luna will love it."  
"right. So, again, what are you guys doing out here?" Lina asked. Not exactly a great time to be taking a leisurely stroll."  
Hiccup began to explain when a sudden and powerful explosion came from the tip-top of the mountain, cutting their conversation short. Everyone in the hall thought it was a firework that had gone off early and ignored it.

Begin Song: watch?v=_e7N0F4sPQ8 Falling Towards The Sky - Red vs Blue Season 9 OST

0:00.  
Rocks and boulders of considerable size fell from the explosion down to the ground far, far, far below. Among them was a unconscious Jax.

"but I think they can explain it well for now." Hiccup quickly said. He ran to Toothless, jumped onto his back, and shot off towards the falling rubble. Nobody need to ask; Toothless was the fastest among them.

Jax moaned as she opened her eyes and saw that she was falling. Worse among that was that their creatures moving among the rubble; creatures made entirely out of shadow shaped like ponies, humans, dragons, gryphons, and other miscellaneous monsters. The same Shadow Creatures that attacked Ponyville when she and her friends were stranded on Equestria.  
Her chakrams fell not far from her. She reached out to grab them when the Shadow Creatures attacked her.

0:31.  
Jax was able to grab it in time and slice it at the Shadow Creature, stabbing it in the neck and making it disintegrate.  
The other shadow creatures charged at her. She pressed her feet against one of the falling pieces and jumped off of it, falling away from the rubble and making sure the monsters won't get her. That part didn't work out so well as all versions of the creatures sprouted wings and flew after her.  
"Oh come on!" she exclaimed. Her chakrams glowed red. She let them go and they swung around her by themselves. "Flame Wheel!"  
The chakrams spun around like a wheel and shot up to the monsters, turning most of them into ash and soot.

1:10.  
Jax and the monsters fell past Canterlot first, catching the attention of those not at the wedding itself. The debris came next, some of it crashing into the edge of the city.  
Those attending the ceremony didn't notice it as it happened far from them.

A chain of magic connected her arm to one of her rings. She threw it up as hard as she could, grabbed one of the rocks, and pulled it toward her.  
She landed her feet squarely on it and slammed the other ring into it. "GROUND DASHER!"  
The rock broke into a million pieces, each other glowing brown, and each shot up at the Shadow Creatures, destroying most but not all.

The ground grew closer and closer. Jax already had a wind spell ready to go but she needed to time it right. It also didn't help that the Shadow Creatures were pushing the rubble.

A black blur came from the sides and caught Jax plenty of time before she hit. The rubble crashed into the ground, causing no damage to anyone.

"Toothless?" Jax exclaimed.  
"You surprised to see us?" Hiccup asked.  
"Not really." Red beams shot by them, one almost hitting Toothless' wings. "but keep flying." she ordered.  
Toothless concentrated and flew as fast as he could.

1:46.  
Toothless flew into a canyon with the Shadow Creatures not far behind them, each one firing a beam intended to kill them.

Jax lit one of her chakrams on fire and threw it at the Creatures. They easily dodged it but she didn't curse it out. She was planning on it to miss.

A Shadow Creature flew out from behind a mountain and caught them in their path. Toothless shot a fireball at it, destroying it and flying though it's remains.

A beam shot by and singed Jax's hair. That was the last straw. "Oh, you're going down now!" She exclaimed. She grabbed her only remaining chakram and concentrated power into it.  
"What are you doing?" Hiccup demanded.  
"Just keep flying!"  
The Shadow Creatures inched closer and closer to them both; they could feel the heat emanating from them.

Toothless flew out of the canyon and turned towards Canterlot. The creatures copied his move and continued to fire at them.

A rune appeared in the middle of the ring. Jax held it from the sides, holding it like how one would hold the rim of a pot. She aimed it at the Shadow Creatures.  
"JUDGMENT RAY!"  
A powerful beam on pure concentrated energy shot out of the chakram, hitting and instantly destroying the Shadow Creatures.

2:38. End Song.

Jax panted as she keel over onto Hiccups back. Toothless slowed down, allowing Hiccup to catch her. "what was that?"  
"My own version… of Req's Judgment Ray." she panted in reply. "it's not as powerful but it wears me out all the same."  
Hiccup sputtered. "not as powerful? You left a hole in the middle of the canyon we flew though."  
"True. But Req's would've destroyed the entire canyon and them some." she shook her head and concentrated. "enough about that." she turned around and held on tight. "We have to hurry. World to save, remember?"  
"Right. Toothless?"  
He didn't have to tell the dragon twice. He flew as hard and as fast as he could to the capital.

"…and do you, Trixie Lulamoon, take Luna to be your lawfully wedded wife?" Celestia asked. Oh, man. Battle took place over the entire ceremony. Aw, would've been boring, anyhow.  
"I do." she said with meaning.

Elsewhere in the castle, the flaming chakram Jax threw earlier bounced thought the castle.

"Then by the power vested in me as Ruler of Equestria, and Luna's older sister, I now pronounce you Mare and Wife."  
Chrysalis smiled evilly on the inside. The knife gained more power as it's trigger phrase neared. "you may now kiss the…"  
The flaming chakram burst into the room, bounced off the ceiling, and shot straight for Chrysalis/Twilight, hitting her and sending her right into the wall.  
"TWILIGHT!" all her friends yelled.  
The chakram bounced on back to the entrance to the room where it was caught by Sora, who was standing in the doorway with everyone else.  
"We didn't miss anything important, did we?"


	71. Fall

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

A Changeling's Lament

Chapter 6

Fall

"…and do you, Trixie Lulamoon, take Luna to be your lawfully wedded wife?" Celestia asked.  
"I do." she said with meaning. Luna smiled over to her almost wife. They're almost married. she can't believe it.

Elsewhere in the castle, the flaming chakram Jax threw earlier bounced thought the castle.

"Then by the power vested in me as Ruler of Equestria, and Luna's older sister, I now pronounce you Mare and Wife."  
Chrysalis/Twilight smiled evilly on the inside. The knife gained more power as it's trigger phrase neared. "you may now kiss the…"  
The flaming chakram burst into the room, bounced off the ceiling, and shot straight for Chrysalis/Twilight, hitting her and sending her right into the wall.  
"TWILIGHT!" all her friends yelled.  
The chakram bounced on back to the entrance to the room where it was caught by Sora. "We didn't miss anything important, did we?"  
"SORA, ARE YOU INSANE!?" Armor yelled.  
"Are you? The Twilight right there is an imposter."  
"What are you talking about? She's been here the whole time!"  
"you might want to rethink that, BBBFF." the real Twilight said as she walked in.  
"Wait? How…" Aura pointed back and forth between the two, confused as everyone else in the room.  
Chrysalis/Twilight moved the knife from behind her back and tossed it towards Celestia. A gunshot rang out and stopped the knife in it's tracks, leaving a gapping hole in the middle.  
"game's over." Ash said, pointing his gun at her.  
"it's happening again, isn't it?" a not very surprised A.J. said.  
Luna noticed something flying around outside, heading for them. Chrysalis/Twilight chuckled as she got up. "Guess it's time for Plan B."

Begin Song: watch?v=1eiX3b9ylLo Changeling Showdown ~Queen Chrysalis Boss Theme~ by youtuber KingSpartax37.

A stain glass window burst into pieces as Toothless flew though it.

Jax jumped off, landed upside-down on the ceiling, shouted 'INFERNO!' and shot towards Chrysalis/Twilight like a rocket. She rammed into her and the two were sent crashing though another window to the snow below, leaving a crater upon impact.  
A powerful green shockwave shot out of it, clearing out snow in a 50 feet radius and sending Jax flying into the castle wall. Chrysalis' disguise melted away as she angrily snarled. "Guess it was to much to ask of Scorponok to kill you."  
Jax snickered and wiped blood from her mouth. "well, villains never seem to take care of the good guys themselves. Always comes back to bite them in the ass."  
Chrysalis's horn tip glowed. "then I guess I have to rectify this myself." she fired a beam of green light at Jax's spot. She quickly moved out of the way and ran for dear life. The beam hit the base of the building, making a big explosion.  
Jax's other ring flew out of the building by itself and towards it's owner. She jumped up, caught it, and threw it towards Chrysalis. She moved slightly to the right, making it miss.

"Someone mind explaining just WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?" Trixie exclaimed, nearly throwing a temper tantrum.  
"Oh. Gee. Where do we begin?" Sora sarcastically said and callously said. She looked over to Twilight and let her take over.  
"Well, Chrysalis is launching a invasion; learning from her mistakes the last time she did this, she locked us up in the crystal caves with, what Jax said, a giant crystal scorpion…" she pretended to thing for this one. "…and, oh yeah, EDGE BETRAYED US!"  
"What? That's nonsense." Req said, dismissing it with a horse-like sputter.  
"He did. He's one of them. He's a Changeling!" Halo exclaimed.  
"No." Aura said. "he can't be. Right, Edge?" he looked over to him but he was already long gone. Same with Leon/Halo and Friction.

"FLAME WHEEL!"  
A wheel of flame, as the name implies, scorched across the gardens, making a beeline for Chrysalis. She used her magic to make the wheel dissipate before it even got close.  
Jax jumped though the embers, holding her chakrams above her. "THUNDER BLADE!" a sword make out of electricity appeared in her hands. She slashed down at Chrysalis, then left, then right. The queen dodged all 3 and bucked Jax in the gut, sending her towards the ground.  
A green whip shot out of Chrysalis' horn and wrapped around Jax's gut. With little effort, Chrysalis flailed Jax all over the place, slamming her into walls, statues, pillars, even the statue of a certain Draconequus.  
Chrysalis swung her over the edge of the city and let go of the whip. Jax clamored to loosen back up as she fell, barely having enough time to grab hold of the edge. One of her hands got loose and let got. She held on tight with her other one but holding the edge AND a sharp chakram can have it's limits.  
Chrysalis calmly walked over with a evil snicker and slammed her hoof into Jax's hand, causing a lot of pain.  
"You're more troublesome then Twilight. And I hate…" she dug her hoof in harder. "… people who give me trouble."  
Jax scoffed away the pain. "glad I could be of…" her dangling hand still held on to her chakram as electricity sparked though it. "…Service!" she swung her arm up and hit Chrysalis right in the cheek; the force from the spell sending her back a bit. Jax held on tighter as she pulled herself up.  
Chrysalis snarled as she held when Jax hit her; she scuffed up her natural beauty. "you will pay for that, you humanizing bitch!" her horn glowed and charged at Jax.  
A spell bolt shot by her head a nearly hit her. She screeched to a halt and looked at where it came from.

End Song.

The group stood there, ready to turn her into a distant memory. The spell bolt came from one very angry Trixie and a equally mad Luna. "You are going to pay for ruining our wedding." they both said.  
Celestia walked past them, horn glowing and ready to fire. "you are under arrest for crimes against my empire. Give yourself up calmly and you won't be hurt."  
Chrysalis snarled; her plan was unraveling. She had it all figured out. At least, that's the look she gave them. In her mind, this is how she wanted things to go. She looked up to the sky and saw a black speck growing much larger.  
"something's wrong here." Zel said. "Anyone else feel something's off?"  
"Yeah." Satoshi said.  
Chrysalis silently snickered to herself, then slowly grew to a soft chuckle, then just full out laughed. ".hmhmhmhmhmhm. Hehehehehehehehe! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"  
"Okay, she's lost it. Someone call the funny farm." Bahamut joked.  
Chrysalis stopped laughing and backed up to the edge. "You think this is over?" the tip of her horn glowed and shot a ball into the sky. It exploded like a firework, revealing to all the Changelings in the city that it's time to move. "Oh, it's not over! Not by a long shot!"

All over the city, Changelings in disguise revealed themselves and went about spreading total anarchy.  
One Changeling accidentally knocked over a torch, setting a fruit stand ablaze.

Screams and yells came from the city, getting everyone's attention. Smoke from the stand rose to the sky. Celestia snarled in anger.  
"Are you going to destroy the city to get your way?!"  
Chrysalis was pleasantly surprised by the fact that there was smoke. But, It pissed Celestia off so it worked for her. "why, yes I am. This city- no no no. this world is rightfully mine. And I will have it."  
Req drew her sword and pointed it at her. "not if we have anything to say about it."  
Chrysalis snickered as she feigned fear. "Oh, no. the human goddess is going to stop me. What am I ever going to do?" she finished with a wicked sneer. "Oh, I got something that has proven to be more then a match for you. Something capable of stranding the great and mighty humans."  
She looked up to the sky and spread her hooves. "Come, Mighty Oscurita!"

Begin Song: watch?v=6tMqUYXe6VI Hade's Infernal Theme - Kid Icarus: Uprising OST

The black spot Chrysalis saw in the sky fell down to them like a comet. The group backed up when they saw it coming.  
Wings extended out of it and slowed it down but it still fell past the city. A loud boom and a cloud of dust came from below.  
"oh, there's no way this is good." Lloyd said as he and the others began to back up.

Oscurita's massive hulking form rose from below and roared to the sky.  
"Oh, shit!" Ash exclaimed.  
Chrysalis laughed her head off. Her secret weapon already has them running in fear. Leon and Friction appeared next to her in flashes of green fire. Friction noticed that Edge wasn't with them. She teleported away and came back with him.  
"Thank you, Edge, forcing giving us the information necessary to launch this invasion." Chrysalis said, lying though her teeth.  
Edge looked away from them all, not wanting to see them when they broke loose with their anger.  
"What?" Dash gasped.  
"that's not true." Fluttershy said, not wanting to accept it. "He's our friend. There's no way he would betray us!"  
"oh, but it's true." Chrysalis walked over to Edge and panted him on the head. "Little Edgy here was sent to spy on you all along. And Fluttershy knew all along that Edge was a Changeling. Bahamut and Pinkie too. Even your Cutie Mark Crusaders knew that Edge was one of us. And they didn't warn you. How sad."  
Chrysalis grabbed Edge's head and turned it towards his former friends. They were angry at him; super angry.  
"How could you, Edge?" Req said.  
"you son of a bitch…!"  
Halo was the angriest. "When I get my hooves on you, you're gonna be sorry you were born!"  
Edge looked at all his friends before turning to Fluttershy. She was hurt that he would betray them. Hurt, and guilty; believe that she was the cause of this; of not telling anyone Edge was a Changeling in the first place, of breaking his heart when he told her his feelings. Of not being there for him.  
Chrysalis snickered as she let Edge's head go. "enough with the golden comedy. I got a world to conquer."  
"I won't let you win, Chrysalis!" Celestia proclaimed.  
"I'm afraid you don't have a choice, Tia." she turned her head and faced Oscurita. "Oscurita! It's time! Make Canterlot my OWN!"  
Oscurita roared and stretched out his wings.

End Song.

Begin Song: watch?v=H_5-Y2B7E-Y Invasion - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 OST

Beads and streams of shadow flew out of the monsters wings and headed to all parts of the city. A good number of them landed in front of the group and took on various forms; humans, dragons, ponies, gryphons, eels, and ETC.  
"Crap. Not again!" Aura said as he drew his lance. The creatures slowly headed for them, causing them to back up into a corner.  
Lina powered up a spell when Req stopped her. "wait. There's no way we can deal with this many numbers. And even if we do fight them off, we'll have to deal with him." she glanced up at Oscurita who snarled down at them.  
"then what do we do?" Derpy asked.  
Oscurita opened his mouth. A blue glow appeared in it and got brighter.  
"RUN!" Req yelled out. Oscurita fired his beam attack just as they all made a run for it. The beam hit the palace where the wedding took place, taking it out in a big and fiery explosion.

With the boundless Shadow Creatures running wild, Canterlot has effectively turned into hell on earth, causing plenty of fires and untold amounts of destruction throughout the city.

A spider Shadow Creature chased a family of ponies down into a alleyway. They held each other tight and closed their eyes, wanting to believe this was a just a nightmare. The Spider snarled and lunged at them.

Req sliced a human shadow creature in half as she made her way across the rooftops. When she arrived on this world, she never would've seen this coming; nobody would. To see such a peaceful and serine place go down in flames… this world doesn't need it.

Chrysalis laughed with glee as she watched this from on top of the palace with Edge, Leon, and Friction. Edge was horrified by the levels of destruction; Chrysalis wasn't like this before.  
"Do you see this, Edge? This is what I've been striving for all this time! This is the future of our species!"  
"by destroying theirs!?" Edge exclaimed.  
Chrysalis looked down at him with anger. "one day, you'll understand why war was the only option." she turned and left with Leon and Friction.  
Edge looked back at the city on fire. He hit his hooves to the cement. "Dammit! This is all my fault!" he exclaimed.

A dragon shadow creature moved in to kill the CMC who had found themselves trapped down a alley. They held each other close as the waited for the end. The dragon opened it's mouth, ready to blast them with it's own beam attack when it suddenly disintegrated.  
"Come on!" Jax exclaimed. "You wanna get eaten or do you wanna live?"

Soarin' punched though a Pegasi monster just before touching down near Celestia. "it's a mess. The entire city is on fire and overrun by those monsters. And for every one we destroy, 10 more take it's place." Celestia couldn't believe it. She looked up in horror to the city. Her Empire, her entire life's work, was getting destroyed. "what do we do know, your highness?"  
Although she was completely devastated that her empire had fallen, she had to keep up a calm outlook. She took a deep breath and exhaled, giving a order she never thought she would have to give. "evacuate the entire city to the train station! We're leaving Canterlot!"  
Soarin', stunned by the fact that Her Majesty would say that, reluctantly nodded. "yes, ma'am."

A giant crystal was hoisted to the top to the tallest tower in Canterlot. Chrysalis used her magic and slashed off the top, making ample room for it.  
"what is this, my queen?" Leon asked. He never heard of this thing's existence before.  
"A crystal, imbued with the same magic Cadence and Armor used to throw us out. turns out the crystals in the cave can absorb magic and gain power over the centuries."  
"but if it's the same magic used to throw us out, why did you bring it out?"  
Chrysalis snickered as her horn glowed for a second. "I made some modifications."  
The crystal clunked as it was positioned on top of the tower. Chrysalis walked over to it and placed her hoof on it. "Magic within the crystal, hear my words…"  
the gem stirred for a moment before shooting a pink beam into the sky. The beam hit a designated point and began to spread out a barrier similar to what Cadence and Armor did the last time Chrysalis tried to invade.

Satoshi, Ash, Sora, and Fox fired at the charging Shadow Creatures, keeping them at bay while citizens fled for the train station.  
"Keep moving! Keep moving!" Amelia exclaimed, pointing and gesturing where the station was.  
Req was the last one to arrive from all directions. She bent over and panted heavily. "is that everyone?"  
"no. there's more coming." Spitfire said as she flew over.  
Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash ran up, panting and nervous as hell. "you guys okay?" Req asked.  
"No. I can't fine Sweetie Belle anywhere." Rarity said with worry.  
"Same with Applebloom."  
"And Scootaloo & Eris."  
"There's also 4 dozen more unaccounted for." Spitfire said. "But they're making they're way here."  
A distant rumble got their attention. They looked up to see the pink beam shot up into the air and the barrier begin to take shape. "well, they better hurry."

Chrysalis laughed from atop the tower. Her plan had gone better then expected so she deserved a nice evil laugh.

The barrier rumbled as it drew closer to the ground.  
"They better hurry up!" Req exclaimed.  
"HEY!" Jax exclaimed. She, the CMC, and the rest of the citizens were making a beeline for the station, running as fast as they could. "Hold the ride!"  
"Hurry it up, hurry!" Emil exclaimed as he slashed at a Shadow Creature.  
The thunder from the barrier forced Jax to look up. There was no way they were gonna make it; it was too far along. She looked down at the CMC, who were right in front of her. If everyone inside are going to be prisoners of war, kids shouldn't be among them. She gripped her chakrams tightly, causing them to glow green.  
"WHIRLWIND!"  
A gust of wind shot out and carried the CMC away from the rest of the citizens and to the other side of the barrier.

Giddy with excitement, Chrysalis counted down how long till the barrier's edge hit. "3...2...1..."

The barrier touched the ground, sealing Canterlot forever to the outside. The rest of the citizens still on the inside slammed into it, hoping to get out. The barrier was impenetrable and they could, in no way, make a dent.  
They were sealed in.

End Song.

Several Pegasi rammed into the barrier a few feet above as some unicorns tried to blast it away with magic. No good.  
Jax slammed her chakrams into the barrier, each one powered up but they couldn't make a dent. "Dammit. This thing is strong." she said from the inside.  
"You can't break it?" Req asked.  
"Not even a dent. And something tells me Judgment Ray won't do it either."  
A bit of commotion came from the station. Derpy walked up to the barrier, asking anyone if they saw her daughter. When she arrived at the barrier, she saw that Dinky was trapped inside with everyone else. When Jax did the whirlwind spell, Dinky was sent flying into a barrel.  
"DINKY!" she yelled.  
"Mommy!"  
Derpy slammed against the barrier, trying to get her out.  
Jax slammed her fist against it in agony. Guess she didn't get all the kids out.

Oscurita heard Derpy's yell and looked over in her direction. Why was she slamming against the barrier? Why was she trying to get in?  
His Shadow Creatures, however, took this to mean something else and swarmed in that direction.

"This can't be happening! This can't be happening!" Derpy said over and over as she continued to slam against the barrier. She kept going until Req walked over and placed her hand on her shoulder. Derpy stopped and fell back. She can't be losing her Dinky, not like this. "why… is this happening…?" she distantly said.

Begin Song: watch?v=xLIJJngIUKA Courtyard Apocalypse - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 Soundtrack

A sudden explosion caught the attention of everyone inside the barrier. Legions upon legions of Shadow Creatures were converging on their location. Everypony screamed but Jax kept a straight face as her chakrams glowed.  
"Get going!" she told everyone outside.  
Req wasn't so sure she should. Trapped inside a indestructible barrier filled with ponies; that would be hell in pure hell. "Jax, I…"  
"I said get going!" she exclaimed. "I know I don't have the best history with horses but this is war. Hatred… *foof* …out the window." she turned her attention to the old grey mare. "Derpy. Trust me. I'll keep Dinky safe."  
Derpy was helped up by Rarity and Applejack and was carried by them both to the station. "you better." she said in a soulless tone as she left.  
Req felt uneasy about this. Jax looked to her and gave her a nod of confidence. Req slightly smiled and nodded back. "You better keep everyone safe."  
"I promise I will." Jax said with confidence. Req nodded and ran for the station. Jax walked to the front of the cowering group and readied for battle. "and I always keep my promises."  
A Shadow Spider jumped from a rooftop, heading straight for Jax.

Satoshi and Fox fired their guns at the advancing forces, keeping them at bay as everyone boarded the train. Applejack, Rarity, and Derpy were the last ones on. The conductor looked back to see if they missed anyone else and saw Req running for them, pursued by a flood of Shadow Creatures.  
"Get going!" she yelled out, summoning her wings. The conductor nodded and pulled the lever.

The train wheels squealed as they rolled forward rapidly before slowing down.

Satoshi and Fox waited until the last second before jumping onto the caboose.

Req spread her wings and took to the air just seconds before a Shadow Lion reached out to bite her. She landed on top of the caboose just as the train leaved the station.

When the train reached a safe enough distance, everypony opened the windows and looked out at the burning and war torn Canterlot. This was something nobody would've suspected; not even the Princess'.

End Song.

The train pulled away from the burning capital.  
Chrysalis watched them flee from the castle and smiled.  
" this day has been just perfect. The kind of day of which I dreamed since I was small… " she hopped onto Celestia's throne and got comfy. " Canterlot, I now control and soon the world will fall. who says a girl can't really have it all?! "


	72. Shadow

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

A Changeling's Lament

Chapter 7

Shadow

Jax grunted when she hit the floor. "A simple 'please move' would've worked!" she yelled to the Changelings. They left and slammed the door behind her. Jax snarled as she got up. She looked around and saw that she was somewhere she had never been to before. "Where am I?"  
The sound of clanking hoofs echoed though the throne room as our 'favorite' queen emerged from the shadows. "Celestia's former throne room."  
Jax instantly got angry and powered up a spell. "You!" she brought up her first to punch her with a fire-induced fist. Chrysalis just closed her eyes and chuckled.  
Overly big bracelets, strapped around Jax's wrists, glowed and sent pain throughout her body, making her yell out in pain and hold her hands in pain.  
"impressive, aren't they?" Chrysalis sneered. "magic-reducing bracelets. Once they go on, they can never come off. And I'm sure I don't have to tell you how it works."  
Jax grunted in pain as she held her hands. That was the most painful thing she had ever felt. "you are going to pay for this." she snarled.  
Chrysalis laughed at the prospect as she sat down on Celestia's throne. "so you say. But how? I am in control. I have taken away your powers. And Canterlot is in a indestructible barrier; you know that from experience. And to top it off, I have the most powerful being on the planet on my side. I can't lose! Guards!"  
The Changeling guards came in and grabbed Jax. "there's one problem with your plan, Chrisy." Jax said as she was dragged away. "you underestimate us."

The day turned to night as the train rolled over the tracks; each car filled to capacity and then some. It still hasn't sunk in for everyone, especially the princess'.  
Canterlot has fallen. The endless hordes of shadow sent by Oscurita overrun them all quickly.  
A uncomfortable silence fell over them. And unfortunately, Lina was the one to break it. "well… this is one wedding nobody will forget anytime soon, right?" Luna and Trixie, the newlyweds whose wedding was ruined by the invasion, gave her the evil eye. "hey, I'm just trying to liven the place up. Sheesh."  
"Well, we don't need you to do it." Trixie harshly said. Lina just shrugged and got up.

Celestia stood at the end of the caboose, looking at her burning capital.  
"You ever suspect something like this would happen?" Zel asked as he and Ash leaned on the caboose.  
"no. never in my life did I think Canterlot would fall. that my empire would fall."  
"You mean you never suspected this from Chrysalis?" Ash asked.  
"no. she tried before; and many before her, but nothing on this scale." she looked back to the capital and tears came to her eyes. All those ponies trapped inside the barrier. One can only imagine how much hell they're going though.

Begin Song: watch?v=MasDF71Rw-w Bee Rolls Out - Transformers: Fall of Cybertron OST

0:00.  
The smoke from the train's smoke stacks hovered on up into the sky, unexpectedly getting the attention of some creatures in the brush. One of them had a very noticeable scar over it's left eye.

"Barely 3 weeks here and already thing's have gone to hell." Lloyd said.  
"you should've been here 6 months ago." Aura said.

The train rounded a corner and rolled into a tunnel; the last one before returning to Ponyville.

A large person, clad in bulking black demonic-looking armor, walked onto the edge of a hill and pointed to the train; or rather the exit to the tunnel. The creatures snarled and jumped down.  
(picture for you guys of the black demon knight: . /_ )

"this is going to be a bad time for the baby to be born in." Cadence said, referencing to her baby which is due any day now.  
"Don't worry. The way we roll, we'll get the capital back and destroy Chrysalis in no time." Req said in her overly cheerful way.

The light from the tunnel reflected into the train's cars, illuminating the insides for a few seconds with each light.  
"Good way to get a seizure." Satoshi poorly joked.  
"Canterlot falls and you tell jokes?" a random pony angrily asked.  
"it's a coping mechanism. It helps."

The creatures climbed on the rock at the exit of the tunnel, waiting for it to come at them. One stuck his head in upside-down and saw it's light.

"When we get back to Ponyville, we're gonna need to think up a plan." Fox said.  
"yeah. But what can break though that barrier?" Riku muttered.

The train rolled out of the tunnel and onto the plains leading back to home. The creatures jumped down from above and landed on the cars.

Loud thuds could be heard on top of every car, confusing and frightening everyone inside.  
"can't be more of those Shadow Creatures, could it?" Halo asked.  
Req drew her sword and used it to open a door.

1:26.  
A creature came down though it and roared. It didn't last long as it was shot out by Riku's Dark Firaga.  
"What the heck is that?" Applebloom exclaimed.  
Req leaned down for a closer look. She recognized it instantly. "a Shadow Walker? Here?"  
"A what?" the ponies and newcomers asked. They never heard of one before.  
More footsteps came from the top, followed by vicious growling. Req gripped her sword tight and ran for the exit. She gripped her sword into top of the exit and swung on it to the top.  
A Shadow Walker hissed as it was landed on by her. She sliced across it's neck, cutting off it's head.  
It was a whole swarm that covered the train from engine to caboose. "Great. Add Gargoyles and Bonewalkers and I'd swear that Catalyst was back." she swung her sword and charged at them.

"Great. These guys again?" Aura complained, pulling himself from the cars to the top.  
"You know what they are?" Armor asked.  
"Yeah. Nothing friendly so don't even bother trying to talk to them." He lunged himself up and stabbed a Shadow Walker down though the head down to it's hip.

Before long, Ash, Sora, Bahamut, Riku, Emil, Lloyd, Spyro, Cynder, Zelgadis, and Lina joined in on the fight. Everyone else stayed inside to keep an eye on everyone.  
"whoa! These guys are ugly!" Lina exclaimed.  
"Then take them out before they turn you into dinner." Ash said. He charged head first into one, flipped onto it's back, and fired at it's neck.

Lloyd and Emil found themselves surrounded by Shadow Walkers. They looked at each other and came up with the same idea. They spun around in a circle, swords outward, and both yelled out 'Demon Fang!' a blue shockwave shot out of their swords and went in all directions, eliminating all Shadow Walkers near them.

Lina and Zel stood back to back, battering on what spell would be most effective in this situation.  
"Thinking what I'm thinking?" Zel asked.  
"Yep."  
A Shadow Walker snarled and jumped towards them. Both Zel and Lina performed the same spell. "Dig Volt!" lightning shot out from their palms, striking every monster near them.

From within the cars, the fighting sounded furious. Screams of death and inhuman roars scared the kids and forced families to hold each other close.  
"Wish I knew what was going on up there." Aura gritted though his teeth.

2:37.  
The person in the black armor walked out on thin air and approaching the tracks.  
With a flick of his left wrist, he summoned out a wicked looking black demon sword and rose it into the air.  
A spark came from the hilt, creating a beam of light that extended out 30 feet.

"what in Tartarus is that?" the train engineer muttered, he and his companion noticing the blade beam.

The armored foe swung the blade backwards, taking up a pose like Starkiller's from Force Unleashed, and swung it.

2:54.  
The sword missed the engine on purpose and hit the train cars. The entire thing bounced and rattled when it first hit.  
"What was that!?" Pinkie exclaimed.  
Applejack looked up and saw it. "un… you might wanna see this."  
The blade cut though the top of the cars like they were butter, taking off the roofs and leaving one long gaping hole.

The roofs snapped off like legos as the train ran into it, creating a violent uproar.  
"Look out!" Req yelled. She jumped up to avoid the coming attack. Most of the others did as well. Ash and Riku weren't so lucky as they got caught in it and sent flying away with the metal.  
Req flipped in mid-air and snapped her fingers. See-though blue barriers were put in place of the roofs, making a safe place for everyone to land.  
"what the hell was that?" Sora yelled.  
"Trouble."

The sword beam disappeared into thin air. The armored person scoffed and disappeared in black fire.

A Shadow Walker was pierced though the heart and disintegrated into darkness.  
"Was that the last one?" Bahamut panted.  
"looks like. Never thought we'd see those here." Satoshi said from inside.  
"You know what they are?" Marble asked.  
"Trouble. That's all you need to know." Req said. She turned and headed back to the ladder. "right now, be glad they're all-" Req was interrupted when she walked into something. She slowly looked up at the head of the armored behemoth. "…gone?"  
The badass grabbed Req by the neck and held her up. He turned around and kicked her off the side.  
"Req!" her friends yelled.  
The armored behemoth turned to them and summoned his sword. "uh-oh." Lloyd said.

Req hanged on to the ladder of the second-to-last car for dear life.

Lloyd yelled as he charged at the demon-looking opponent. He blocked one of his swords but the other hit the armor. It hit and just bounced off.  
"What?" Lloyd gasped in surprise.  
The black knight chuckled and grabbed Lloyd's sword. He spun around and sent him flying off.  
Bahamut and Spyro came flying in from two different directions; Bahamut coated in azure fire, Spyro in rock. The 2 slammed into the knight but that proved to be a bad idea.  
"ow…" they both said in pain, holding their heads.  
The knight tossed his sword up into the air, grabbed both their tails, and just like Lloyd, sent them flying off the train. The knight grabbed his sword just as Zel charged him and blocked his attack.  
The two had a brief sword fight before the knight hit Zel with the flat of his blade, knocking him out cold. 3 for 3, he kicked Zel off the train.  
"Gaav Flare!" Lina yelled. Fire shot out of her hands and struck the knight. To make things bad, the knight sliced though the fire, grabbed Lina, and tossed her overboard.

4:04.  
Emil charged from behind and almost stabbed the knight in the back but he quickly moved to the side and karate-chopped Emil in the back.  
Cynder flew down from above and shot poison at him. The knight raised his hand and blocked it. He grabbed Cynder's tail as she flew over and flung her into Emil. Thankfully, he side-stepped in time, making her the only one to get flung.  
Unfortunately, the knight spun around once and sent a pulse of Darkness at him. Emil slammed his sword into the barrier, trying to hold on but the pull was too much and he was forced to let go.

4:22.  
"Whoa!" Req pressed herself against the side to avoid getting hit by Emil. She grunted as she swung her arm up and grabbed a metal rod.

4:35.  
Inside, Aura grabbed his lance and headed for the exit to face this over-powered monstrosity.  
Inside the armor, the knight smirked as he raised his right hand and snapped his fingers. Everyone inside all the train cars froze where they stood, sat, ETC. all except for one lavender unicorn.  
"what's going on?" Twilight worriedly said, her, for some reason, being the only moving. Heavy footsteps came from above. She looked up and saw the knight slowly walk over. The sword in his hands disappeared. Twilight was still afraid. She's worried he came for her.  
He snapped his fingers and, sure enough, she is his target. Invisible whips tied around her and lifted her up into the air. She grunted in pain as she tried to get loose but the bonds were too tight.  
The knight turned around and disappeared as quickly as he appeared. Twilight as well.  
Req, who was still hanging on, saw them teleport away and got mad. She pulled herself up and ran to the front of the train.

5:21. End Song.

Twilight reappeared in a flash of light in a confined wooden house that clicked and clacked. She was in the caboose of the train. She saw the night standing there, not doing anything.  
"What do you want with me?" Twilight asked.  
The knight reached into it's pouch and pulled out a pocket watch. Twilight confusingly looked at it then back to the knight. "my arrival has nothing to do with you." he slowly walked over to her but stopped when Twi powered up her magic.  
"stay back. I've got months of pent up magic ready to come out."  
The knight scoffed and snapped his fingers. Like before, invisible whips tied around her and rose her into the air. He slowly walked over to her. "why are you doing this?" Twi grunted.  
The knight stood there in silence for a moment. "to save your world." he brought up his left pointed finger and touched Twi's forehead with it, making her enter a trance.

Eris coughed as she rubber her neck. Req had just broken everyone out of their little frozen state when she figured out what spell that guy used.  
"Who was that guy? How did he do that?" Dash asked.  
"I don't know. But he took Twilight somewhere."  
A angry Halo looked out the window as the train rounded a bend and saw light coming from the caboose. "And I think I know where."

Begin Song: watch?v=Z4jzASp7s2w Awakening - Halo 4 OST

0:00.  
The watch glowed bright as green light wisped out of in and towards Twilight's stomach. As she is in a trance, Twi isn't fighting back and trying to stop him.

The glow from the watch stopped…

0:32.  
…and Twilight fell to the floor, regaining consciousness and coughing. The watch disappeared and the knight turned to leave.  
A blast of magic shot though the caboose, tearing up the wood between it and the knight. He brought up his sword and blocked it.  
"Get away from my girl, you prick!" Halo exclaimed, horn glowing bright.

1:08.  
The knight lowered his sword, got angry, and slowly walked over to him. Halo thinks this might've been a bad idea. The knight flipped his sword and pointed it at the unicorn when he was suddenly picked up and slammed into the barrier roof.  
He rolled over and saw Requiem falling towards him with her sword raised high. He quickly got on his hands and flipped back, avoiding her attack.  
"huh. You're surprisingly nimble." Req smugly said as she took her battle pose. "well, I'm just as nimble." the Knight gestured her to attack, which she did.  
She charged in and raised her sword up. The knight just stood there but raised his sword. The two blades slammed into each other, creating a bit of a shockwave that flattened everyone in the car they were on.  
Sparks flew between the blades as each tried to one up the other. The knight let his right hand go of the sword and summoned up another weapon. He slashed up at her, catching her off guard and hitting her in the cheek, making her fall. the knight sent the other weapon and away and raised his sword to stab her.  
"Illumination!" Req yelled out.  
A ball of light appeared and flashed as bright as the sun, temporarily blinding the knight and everyone else.  
When the light dissipated, the knight looked and saw that Req had disappeared.  
"Ethereal Rift!"  
A X-shaped beam of light shot from the direction of the engine, heading towards the knight. He just raised his sword and let it hit the point of it, causing to activate prematurely.

2:25.  
True to it's name, the Ethereal Rift caused a rift to appear in real-time, sucking everything in like a black hole.  
Everyone in side the cars held on for dear life as the spell did its work.

Aura grunted as he glanced up at the rift. He aimed his lance and fired a stream of Sol-fire into it. The rift grew red-hot and exploded, creating a LOT of smoke.

2:55.  
With one swing of his sword, the knight sent the smoke away. Req landed on his shoulders and slashed down at his head. Like with Emil's blade, it bounced off and wiggled.  
The knight grabbed her sword by the blade and swung Req off of him.

3:20.  
Req landed on her back but quickly got up to attack him again but felt the sword missing. She looked back to the knight to see it in his hands. He flipped it around, grabbed the handle, and swung it above his head.  
Requiem was deathly surprised that he is able to wield it; normally, it would shock anyone that wasn't a god or goddess into a coma. "how is he able to…" she shook her head and snapped out of the shock. No time for that now.  
She saw that Emil's sword was still sticking out of the train. She reached over, grabbed it, pulled it out, flipped it backwards, and charged at the knight.  
The knight scoffed. He flipped Nexus Ultimus backwards, and used it to counter her attack.  
The force sent Req rolling back a few cars. "Damn. He's tough." she looked him over, hoping to find a weak spot, and saw anchors coming from his feet, grounding him to the barrier. "lucky for me, I'm quick."  
She flipped onto her feet and quickly bolt for the enemy. He powered up both swords and sent a powerful sword beam her way. She jumped, landed on her back, and slid under the beam and himself. She swepted under his feet, knocking him over. She slashed up at him then a hard slam down.  
Nexus Ultimus slipped out of the knight's fingers and bounced to another car. Req slammed Emil's sword down on the knight's arm and ran over to her blade. She jumped over, rolled, grabbed it, and took her battle pose again.  
The knight pulled Emil's sword out of his arm and tossed it towards the caboose, where it hit and stuck.

4:15.  
He got up, smirked, and summoned up his other weapon; a wicked looking Pole-Ax.  
Req just smirked and got cocky. "You want to play the duel-wielding game? Fine." sparks shot between her left and right hand as Nexus Ultimus split into two; the blue-bladed angel sword Nexus and the red-bladed demon sword Ultimus. "I can play that game, too."  
She ran towards the knight, dragging the swords behind her, as the knight prepared.

4:31.  
Req spun around and slammed both blades into his own. The knight swung his sword and almost hit her in the head but she ducked. She jumped back and sent forth a few fireballs to hit him. The knight swung his Pole-ax, blocking the fireballs, and hit her in the left shoulder, cutting deep.  
Req grunted in pain but kept on the offensive. She jumped over the knight and kicked him in the back. He stuck his sword into the barrier, grabbed Req's foot, and slammed her into the barrier.

4:53.  
The knight grabbed his sword and dragged it across the barrier, lighting it on fire. He swung up and hit Req in the chest, sending her flying back into the back of the coal car.  
The knight swung his sword to the left, making the fire disappear. He slowly walked over, confident that this will be the last time he'll see her.  
Wrong-o.  
A blast of white light came from her location. She hovered just inches above the train, angel wings out the back and sword and body glowing.  
"you made a big mistake bucko." she angrily said as her two blades formed back into one.  
The knight scoffed as he pointed his pole-ax towards her. He always wanted a challenge.

5:41. End Song.

"That hurt." Emil groaned as he and everyone else got up.  
"That guy was tough." Zel groaned as he cracked his neck. "surprised he was able to knock me out."  
A flash of light caught their attention, breaking up their little talk. They looked to see the light move and head towards Ponyville.  
"uh-oh. I think that guy pissed off Req." Ash laughed. "he's gonna get it now. Once Req goes full-out goddess, we can say good-bye to the bad guy."

Begin Song: watch?v=iw8lh0TDpxw Chasing Prince Ahmet - Assassin's Creed Revelations Unreleased OST

0:00.  
Req yelled as she was sent flying into the engines smoke stack. A whip came out of the knight's hands, wrapped around her waist, and pulled her down towards the barrier, which she hit hard on her back.  
Her angel wings disappeared and the glow dissipated as cuts bled from everywhere on her body.

0:16.  
The knight slowly walked over, bloody sword in hand. Like before, everyone inside the cars were frozen from a spell of his. Only their eyes and nervous systems worked, giving them complete awareness.

The knight reached the bloodied and beaten goddess and smirked.  
"not how I remember it our last encounter, Serenity." He raised his sword high.

Req struggled to move but was too injured to do anything. She was completely at his mercy.  
The knight raised his sword as high as he could and…

0:48.  
…Stabbed down into Req's shoulder. She grunted in pain as he made sure it was in good and tight. He lifted her up off the barrier. Blood dripped down and splattered on the barrier.  
"so disappointing, Serenity."

1:04.  
He swung hard and sent Req careening towards the caboose. She hit it hard, causing it to collapse on top of her. The knight smirked and started to walk to her when the sudden appearance of sunlight caught his attention. He looked to the east and saw that the sun was, in fact, rising. And without the princess working her magic.

1:22.  
"Well, how do you like that?" he snickered. "the sun is rising. And without help from you." he said to Celestia. "how intriguing."  
He returned his attention to Req. "You're lucky that I had a time limit, Serenity, or else this would've ended a lot differently."  
The mysterious and deadly black knight disappeared in dark fire, leaving them all.

1:39. End Song.


	73. Out with the Old

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

A Changeling's Lament

Chapter 8

Out with the Old…

Orochi sat on a chair in a dark room carving a potato when the Dark Knight appeared and walked though it.  
"you just know how to cause trouble." Aqua said. The knight stopped in his tracks and looked over to the human body. "you just can't contain yourself. It like trouble is all you know." the knight started to leave when Orochi tossed the knife into the wall in front of him.  
"We're talking to you, Tsylatac." Tenebrae said. "you know, you didn't have to do all that."  
"Although I am surprised to see that you were able to wound Requiem to near death." Fulmen added.  
Tsylatac pulled the knife out of the wall and flipped it in his hands. With a flick of his wrist, he threw it back to Orochi and walked off. "but I must ask; what was with the watch?" Glacies asked. Tsylatac ignored him and walked off. "always so mysterious. Never says anything more then a full sentence."

Chrysalis hummed to herself as she gave herself a hoof-icure. She had taken over Canterlot in less then 2 days; less then 20 minutes with the actual invasion, so she deserves to look pretty. Unfortunately, the feeling from this little 'look pretty' deal is sending shivers down her spine.  
"this feels… wrong." she threw the nail file out the nearest window. "I'm not sure why Ponies think they need to look pretty."  
Not long after taking over Canterlot, Chrysalis and her forces quickly went to work turning the city into something more familiar to them. And Chrysalis, being the queen that she is, choose the best room in town for her own; Celestia's own private quarters. She made a few… tweaks to it to make it more accommodating to Changelings. She still had some work to do, like getting most of the furniture out of there.  
She started to use her magic to move a desk when a drawer fell out and landed on the floor. Curious, she put the desk down and grabbed the drawer. She noticed letters upon letters within them. She grabbed a few and read them.

'Dear Princess Celestia,  
I have learned a very valuable lesson about friendship: I was so afraid of being thought of as a showoff that I was hiding a part of who I am. My friends helped me realize that it's okay to be proud of your talents, and there are times when it's appropriate to show them off... Especially when you're standing up for your friends.'

'Dear Princess Celestia,  
When you first sent me to Ponyville, I didn't know anything about friendship. I met somepony tonight who was having the same problem - your sister, Princess Luna! She taught me that one of the best things you can do with friendship is to give it to others, and help them find it themselves! And I'm happy to report that all of Ponyville has learned that even though somepony seems a little intimidating, even scary, when you offer them your friendship, you'll discover a whole new pony underneath. And even if my Star Swirl the Bearded costume didn't go over, this still turned out to be the best Nightmare Night ever!'

'Dear Princess Celestia,  
Today I learned a great lesson about friendship. Well, you might think that it would feel good to get lots and lots of stuff, but it doesn't feel nearly as good as giving something special to somepony you really care about. But I learned that it truly is better to give than to receive, and that kindness and generosity are what lead to true friendship. And that's more valuable than anything in the world. Well... almost anything.'

'Dear Princess Celestia,  
Sometimes it can be hard for a shy pony like me to stand up for myself. When I first tried it, I didn't like the pony I became, but I learned that standing up for yourself isn't the same as changing who you are. Now I know how to put my hoof down without being unpleasant or mean.'

Chrysalis looked at them weirdly. "What are these things?" she grabbed the drawer and took another look, trying to fine what they are. She looked on the front and saw it. "Friendship Reports?" Chrysalis scoffed as she looked though the rest. "Why would Celestia be so focused on someone's friendship status? It's not like this is Mane-book or anything."  
The doors to the room opened wide and two Changelings walked in, dragging another behind them. "we have brought Mirror's Edge, your highness."  
Chrysalis threw the drawer to the side, crashing it against the wall. "excellent. Leave him and wait outside." the two bowed and left, closing the door behind them. Chrysalis walked over to Edge as smugly as she could. "Edge, Edge, Edge." Edge sadly looked away, not wanting to look at anyone right now. "Thanks to you, Canterlot is ours and Equestria will soon fall. so, I must ask and ponder, why would you try to… what's the expression the humans use… 'off yourself'?"  
Edge still looked away but closed his eyes. "why do you care?"  
"I care because you are one of my top soldiers. It was thanks to you that I… we were able to take Canterlot."  
"whoop-de-doo." Edge sadly said sarcastically.  
Chrysalis didn't need to be psychic to finally figure out the problem. "Oh. Is this because of that little yellow Pegasus? Fluttershy, I believe she was called? Don't tell me you still love her even after she broke your heart?"  
"It's not just her. It's all my friends. I betrayed them all and… and…"  
Chrysalis rolled her eyes and sighed. "I don't have time for this. Either you put all that behind you or else I'll have to take drastic measures." Edge ignored her. He wasn't going to forget about it that easily. This was going to haunt him till he died. Chrysalis got angry. "fine. You leave me no choice. Guards!" the 2 Changelings who brought Edge walked back in. "it seems Edge is going to be a problem. Take him down to the dungeons and Purge him."  
That scared him. "no. no no no, not that!" Edge pleaded.  
"you left me no choice, Edge. Time has come for you to join us once again."  
the 2 Changelings grabbed Edge and pulled him away. He struggled to get free but they had him tight. "No no no! anything but that! No." Chrysalis turned and looked out the window.

Edge was strapped to a green crystal deep in the dungeons. "No. please, let me go! Please!" he pleaded. He didn't want to be purged and the Changelings assigned to this didn't want him to be either.  
"Sorry, Edge, but you did give her no choice." a sadistic Changeling said.  
A scared Edge and thought back to Fluttershy and his friends. They were about to go away. A single tear fell down his face as it began.

"no. No. NO! AH! AAAAAHHHHH! GGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Dinky depressingly sat in a corner, away from everyone. She was all alone in this mess; her mom was gone, her friends were gone, she believes that nobody else will comfort her. She's all alone. All she had was the necklace with the golden ring her mom gave her.  
Jax, meanwhile, sat in a corner as well. Not because she was sad but because she wasn't keen on getting friendly with equines. She wasn't going to get friendly any time soon.  
Not long after Canterlot was taken over, everyone still trapped inside were sent into the dungeons till Chrysalis could think of something good to do with them.  
"DIIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAA!"  
That loud yell put everyone on edge, leaving some to wonder who was the unlucky shlub. It also forced Dinky to run into Jax's arms.  
"I'm scared." she shakingly said.  
Jax kept her arms away from Dinky, not wanting to touch her at all. Though, she knows the feeling. She was scared too. Being separated from her friends, her weapons. Not being able to use her magic. She brought her wrists to her eyes and looked at the bracelets Chrysalis had forcibly put on her. She had never felt so helpless.  
Eventually, a few Changelings came down from above and opened all the cell doors. "Come. Our queen wants to see you all."

Jax was thrown into the gardens and landed in a pile of rubble. Chrysalis had ordered everypony to be taken to the town square. Jax believes she figured out why.  
The entire city was decimated; you could hardly tell it was a city anymore, more like bombed out ruins. Every building was destroyed, the streets were cracked and cratered, trees and plants are lifeless, every animal had been silenced. It's like a nuke had come down on the city.  
"Damn." Jax gasped. The ponies all whimpered at the devastated sight. To see the capital of the empire come down like this… they don't even know if everyone who escaped are okay. Everypony had someone special in these dark times; lovers, significant others, children. Everypony but Dinky. Jax saw her sitting alone and felt sorry for her.  
2 Shadow Creatures appeared from the ground and snarled at them, scaring everyone but Jax.  
2 Changelings appeared from the sky. One cleared his throat. "May I present your new ruler, Empress Chrysalis."

Begin Song: watch?v=Xtlalymx848 Full of Unrest - Tales of Vesperia OST

A floating platform powered by those same crystals as in the caves and for the barrier shield, came floating down, Chrysalis on top of it.  
"Citizens of Canterlot. I… am your new ruler. Celestia is dead. Your friends and family have abandoned you. And your beloved heroes, and those Elements of Harmony, are no more. There is a new order and it is my order. Serve me well and reap the benefits. Don't and… well, you'll be Purged." the Changelings shivered in fear when they heard that, giving reason to believe that being Purged isn't exactly pleasant.  
A young earth pony filly grabbed a rock and tossed it at Chrysalis, hitting her in the head. The Shadow Creatures snarled and moved to attack him. "Hold!" she ordered. The Shadow Creatures listened and backed off. "there are always those who would reject a new rule. It'll pass."  
"and what happens if we don't want your rule?" a male unicorn asked.  
Chrysalis' mouth sneered wide. "I'm glad you asked." Leon and Fracture walked up to the crowd, dragging a badly injured honor guard behind them. The crowd gasped in fear and slowly backed up, everyone but Jax that is. "This guard continued to fight us even after Canterlot was sealed within. But, even the toughest have to rest."  
"what are you going to do to him?" Jax asked.  
"Me? Oh, no no no. I'm not gonna do anything to him."  
"you're not?" Jax asked in surprise. That was surprisingly kind.  
"No. he is." she pointed down to the opening.  
A Changeling, holding himself in high regard, walked towards them, wearing some high society armor, slowly walked into view. Chrysalis evilly snickered as he walked in and the Ponies backed up in fear.  
Dinky recognized the Changeling, even in all that armor. "Edge?" Mirror's Edge stopped just a few feet away from the prisoner and waited. "Edge!" Dinky happily exclaimed. She ran over and hugged him. "oh, it's so good to see you!" Edge just stood there, not moving a muscle. Dinky happily looked up at him and saw something that turned that smile into a expression of fear. Edge's eyes were soulless and lifeless. Worse still, he doesn't remember her. She let go and slowly back up in fear, trying to hold back some tears.  
"I'm afraid he won't be the same Changeling you know anymore, Dinky." Chrysalis evilly snickered. "for you see, he was Purged. And he now follows my every order." Edge's glowed green for a moment. Dinky reached Jax and grabbed her leg out of fear. Jax didn't stop her; she was afraid as well. "General Mirror's Edge. Kill the guard."  
Edge's horn glowed and pointed it at the guard. Mothers grabbed their kids and held them. A flash of green light followed as Edge killed the guard off-screen. Dinky cried and buried her face into Jax's leg.  
"Anyone who opposes me will face a fate far worse then what the guard had got." Chrysalis declared. "I'm sure the family of Sun Frail will be saddened to hear that their husband and/or father was killed." she turned to her guards and nodded. "from this moment on, you will work in the Crystal Caves down below Canterlot and mine them for us. Anyone who fails to do their duty will be killed in a matter worse then the guard."  
The guards circled the prisoners and lead them away. Jax looked back at Mirror's Edge, not believing that he would do that. For a moment, she saw his eyes go back to their original color.


	74. The Sacking of Ponyville

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

A Changeling's Lament

Chapter 9

The Sacking of Ponyville

"it is so nice to have you back, general." Chrysalis said to Edge as she sat on the throne.  
Edge bowed to her. "It's good to be back, my queen. Several weeks on leave really did me some good. I feel better already."  
"I'm glad. I always need my best at top strength."  
A Changeling came in and whispered into Edge's ear. He nodded when he heard the report. "I'll be back soon, my queen. Got some personal business to take care of." Edge bowed to her and left.  
Friction was confused. A few weeks vacation? He was living with ponies for 5 months. "um… my queen. What happened to him?"  
Chrysalis smiled. "impressive, isn't it? Purging someone can do quite a number of things to them. One of them being erasing memories."  
"Erasing Memories?"  
"repression, actually. Edge has no memory of the past 6 months. He doesn't remember being taken in by Ponies; he doesn't remember the wedding of Trixie and Luna… he doesn't even remember his love for Fluttershy. He's exactly who he was before all that; a completely sadistic general of the Changeling forces."  
Friction remembered her Purge. It wasn't exactly a pleasant experience. She can only imagine having your memory erased and your brain messed with. Edge walked back in with a couple of Changelings behind him. "how'd it go?" Chrysalis asked.  
"my forces are ready for my command. They know I'm back at the ready."  
"Good." Chrysalis got up from the throne and slowly walked alone the right side of the room. "now… we need a good first target." she noticed something out the window and looked at it with a snicker. "and I know just the place; that innocent little hamlet…" she crushed a bug with her hoof, staring out towards the town that lies not far from Canterlot.

Satoshi looked though a telescope at the capital, hoping to see something. Out of everyone, he had the best eye-sight. He has to since he's the pilot of Orion.  
"Well? How's it look?" Fox asked, sitting on the railing of Twilight's balcony.  
"well…" Satoshi tinkered with the sights. "there's some fires here and there; I'm guessing bon fires creating by the prisoners. Other then that, nothing. I can't see a thing other then that pink barrier." he sat away from the telescope and softly hit it on the lens, causing it to spin. "if Orion was fixed, it'd probably be gone by now."  
"how long till it is fixed?" Applejack asked as she walked up to the balcony.  
"we're just about there. Just need to connect the wires to the main control console and she'll be able to fly. But until we get that device was stolen from us by that monster, we're stuck on this world."  
"as long as it can fly, we'll have a advantage." Celestia said as she walked up to the balcony. "we'll have something Chrysalis won't have."  
"yeah, but Orion got totaled when it went up against that giant monster."  
The princess had an idea on how to deal with that. "I think I know how to fix that." Celestia said with a wink.

"OW! Not so tight!" Req exclaimed.  
Her fight with the knight had left had badly injured with a few broken bones in her arms, legs, and chest, as well as a ton of cuts and bruises. She's lucky she got out alive. Currently, she's being bandaged by Twilight, Cadence, and Nurse Redheart.  
"if you didn't want it tight, you shouldn't have gotten injured." Redheart commented, bandaging Req's arm.  
"don't blame me, blame that knight guy." Req angrily muttered. She looked to Twi, who was getting some rags wet. She moved her attention to Twi's prego belly. "did you even figure out what the knight wanted with you?"  
"no. I didn't see what he did to me. Once he stuck me in that trance, I lost all connection. I'm not sure how he did it but… I think he took my soul out of my body."  
"He did what?" Cadence gasped.  
"I wouldn't be surprised." Req said. "I know… knew a few people who were capable of doing that. They don't take it out, they just… what was the term Gabs used… disconnect it for a few seconds."  
"Whatever the case, it felt… wrong. I just hope he didn't hurt Starlight."  
"You and me both." Cadence said. "I want to meet my niece or nephew one of these days."  
"Speaking of which, when do I meet mine?" Twilight asked, carrying the rags over.  
Cadence chuckled. "anyday now. I'm a bit anxious."  
"you wouldn't be the first mother to be on edge." Req joked.

Eris laughed as she ran though town, dragging a piece of cloth behind her. Her pursuers weren't having a good time.  
"ERIS!" The CMC yelled as they ran after the baby Draconequus. "Stop running!" Eris ignored them and continued to run.  
"why does she do this?" Sweetie Belle whined.  
"I don't know." Scootaloo replied.  
Eris ran out of town and towards Fluttershy's cottage. Applebloom dived to catch her but missed and slid into a tree, causing snow to fall on her. Eris stopped at Fluttershy's door and swung the cloth though the air.  
"*heavy panting* she… is… fast… for a kid…" Pipsqueak panted.  
Applebloom stuck her head out and spit snow out. She noticed the house and got confused. "Why are we here?"  
Sniffling came from somewhere with everyone leaving to believe it came from Eris. "I don't know, but I think Eris is crying that we caught her." Feather Weight said as he flew over to her.  
Applebloom hit snow out of her ears and shook her head. She heard the sniffling but didn't hear it coming from Eris. "I don't think it's her." she got out of the snow and shoot it off. "I think it's coming from inside the cottage."  
"The cottage?" the rest asked. Yep, they heard it coming from there.  
Curious, Scootaloo opened the door.  
Fluttershy silently cried her heart out as she held a picture close. "Fluttershy?" 'Shy heard Scoots ask, sniffled, and wiped her eyes, replying with a cracked voice. "S-Scootaloo… what are you doing here?"  
She and the rest of her friends came in. Eris ran in and jumped onto Fluttershy's couch. "why are you crying?"  
"Crying?" Fluttershy wiped her eyes again. "I-I wasn't crying."  
"yes you were." Sweetie Belle said. "we heard you outside. Plus, there's still tears rolling down your face."  
Fluttershy touched her face and felt them. "o-oh. I see that I was."  
"Are you okay?"  
Eris, in her silent genius, quickly took the picture out of Fluttershy's hoofs and landed it to a confused Scootaloo. "Eris!" Fluttershy exclaimed.  
Not really sure what's going on, Scootaloo looked at it and recognized a very familiar Changeling. "is this Edge?" Fluttershy forcefully took it back from Scoots and held it close. " 'Shy?"  
Fluttershy sadly looked away from them, only muttering one sentence; "I miss him."

Chrysalis chuckled as her Changelings made the P.O.W.'s gather in the Canterlot gardens.  
"Now what, another execution?" Jax asked, still as confident as before.  
"oh, no no no no no." Chrysalis smiled as a crystal came down from above. She flickered to live, showing Ponyville. "it's time for a feature presentation. I call it 'the fall of a empire.'"

A sudden and loud explosion echoed though town, shaking every building and breaking every window.

Begin Song: watch?v=FYJW2hdbqNg The Hunted - Assassin's Creed Revelations OST

More followed after it, crashing around the town and encircling in a ring of fire.

"What the hell?" Aura exclaimed.  
Wisps of shadows moved along the ground, out of the fire and making their way towards town. A Shadow Lion burst out of the ground and landed on top of Aura. He struggled to get the lion off but he couldn't it with it trying to get at his neck.  
A blast of magic shot it off as Lina ran over, fireballs ready to go. "you gonna lie there or are you going to fight?"  
Aura quickly got up and grabbed his lance. "duh. Fight."

"not again." Celestia gasped as she looked at the ring of fire surrounding the town. She fell to her knees in shock. "This can't be happening again."

Satoshi ran as far as he could out of the town and towards Orion. If this was a attack, and if they lose, he wasn't going to let them take the blueprints.

A platform crystal hovered over the fire. a certain general sat on top, giving orders. "Encircle the town. Make sure no one leaves. Our queen want's prisoners!" Edge ordered. He looked down at the town and saw Sugarcube Corner. Something flashed in his mind, causing him to hold it pain. "why does this town… feel familiar?"

Ash twirled his guns as he fired in all directions, giving the citizens time to flee. Spyro grunted as he hit the ground next to him. "That hurt."  
"This is unprecedented, don't you think?" Ash asked him.  
"It's war. They never give warnings."  
"True." Ash shoved Spyro out of the path of a Shadow Rhino. He shot it in the head, killing it and making it disperse into darkness.  
"nice shot."  
"I aim to please." another explosion cut their little banter short. Ash quickly came up a idea. It was risky but what other options do they have. "Spyro, get down to the train station and see if they can get one ready. We're gonna need a quick getaway."  
"you sure?"  
"You got a better idea?"

"ow ow ow. Watch it!" Req complained as she was carried away from the library by Twilight and Redheart.  
"you can't move, remember? Broken legs?" Redheart retorted.  
"then give me crutches."  
A Shadow Komodo Dragon jumped down from above the library and towards them. Req noticed this. If she can't fight back with swords, she can still fight back with magic. "Seraphim Blade!" a cut of light appeared and sliced the Shadow Creature in half. "Good to know I can still use magic."  
Twilight rolled her eyes when she noticed something. "wait. Where's Cadence?"  
"Probably getting Armor now let's go." Req yelled.

"Come on! You got to get it to move!" Spyro complained to the train engineers.  
"Sorry, but ever since last night, the ol' gal's been acting weird." one of them said.  
"Then deal with it in the next town."  
"the next town is 40 miles away and this train isn't keen with salt air."  
Spyro groaned and grabbed the leader and walked him over to give him a good view of Ponyville. "you know what will happen if you don't start that train up?" he shook his head no. "those things…" Spyro pointed to a Shadow Creature. "…will have you for dinner."  
That was all the convincing he needed. "Start up the train."

The fire from the explosions rose up high to the sky. Edge watched from the platform and smiled. "it's good to be back." he said with a sneer.

End Song.

Back in Canterlot, everyone was seeing the devastation being done to a otherwise peaceful town.  
"mom…" Dinky tearfully croaked. Jax looked down and felt sorry for her. Their world was coming down around them and she can't do anything.

Bahamut flew over to Fluttershy's cottage and burst though the door. The CMC and Fluttershy were still inside, cowering in a corner. "What are you all still doing here?" he asked. "They called for a evacuation. We have to get to the train station."  
"we're scared." the girls of the CMC said with a whimper.  
"I know. War is scary and nobody should witness it but if you don't move it, you'll become someone's dinner."  
Being the fearless girl she was, Eris ran over to Bahamut and jumped on his back. The others looked at each other and gulped. "Well… if Eris isn't afraid…" Fluttershy shakingly said.  
"Good, now let's get going!" Bahamut exclaimed.

Begin Song: watch?v=8XjX1uqOMXs Unforeseen Assault - Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike OST

0:00.  
The ponies cautiously peaked out first, making sure the coast was clear, before making a run for the train station. Bahamut spread his wings and took to the sky.

Chaos ruled the streets as citizens fled for their lives, hoping to live to see another day. Changelings and Shadow Creatures alike chased after them, hoping to take prisoners.

Cadence ran as fast as she could to the station. She wasn't able to find Armor so she's hoping he's still alive and at the station.  
A sudden burst of pain from her mid-section caused her to stop and hold herself in pain. A group of Changelings saw her and converged on her location.

0:33.  
Lina fired a fire ball and Aura sliced at a few Shadow Creatures, killing most of them. A Shadow Spider emerged from the ground behind them and pounced onto them. It kicked Aura's weapon away and sprayed web onto Lina's hands.  
"well, so much for us getting away." Lina joked.

0:41.  
Satoshi ran as fast as he could towards the station, blueprints in hand. Even though he didn't hear the order to converge there, he knew that was the most logical place to go.

0:57.  
Explosions continued to rain all over town, leaving walls of fire and large craters behind. In one such craters, prisoners were being gathered up; 3 of them being Aura, Cadence, and Lina.

1:13.  
Fluttershy and the CMC ran as fast as they could though the war-torn streets, not wanting to become corpses or prisoners. They unknowingly ran underneath Edge's little platform. He saw them and snickered.  
He jumped off it, flapped his wings as fast as he could, and shot down towards them.

1:21.  
He rammed into Fluttershy, flew into a alley, pinned her against a wall, summoned up some claws, and held them up to her face.  
Fluttershy panted in fear with her eyes snapped close. Edge held the claws up to her neck but felt like something was holding him back.  
"Grgh. Gra. Gy…" the claws shook as his mind began to flash with images, images he never saw before.  
Fluttershy heard the shaking and wondered why she wasn't dead yet. She opened them up and looked in a mix of surprise and horror to see that Edge was the one holding her up against the wall, the one trying to kill her "Edge…"  
His soulless eyes sparked back to his normal purple eyes then back again. He was surprised to hear that from a normal Pegasus. "How do you know my name?"  
A blast of ice hit Edge and sent him into the end of the alley. Fluttershy fell to the ground and rubbed her throat. "Come on!" Riku exclaimed before running off.  
Fluttershy nodded, got up, and ran to the exit. She stopped and looked back at Edge. Why would he attack her? She somberly looked away and ran off.  
Edge grumbled as he got up. Why did that pony feel so… familiar?

1:57.  
The people clamored as they got onto the train for the second time in 2 days. Ash and Fox fired their blasters at the Shadow Creatures, keeping them at bay.

"So what's our destination?" Spyro asked inside the engine room.  
"Little town 30 miles east of here. Think it's called Maredrid or something like that."

The last of the ponies clamored on as Hiccup did a headcount with tallies in his journal. Bahamut, the CMC, Riku, and Fluttershy just arrived, adding a few more to his count. Something felt off so he re-counted. "We're missing 16." Satoshi arrived and panted. "make that 15."  
"where were you?" Sora asked.  
Satoshi brought his blueprints to viewing height. "had to get these. Can't let evil-doers get it."  
"You know what happened to the missing 15?"  
"yeah. Caught a few glimpses. They were taken captive; Lina, Aura, and Cadence among them."  
Hearing that Cadence got caught sent Armor over the edge. He ran out, hoping to get to her. Twilight ran out after him. "whoa whoa whoa, BBBFF!" she ran in front of him and got in his way. "There's nothing you can do for her!"  
"But that's my wife and my unborn child in there!"  
"I know! But there's nothing you can do for her. Besides, Aura and Lina are with her as well so they'll protect her from danger."  
Armor looked up to the burning town and sighed. He was leaving his wife in the middle of all this. He didn't like it but Twi was right. "All right. I hate it but all right." Twi ran back to the train. Armor turned to head back to the train but glanced back to the town. "be safe, Cadence."

The Prisoners whimpered in fear at the bottom of the crater. Aura, Lina, and Cadence kept on strong faces so they don't show fear. Edge walked on over, drawing the heads of his former friends. "Edge? Edge, what are you doing with them?" Aura asked.  
First the Pegasus, now this… thing. How do they know these him? "what do we do with them, sir?" a subordinate asked.  
Edge looked at them long and hard, thinking of a good punishment for them. "send the ponies to Canterlot for the crystal mines. Lock the humans in the deepest part of the town. And…" he looked over to Cadence and remembered Chrysalis' words. "take the Alicorn to our queen. She wishes to meet with her."  
"Yes sir."  
"Edge is giving orders to Changelings?" Aura asked.  
"basterd turned full traitor. Knew he was a bad egg the moment I laid eyes on him." Lina said.  
Cadence wasn't so sure. She felt conflict in his heart and heard it in his voice. Something happened to him and she plans to find out what.

The train whistle bellowed as the train itself slowly pulled out. Shadow Creatures continued to converge on it but only to be blasted away.  
Fox and Ash waited till a opportune moment before jumping onto the wrecked caboose.

The whistle reached the prisoners, giving them feelings of relief. Long as the Princess and the Elements got away, they still had a chance.  
Another pain hit Cadence, causing her to groan in pain.

The train pulled away from the station and away from the burning city. If nobody believed it before, they did now.  
War has officially come to Equestria.

End Song.


	75. Incoming Shit-storm

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

A Changeling's Lament

Chapter 10

Incoming Shit-storm

A Crimson Unicron with a Silver Mane tinkered with his invention. "if I move this here and connect that to there…" the machine sparked, temporarily electrocuting him. "AY! Ay vamera." he stuck the edge of his hoof into his mouth to calm down the pain. "that smarts."  
He sputtered as he sat down at a desk. "what I am missing?" he muttered. He looked for his blueprints, sending papers that weren't it down to the floor. One of them, which was completely accidental, was a picture of a rainbow-maned cyan Pegasus.

In a bar downtown in the same town, a gruff and angry unicorn was drinking like there was no tomorrow.  
"Damn girl. First she turns my life into a living hell, then goes and makes friends. *angry scoff* my life has gone to hell ever since we found her."  
A gryphon came in, carrying a newspaper. "hey, did you guys hear?"  
"hear what?" the barkeep asked.  
"Canterlot and Ponyville have fallen."  
"What?" everyone at the bar exclaimed in surprise. It caught the attention of the drunk pony.  
"it's true." the gryphon set the paper down on a table and read it, drawing a crowd. " ' in a repeat of her failed invasion 6 months ago, Chrysalis and her Changeling forces launched a full-scale invasion of Canterlot during the wedding of Princess Luz de la Luna and Trixie Lulamoon…" that got the drunkards full attention. "…and, with a unknown and powerful new ally, was able to take and seal the city in a barrier. 2 days later, she launched a full attack on Ponyville, sending her new general Mirror's Edge to claim it. During the 2 battles, more then 80 ponies had been taken captive and 3 of the new arrivals. Among the prisoners is Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, who had been captured in the Sacking of Ponyville. Princess' Celestia and Luna were able to escape the battles with the refugees from Canterlot and Ponyville. She was last seen heading east, to the town of Maredrid.'"  
"that's this town." some pony pointed out. "when'd this paper come out?"  
"2 days ago which means her train should be coming in any minute now."  
The drunkard put his mug on the counter and smiled drunkenly before walking out.

Dinky sat alone in a forgotten part of Canterlot, away from everyone else. She just wanted to be alone.  
Working down in the crystal mines is quite a challenge. They've been given nothing but pick-axes and little shovels to carve out giant crystals from a cave. Despite being a ruthless tyrant, Chrysalis was being quite generous. She gave them 2 half-hour breaks, including a hour for lunch. The hours, however, are atrocious; start at 4 A.M. and end at 10 P.M. it also doesn't help that the guards are some of the worst Changelings they had ever seen.  
Dinky sniffled and wiped her eyes when she picked up the sound of snoring nearby. Whoever it was, he was loud. Dinky got up to go look. The snoring got louder as she got closer.  
She rounded a corner to the other side of the mountain and froze in fear when she saw where it was coming from.  
The snoring was coming from a slumbering Oscurita.

The train rolled into Maredrid station and hissed to a halt. Everyone grumbled as they walked off. they were tired and wanted to sleep. Spending a long time cooped up in crowded train cars was too much.  
"oh, man." Sora stretched her arms up until her back cracked. "the next time I go on a train better be the day of my funeral."  
"I'll be sure to line it up." Zilver groaned.  
The mayor of Maredrid trotted on up to the station with a few members of the city council. He immediately spotted Celestia and walked over to her. "Princess Celestia?" he asked in a Spanish accent.  
"hmm?" she and Luna looked over to him.  
"my name is Bell Toll and it is my distinct pleasure to welcome you to Maredrid. If I heard that you were coming sooner, I would've set up a much better response."  
"it's okay, Bell. it wasn't exactly planned." Celestia looked to her subjects and sighed. "If you don't mind, maybe we can retire to the town hall so we can discuss where my subjects from Ponyville and Canterlot can stay."  
"of course. Taking about War is always tough." he walked off back to town. Celestia began to follow but stopped when she noticed Luna wasn't with her. She turned to her sister. "you coming, sister?"  
"Soon. I haven't been to Maredrid before."  
Celestia chuckled. She was imprisoned for 1000 years so that was to be expected. Besides, she owns her. "I understand. You and Trixie still need a honeymoon, after all."  
"That's right, beautiful." Trixie said as she grabbed Luna. "I hear the beaches are magnificent at sunset."  
"now I'm intrigued." Luna chuckled. The two walked off, leaving Celestia to chuckle. She still finds it hard to believe that her baby sister found a lover. Now if she could only get Cosmos and Erys back.  
Armor was among the last off. As soon as he got off, he began to walk in the direction the train came from. Twi and Halo saw him walk away and ran after him. "where are you going?" a insistent Twi asked.  
"I'm going back to Canterlot to get Cadence."  
"By yourself!? Listen, Armor, if you go back there, you'll get killed."  
Armor stopped and turned to face her sister. "but that's my wife, my pregnant wife, and your sister-in-law. Aren't you worried about her?"  
Twi looked away, now sure how to respond. So, as if by instinct, Halo stepped in. "she knows, Armor. And if it was Twi who was captured, I would want to go rescue her too. But you can't. the Changelings have the place completely overrun. You'd be killed before you set foot in Ponyville."  
Armor angrily sighed. He really hated this. "fine. I won't go."  
Twi breathed a sigh of relief. "thank goodness."  
Armor looked in the direction of the towns and angrily scowled. "I can already picture Chrysalis planning her next move."

Chrysalis danced to 'Somewhere beyond the sea'. two cities in 2 days. That's too perfect.  
A flash of dark fire came from the ceiling but she didn't notice. Orochi saw her dancing and groaned. "Now that is just embarrassing." Terra said.  
"Sorry, I can't hear you over how excellent I'm being."  
"So I heard." Ignis said as he took over. "Conquered 2 cities in 2 days; that's a new record for this world."  
"so I heard." Chrysalis spun and jumped onto the throne. "so. Why are you here?"  
Orochi chuckled and walked over to the stain-glass murals, stopping just beneath the one for Discord. "I'm here to take back what is mine. Oscurita should be back with his master, after all."  
Chrysalis chuckled. "I'm afraid I'm gonna have to say no."  
"what?" Tenebrae exclaimed. "you're going back on our deal?"  
"no, I'd say you're going back on yours." she got up and grabbed a little crystal. "I told you that when I conquered Equestria that I would give Oscurita back to you. Last I checked…" Chrysalis hovered the crystal over to Orochi who just stood there angrily. "I haven't conquered Equestria. I just took over the capital and a small hamlet out in the countryside."  
"so… you won't give him back?" Fulmen asked.  
Chrysalis' horn glowed, causing the crystal to glow and extend a small blade out of it. "not until the world is mine." Chrysalis stopped her magic and grabbed the crystal.  
Orochi angrily sneered at her. "fine." Glacies said. "just remember that if you fail to live up to your promise, you will have made a powerful enemy."  
The doors opened up wide. Edge walked in and bowed. "My queen, I have b-" he looked up and noticed Orochi. Naturally, he got into a battle pose. "do you need assistance, my liege?"  
"no no. he was just leaving." Chrysalis said. Orochi silently growled at the queen before walking away. A wall of dark fire appeared in front of him and he walked into it. "ugh. Politics. I always hate them." Chrysalis sighed as she sat back down on the throne. Edge watched the fire disperse and continued to walk in. "you were saying, General?"  
"oh. We have captured Princess Cadence and have brought her here to Canterlot, as per your orders."  
That news was gold to her ears. "thank you, general. Bring her here. I wish to meet with her."

A sleepy Eris yawned as she laid on Rainbow Dash's back. The two, plus Scootaloo and Soarin', had been exploring the city since they arrived and both were getting tired.  
"quite a big place." Dash yawned. "Although I swear I heard the name Maredrid somewhere before."  
"same here." Soarin' and Scootaloo said. "just trying to place it where."  
Eris heard the sound of sparks, her ears flickering to find the direction. Once she found it, she opened her eyes, jumped off Dash's back, and ran towards it.  
"Eris!" Dash whined. "not again." she ran after the baby.  
"this happen a lot?" Soarin' asked.  
"more then you know." Scootaloo sighed as they ran after them as well.

"…so if you have any shelter you can give us, we would really appreciate it." Celestia said to the town council.  
The group of 5 talked amongst each other. Celestia hoped for good news. She already had a ton of bad things happen to her and her subject so this would give them something to be thankful for.  
"we'll do all we can but we don't have a lot of buildings for everyone."  
"Thankfully, the winter's here the lightest in Equestria." another councilwoman said. "the worst we had was the Windigoes at the dawn of Hearth's Warming Eve."  
"so… there aren't enough buildings?" Celestia asked to confirm. Everyone shook their heads 'no'. "I understand. Guess some are going to be sleeping outside."

Trixie and Luna held each other close as they looked at the sunset glistening on the ocean waters.  
"you know, I've never been to the ocean before." Trixie sighed.  
"same here." silence fell on them for a few moments. "you know what would make this moment even better?"  
"kids?"  
Luna chuckled with a smile. "you've been thinking about it too?"  
"yeah. We would make good parents."  
"The best."  
"She would be so magically intune, with both her parents being such powerful magic users."  
"un… last I checked, we were both female. So one of us would be the parent."  
"oh, right." Trixie thought for a moment. "rock, paper, scissors?" Luna softly face-palmed and chuckled. Trixie faux-smiled and laughed as well. "sorry, heard that from Satoshi." she explained. She looked up at the sunset and smiled. "well, we got plenty of time to talk about this. Besides, we still need to un… seal the deal." she walked in front of her new wife, brushing her tail beneath her chin.  
Luna slyly chuckled as Trixie's tail brushed underneath her. "I like the way you think."  
Trixie chuckled and slowly trotted off, looking back at Luna, when she ran into someone and fell to the ground. "ow." she looked up a saw a drunk unicorn standing over her. "sorry, but do you mind watching where you're going?"  
The drunkard snorted and staggered down to her. "oh, you don't remember me, bitch?" he fell to the sand. Trixie backed up. "you made my life a living… *hiccup* …living hell."  
Trixie took a moment but she recognized him as the Stallion who made her life a living hell. "dad…"

Eris laughed as she ran though the streets, scaring some of the locals.  
"Eris! Please stop!" Dash exclaimed as she ran after her.  
"Sorry." Scootaloo told to the locals as she continued after Dash.  
Eris eventually came to stop in front of a open garage. "ooh." she exclaimed, taken over by the shiny objects. She ran on in as the other 3 arrived in front of the garage and stopped.  
Dash panted when she looked up to Eris. "Eris… you know you shouldn't be going into other ponies places without asking."  
Soarin' looked up and saw something familiar with the garage. "hey… doesn't this place feel… familiar to you?"  
Scootaloo looked around and noticed it as well. "yeah. Can't place where."  
Dash, who had just picked Eris up and put her on her back, also started to take notice. There was a familiar feel to it, no doubt about it. Curious, she walked over to the desk and saw Blueprints.  
"blueprints? For mechanical wings?" she gasped when she realized where she was. "This is…"  
"Rainbow Dash?" Dash, Soarin' and Scootaloo looked to the entrance of the garage to see Storm Shadow standing there with a cup of coffee. Dash gasped in joy as she smiled wide. "what are you guys-"  
Dash interrupted him with a big hug. Shadow was caught off guard when the hug hit. Soarin' and Scootaloo smiled. None of them thought they would see him again.  
"I thought I would never see you again." Dash cried as she held Shadow tight. Shadow got angry, pulled Dash off of him and pushed her away, much to her surprise. "Shadow?" he didn't reply, instead, he just gave her a mean stare and stormed off. "Wait, Shadow." Dash walked after him. Soarin' and Scootaloo looked at each other with worry.

Cadence was escorted into the throne room by a couple of Changeling guards. She stopped just before the throne, which was surprisingly empty. "where's Chrysalis?" she asked her guards. The guards just stood there in silence.  
Several minutes have passed before Chrysalis herself walked in. "thank you, you two. You may leave now." the guards bowed and left, closing the doors behind them. "so, we meet again, Cadence."  
"why am I here?" Cadence angrily asked.  
Chrysalis brought her hooves to her mouth and tapped them together. "you don't remember?"  
"I remember you trying to invade Canterlot during my wedding."  
Chrysalis brought her hooves down and chuckled. "you really don't remember." she gave a wry chuckle. "guess I'm gonna have to remind you."  
Suddenly, and without warning, Chrysalis suddenly kissed Cadence.

*author's notes*  
And I'm gonna stop here. These arcs will be completed next chapter. Just feeling a bit under the weather right now.


	76. Less then Stellar Reunion

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

A Changeling's Lament

Chapter 10

Less then Stellar Reunion

Chrysalis kissed Cadence full on the lips, much to the princess' surprise. She quickly pushed Chrysalis away. She spit as she tried to lose the horrid taste.  
"what was…" she spit again. "why'd you do that?"  
Chrysalis touched her lips and chuckled. A red wine-like taste. Lucky Armor. "you don't remember, do you?"  
A confused Cadence looked up at her. "remember what?"  
Chrysalis sighed and walked over to one of the murals. This one showed Cadence and Armor using their magic on the Changelings. "that day 16 years ago?" she looked over to Cadence.  
"what are you talking about?"  
Chrysalis sighed and shook her head. "maybe this will help jog your memory." Chrysalis grabbed her hair and held it back like it was being tied by a scrunchy. A confused Cadence looked at it then gasped when she finally figured it out.  
Cadence {shocked}: "oh no. it can't be… Chrysie?"  
Chrysalis let got of her hair. "now you remember." she reached over and grabbed the same crystal she showed Orochi. "16 years ago, to the day, you found a injured Changeling in the woods outside the Crystal Kingdom capital. You nursed it back to health and became friends with it, regardless of what the adults said. You were the first pony to ever show us any sympathy, even gave her love… and what did you do? Moved away to this drek of a city and met that stuck-up Shining Armor and his annoying little sister Twilight Sparkle."  
Cadence stood there, dumb-struck. The Changeling who launched 2 invasions on Canterlot, the one who kidnapped her and put her in the crystal caves, the one who put ponies into slavery. It was her childhood friend.  
"and I must admit, I was surprised to find out the wedding I was planning on crashing turned out to be the one for you. Granted, like yourself, I didn't realize it was you until I was flung half-way across the world into dragon lands. That, and that you had the same attitude back then as well."  
Cadence was dumb-struck by this. "Chrysie, I… how was I supposed to know that was you?"  
Chrysalis flung the crystal over. It stopped just before Cadence's neck and extended out and small blade out light, barely touching her. "Zip it. You already proven that you never cared about me. Not then. Not now."  
"that's not true, I…"  
Chrysalis shut her up by extending the little blade further, barely poking Cadence's neck. "you're lucky your with child, otherwise your head would be rolling on the floor by now." she clapped her hooves, summoning in a couple of guards. "take her to her own quarters." The guards nodded and walked over to Cadence.  
She looked back at them with a mean sneer before looking back to Chrysalis. "I'll stay with the rest of the prisoners." She walked on out before Chrysalis could get a word in edge-wise. If that's what she wanted, so be it. No skin off her back.

Trixie gasped when she saw the drunk unicorn standing above her. "dad…" the drunk unicorn chuckled and staggered over to her.  
"you… little bitch…" he slurred. He slipped into the sand and still chuckled.  
Trixie sat there, shaking in fear, as a curious Luna walked over. "Trixie? Are you all right?" she noticed the drunkard and got even more curious. "Who's this?"  
"ever since we found you in that ditch, my life has been nothing but a… *hiccup* a living hell."  
That made Luna angry. "Hey!" she stepped in front of Trixie to protect her. "Don't talk about my wife like that! And who are you?"  
"Me?" the Unicorn took another swig of his bourbon. "I'm the idiot who let that… bitch into our home. Raised her, fed her. And she gave us nothing but bad luck in return."  
Trixie gulped. "he's my adopted father." she shakingly said. "ever since he, Halo, and Zilver found me on the side of a road, they've all been blaming me for all the bad luck they got; well, everyone but Halo and Zil."  
Luna scoffed. "well, I can tell you that Trixie is no-"  
"you stay out of this, you dumb bimbo." he angrily slurred at the princess.  
"Bimbo?" Luna exclaimed.  
"Hey!" Trixie exclaimed. "nobody talks about my Luna like that."  
"and you shut up too, you jinx." he wiped the alcohol from his mouth and chuckled. "I'm gonna enjoy this. Payback." using what magic he could use, he pulled a knife out of nowhere.  
Trixie went into shock, recognizing the knife as the one he used on her when she was a kid. Luna stepped in front of her to protect her, horn glowing blue. "stop right there!" she proclaimed in her Royal Canterlot Voice. "you take another step and I'll personally place you under arrest."  
The drunkard scoffed and laughed. "try me. *hiccup*" he thrust the knife forward but he was so drunk, he missed by a mile. Luna used her magic to tie his legs together and hung him up like a pig at a barbeque.  
"I warned you." Luna smirked. Trixie hugged Luna, thanking her.  
"this isn't over." he slurred. "I'll get you eventually, you bitch."  
Trixie looked at Luna, hoping to say what she wanted to say as a new duchess. (I looked up my royalty. Trixie is technically a Duchess now, as Armor is also a Duke.) Luna nodded in approval. "yeah, dad? Well, let's see how well you can do that when your spending life in jail."

Shadow stormed into his house and shut the door on Dash, flattening her snout a bit. It extended back out and she knocked on the door.  
"Shadow! Shadow, can we please talk?" Dash pleaded.  
"Go away."  
"Shadow, please…"  
"Just go away. I had enough heartache in my life. I don't need more."  
Dash started to feel heartache as well. Could this be what Shadow felt back then? "Shadow…"  
"just go away!"  
Silent tears fell down Dash's face as she gave up. "fine!" she exclaimed. "If you don't want to talk about it, Fine! I don't need you!" Dash turned and stormed off. Eris jumped down from her back and stayed where she landed. Soarin' walked after his sister to try and convince her otherwise, leaving Scoots and Eris behind.  
The 2 looked at each other, then to the door. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" Scootaloo asked. Eris hit her fists together, frightening Scoots a bit. "scary."

"take him to the local prison and tell them to put him under lock and key." Luna told the local police. They bowed to her and walked ff, dragging Trixie's drunk adopted father behind them.  
Halo and Zilver walked past them and ran over to Trixie. "we just heard." Halo said, hugging his little sister.  
"Are you okay?" Zil asked. Twilight and Applejack arrived just when Trixie let her brother go.  
"I'm fine. I'm fine. Thankfully, Dad was too drunk to even leave a scratch. Besides, I have someone to protect me." she looked at Luna and smiled.  
Zilver looked back in their father's direction. "what about him?"  
"He's gonna get life in jail for attacking royalty." Luna said with a smirk.  
"Oh, that's right. Trixie's a member of the royal family now." Halo said, hitting himself in the head because he was incompetent.  
That gave Zilver a wicked idea. "that means we're also royal and that means th-"  
"no!" everyone exclaimed, spoiling his mood.  
"I'm royalty because my brother married Cadence but you don't see me or Spike throwing it around." Twi said. A.J. nodded in agreement.  
"no, but Rarity." Trixie sighed. Everyone sighed with her.

Shadow repeatedly hit his head against the wall. "stupid, stupid, stupid. Dash returned after all this time and what do I do? Treat her like crap. Ugh, I'm no better then those annoying trio of dragons that passed though here." Shadow reached over to his picture stand and grabbed a picture of him and Dash at a carnival. He closed his eyes and hit the back of his head against the wall. "Stupid."  
"if you still love her, why did you treat her like that?" Scootaloo asked. He looked over and saw her standing in the door. Eris was being her usual interested self and explored Shadow's place.  
"how'd you get in?"  
"you forgot to lock it but the question still stands."  
Shadow sighed as he looked at the picture. "guess I was surprised to see her here. To see you all here. And with Soarin', too." he tossed the picture away and sighed. "So, what's new with those two? They getting ready to get married or something?"  
Scootaloo was about to say something but decided to keep it to herself for now. Let Soarin' being Dash's brother a surprise. "no no. they broke it off."  
He was surprised to hear that and it showed on his face. "They what?"  
"yeah. And it's because of you. Dash loved you. She still does." Shadow scoffed, not believing a word she said. "it's true. You know what happened when you disappeared? She tried to commit Suicide."  
"She what?"  
"yeah. She was so distrat that you left that she threw herself off a cliff with her wings tied. She loved you but she didn't want to tell Soarin' because of what he might do if his heart was broken. She never took her heart into account." a loud crash came from the kitchen. They both looked in to see a pot scraping across the floor. "oh, brother. Eris!" Scootaloo walked in and took the pot off the baby. "you know better then to do that."  
"who the… what the… who is that?" a confused Shadow asked.  
"oh, right. Shadow. This is Eris. Eris, meet Storm Shadow."  
In her usual cheerful matter, Eris waved to him. "hi, Storm Shadow."  
Shadow nervously waved back. "who is she?"  
"I just told you. Her name is Eris." Scootaloo grabbed her and placed the baby on her back. "Dash's daughter."  
"Daughter?!"  
"well, adopted daughter. We found her after I was able to stop Dash from killing herself. It was thanks to her that Dash was able to move on. After you left and broke her heart."  
Shadow looked away and sighed. "she really loved me?"  
"she did. She still does. And if you love her, you'll go talk to her." Scootaloo left with Eris on her back and closed the door behind her.  
Shadow walked back out into the living room and grabbed the picture he threw. "Dash…"

Celestia walked back to the refugees at the train station and sighed. "they won't like this." she sighed. She walked into view, getting the attention of all the ponies.  
"So? How's it go?" Sora asked.  
"well, good news is that they have buildings for us to take shelter." the refugees cheered but Celestia stopped them. "but… the bad news is that there isn't enough for all of us." the crowd moaned and got a bit sad.  
The humans looked at each other and came up with the same idea. "you guys keep the buildings. We'll camp outside." Lloyd said.  
"are you sure? We don't want to inconvenience you." Fluttershy said.  
"we camp all the time back home. This is nothing different." Gourry said.  
"besides, this town has no snow and is surprisingly warm. We'll survive." Ash said. "plus, Req and the injured will be stuck at the hospital for awhile so more room for you guys."  
Celestia felt touched by their sacrifice and generosity. "thank you. We don't know how we'll repay you."  
"it's nothing. You'd do the same if it was one of our worlds." Riku said. Marble shrugged in agreement. That's true.

Dinky shook in fear as she found herself a few feet away from a slumbering Oscurita. "oh no. oh no oh no oh no." she slowly backed up, careful not to make any noise. She accidentally brushed up against a rock, causing it to fall over the side, creating a lot of noise among the way. She winced, hoping he didn't hear that. She nervously looked up and saw that it didn't wake him up. She breathed a sigh of relief, not aware of the tail moving behind her.  
Oscurita's tail crashed into the ground behind her, scaring her as it snarled around her and picked her up. She struggled to get loose as she was brought to his shadow-less face. Derpy froze in fear when she saw the size of his teeth. "p-p-p-please don't eat me." Oscurita snarled, baring his teeth for her to see. She gulped and closed her eyes hard.  
Oscurita snarled and brought her close to his mouth when something reflected in his eyes, coming from her chest. He looked and saw a golden ring being held around her neck like a necklace. The slits in his eyes went wide as he recognized it.  
Dinky popped open one eye to see his eyes go wide and his growl soften. She looked down at the necklace then back up to him. "what, you like gold? Or did my cuteness overwhelm you?" Oscurita didn't reply but instead lowered Dinky back to the ground and let her go. She delightfully gasped and kissed the ground. "thank you. You know, you're not as bad as Jax and her friends say you are. You have compassion. You care about some ponies." Dinky ran off, glad to have gotten out of this alive.  
Oscurita laid back on the mountain and snorted. If only she knew.

Author's Notes.  
Keep in mind the chapter name. these are all reunions so how are Dinky and Oscurita a part of this? Go ahead and guess, throw out those wild speculations.


	77. Forbidden Friendship

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

A Changeling's Lament

Chapter 12

Forbidden Friendship

A pick-ax cracked into a crystal and shattered a few shards off of it.  
"oh, this is a whole LOT of fun." Jax sarcastically and angrily said as she lifted her pick-ax up. "who doesn't love being down in a mine, working your ass off to the point of passing out? Who doesn't love being a workaholic?" she slammed her pick-ax into the ground and groaned as she fell. "now I know how the slaves felt." Dinky was thrown into the mine and right into a mine cart. The Changeling that threw her chuckled as he walked out. "where were you?" Jax asked.  
"out exploring." Dinky groaned. "but apparently, you can't do that during work hours."  
"I think anyone would've told you that." Jax sighed. She rested her head on the crystal as Dinky walked over. She sat down beside Jax and copied what she did.  
"you know, the weirdest thing happened to me."  
"What?"  
"well, I was out exploring when I came across that giant monster the queen used."  
Jax opened her eyes and looked at Dinks. "Oscurita?"  
"yeah, that's his name. he was about to eat me but didn't. he even purred for a moment. I'm not sure why. But…" she sat up and grabbed her mom's ring. "I think it has something to do with this."  
Jax grabbed it and looked at it. "a golden ring?" she took it off the necklace and put it on. "well, doesn't turn people invisible."  
She put it back on the chain as Dinky took it back. "when he saw it, he just let me go. I don't know why." she put it back around her neck and let it hang.  
"Hey!" a Changeling cracked a magic whip at the two. "get back to work."  
"Okay." Jax said in a dulcet tone.  
"Sorry." Dinky added in the same tone.

The prisoners have made their home at a fountain in the middle of a relatively less destroyed part of town. Bonfires blazed from the buildings that circled the fountain, each having close to 10 to 15 prisoners around it. Jax and Dinky, along with a good chunk of the prisoners, found shelter in what was once a donut shop. What they all did for food, however…

A tray of what was probably oatmeal landed in front of Jax. It would be edible if it weren't for all the flies and the mold.  
"Enjoy." the Changeling sneered as he walked off.  
"Gee, thanks." Jax grabbed her trail and dumped the contents into fire, creating a small mushroom cloud.  
In a corner, Dinky inadvertadly overheard the Changeling who brought their food talk to another. "…did you feed the beast?"  
"no need. Chrysalis ordered that he be cut down on his meals. Besides, he had a pony earlier."  
"A pony?"  
"yeah. A kid, too. Foolish filly walked into his area and became lunch."  
"oh. You know, I always wondered how they taste."  
"I heard a Dragon down south say they taste like a mix of chicken and apples."  
"Apples? Well, they do eat them a lot. Wouldn't be a surprise." the two Changelings laughed as they walked off. Dinky felt sorry for Oscurita. The pony must've been her but he didn't eat her. He let her go, now he's paying the price.  
Jax tossed her tray out, almost hitting a certain princess in the head. "hey. Watch where you're throwing that." Cadence said.  
"Cadence?!" the ponies all exclaimed in surprise.  
"what are you doing here?" Jax asked as Cadence sat down at their bonfire.  
"I got captured. How else would I be here?" she asked.  
"good point." Jax got up and walked to the counter. "so… how'd you get captured?"  
"they launched an attack on Ponyville. Mostly everyone got away but, me, Aura, Lina, and a few other ponies got captured."  
"Aura and Lina got caught?" Jax asked in surprised. She jumped over the counter and rummaged though it.  
"yeah. Not sure where they are. They weren't brought here with the rest of us."  
Aura, Jax could understand, but Lina? She's basically a unstoppable force of nature. Well, everyone has off days every now and then. "ah. Here we go." she said. She reached down and pulled out a tray of a dozen donuts. "saw Donut Joe hide a few of these a few days before the wedding. They may be stale now, so…"  
"who cares! Better then slop." a earth mare said as she ran over. She jumped to them but Jax raised the tray before she got close, causing the mare to hit the counter.  
"no no no. we're gonna share these with everyone." the mare moaned where she hit. She tossed one to their group and told a Pegasus to take one to each group.  
"this is… surprisingly kind of you." Cadence pointed out.  
"huh?" she looked at the princess with a confused expression. "well, I can't be choosy at this point. I mean, I'm stuck here with you all. Got no time for hatred. Well, hatred for your kind of equines."  
"thanks. I think." Cadence said, not really sure how to take that. Their donut was cut up into 15 pieces, which was no small feat due to it being already small, and passed out among the group of their bonfire. Cadence took a nibble of hers before sighing. "I didn't think it was Chrysie after all this time."  
Jax dropped her piece of the donut down her gullet and swallowed it whole. "you say something?" she asked.  
"I haven't told anyone this, mostly because I forgot myself, but I befriended a Changeling when I was Dinky's age."  
"you did, your highness?" a Unicorn asked.  
"well, ask him or her if he can help." Jax said.  
"that… would be a problem."  
"how so?"  
"she's currently in control of Canterlot right now."

Chrysalis looked out the window to a dreary Canterlot. Cadence not remembering their old adventures together, their childhood escapades. It can hurt anyone, even the coldest of people.  
The main doors creaked open and Mirror's Edge walked in. he bowed and lowered his head. "you set for me, my queen?"  
"yes. I did." Chrysalis walked away from the stairs and grabbed the crystal she showed to Orochi and threatened Cadence's life with. "I never told anyone this, and I'm hoping that you will keep this a secret."  
"of course. But… what is it?"

"you were friends with her?!" all the refugees exclaimed.  
"I didn't remember it until now but... Yeah. I didn't even realize that Chrysalis was Chrysie until she pointed it out herself."  
"okay. I just have to ask…" Jax started.

"…what happened?" Edge finished.  
Chrysalis sat down at the throne and rubbed the crystal. "it was 16 years ago. To the day, I think…"

*before I go any further, you should know that in my little universe here, Season 3 and Beyond never happen. Which means the Crystal Empire is, and has been, under the rule of Cadence and her family and Sombra didn't try to turn it into hell on earth. Also, I am planning on bringing Sombra in, but not in the way you expected and he's quite a ways away from coming in.*

16 years ago…

Young Cadence, no more then 8 and already has her Cutie Mark, laughed as she tried to catch a few butterflies as she and her friends and family sat down to a picnic. The butterflies fluttered to a small forest and Cadence ran after them.  
"Don't go to far, dear." her mother called out.  
"I know mom." she ignored her and continued to run after the butterflies.  
She ignored them and ran into the woods. She almost caught one when she heard moaning. A scared Cadence stood there as she tried to find the source.  
"hello. Hello? Is someone there?" she called out.  
The moaning came again. Cadence looked around in the bushes and inside tree trunks to find it. Inside a rose bush, she found the source.  
A heavily hurt 9-year old Chrysalis. Cadence gasped and ran off, calling for help. "Mom! Mom!" Chrysalis looked up to see her run away before blacking out.

3 hours later…

Chrysalis woke up and found herself in a unknown location. She grunted in pain as she sat up. She was in some sort of room, with the walls entirely made out of crystal. She took off the blankets to see herself covered in bandages.  
"who…?"  
The door to the room opened and Cadence walked in. "oh, thank goodness, you're up." she sighed. "I was worried that you were beyond help."  
Chrysalis looked at her wounds then back to Cadence. "you helped me?"  
"yeah. Why? Shouldn't I not have?"  
"but… I'm different then you. I was raised that ponies would never help a thing like me."  
Cadence scoffed. "then whoever told you that was a complete moron. Of course we would help you. We'd never abandon someone in need." Chrysalis wasn't so sure. She was raised by those beliefs and raised hard. "oh, my name is Cadence. What's yours?"  
Chrysalis didn't want to tell this… Cadence her full name. so, she came up with a abbreviated one. "Chrysie. My name's Chrysie." Cadence giggled and smiled. Feeling unnatural, Chrysalis smiled back, or tried too.

Cadence and Chrysalis laughed hard when Cadence told the funniest joke in Chrysalis' life. That got the attention of Cadence's parents.  
"So, your visitor is all better?" her mother asked as she walked into Cadence's room.  
"Much better." Cadence happily said. "her name is Chrysie and she's from a land far away."  
"Very far." Chrysalis chuckled.  
"oh. How far is it?"  
Cadence and Chrysalis looked at each other and smirked. "as far as the moon!" they both said out loud.

2 days later…

"wow!" Chrysalis gasped as she looked at the crystal palace. "You're a princess?!"  
"yep. Next in line for the Crystal Empire throne."  
Chrysalis smirked. She couldn't help but think of this. "you got a boyfriend?" she jokingly said.  
Cadence blushed as she stammered. "w-w-what? Of course not, d-don't be silly. Me with a boy? That's preposterous."  
"uh-huh." Chrysalis said, not really convinced. "So, there any other royalty I should know about in your family?"  
"well, there's my aunt Celestia. She's the ruler of Equestria. In fact, I think she's in town right now. You want to meet her?"  
"Can I?"  
"sure. She'll be glad to meet someone like you. You are fun, after all." Cadence trotted off, leaving behind a surprised Chrysalis.  
"fun…" she muttered to herself. Nobody had ever called her fun before. She shook her head and ran off after Cadence.

Celestia and Cadence's parents talked with each other in the drawing room.  
"…yes yes. I heard about that. That poor Derpy girl disappeared. Hope you find her." Cadence's father said.  
"me too." a somber Celestia said.  
Cadence and Chrysalis walked in. "hey mom. Hey dad."  
the Princess was caught off guard by the presence of Chrysalis. "who's this?"  
"this is Chrysie, my new best friend." Chrysalis went wide-eyed in surprise. "she was hurt when we found her so I helped nurse her back to health."  
Celestia curiously looked at Chrysalis, who got really worried and intimidated by the princess. She could feel her power emanating off of her. "she's certainly… interesting."  
"Cadence, if you don't mind, we have important stuff to talk about." Cadence's mother said.  
"Okay, dad. Come on, Chrysie." Cadence ran out, Chrysalis not far behind her.  
Celestia watched them leave, curious by the black filly. "who was that black one?"  
"Don't know. She never said much of where she's from." Cadence's father said. "so, you were saying about upping our borders?"  
"oh, right. There's word that there's something happening in the arctic north. There's some unexplained dark clouds swirling there."

2 days later…

Chrysalis and Cadence stood at the same spot Cadence found her.  
"Do you really have to go?" Cadence sadly asked.  
"yeah. My parents must be worrying about me by now. But I'll come back as soon as I can."  
Cadence smiled. "I'll hold you to that." Cadence used her magic to bring forth a small crystal. "take this. Something to remember me by."  
Chrysalis gingerly grabbed it and smiled. "Thanks. I'll cherish it forever."

1 and a half years later…

Cadence and Chrysalis, both at age 10, held their sides as they laughed their heads off. "and then, and then…" Cadence gulped. "…the Diamond Dog says 'this diamond isn't shiny. This is a…' then the thing exploded and covered them both in sap."  
Chrysalis laughed her head off but eventually stopped to take a breather. "oh, that was too funny." Cadence laughed and sighed as she laid back in the grass. Chrysalis laid beside her and sighed as well.  
Cadence lamented if she should tell Chrysie this. "Chrysie."  
"hmm?"  
"next week, I leave for Canterlot. I'm gonna be the foal-sitter for my aunt's new protégé. She's supposed to be pretty powerful and pretty cute." Chrysalis whined a bit, getting the attention of Cadence. "I'm sorry but when Celestia gives you a direct order, you gotta do it. Besides, I still got a week before I leave. So we got a lot of chances to break out and party, huh?"  
"that sounds good." a distrat Chrysalis said.  
"Great. Meet me back here at 8 tonight. I'll invite everyone I can and we'll party our plots off."  
That cheered Chrysalis up even more. "Great."

6 hours later…

Chrysalis arrived at the same field she and Cadence were earlier, dressed up and ready to party. There was no one there for now so she figured they were just getting ready like her.

{Chrysalis} [Cadence]  
"{I waited all night for Cadence to return. When she didn't show up, I figured she was caught up with something and continued to wait.}"  
"[I guess she never realized that I unexpectedly left for Canterlot that night. My parents surprised me with the trip earlier then expected.]"  
"{I waited for days and days, though rain and wind I waited. It was in that heartbreaking moment that I realized that…}"  
"[I don't know how long she waited but I guess in that course, she came to a realization that…]"  
"{[Ponies aren't to be trust.]}"

Present Day.

Chrysalis looked at the crystal and sighed. "it was then that I realized that Ponies aren't to be trusted. They will take your heart after a lifetime of happiness and smash it into a million pieces."  
"if you say so, my liege." Edge said, not really sure why Chrysalis told him that story. "but… why would you tell me this? I'm not friends with a Pony."  
The Purge worked better then she expected. "it's… just in case you do happen to become friends with one." Chrysalis placed the crystal back on the pedestal and sealed it in it's magic barrier. "know that they will do anything to become your friend then shatter it completely."

Cadence finished telling the story, leaving the refugees with somber faces. While she didn't show it, Jax did feel sorry for the Changeling Queen.  
"So she's doing all this out of resentment; out of spite and vengeance." Jax concluded.  
"that's what I came to, too." Cadence sighed.  
Nobody noticed that a small pink unicorn had disappeared from the place.

Dinky tip-toed over to Oscurita, carrying the trail of gunk and her donut shard.  
"hey!" she loudly whispered. Oscurita stirred in his sleep and moaned. "Hey!" Oscurita stirred awake and lazily looked in her direction. "I heard that you didn't get any food on account of me and I felt sorry for it so I brought you my food. It's not much but it's better then nothing." Oscurita snorted and angrily looked at her. "forgive me for actually looking out for you. You spared my life and I want to make it up to you. So…"  
Oscurita sighed and sat up. She was going to insist on this and won't back down. He reached over, grabbed the tray between his thumb and pinkie, opened his mouth, and dropped it in. he gagged and coughed. The taste was more then he could take.  
"tastes bad, doesn't it?" Dinky joked. "Should've warned you about that." the sound of a fallen rock scared Dinky and made Oscurita look in that direction. "Listen, I'll come back as soon as I can." she started to run off but stopped and looked back at him. "see you later."  
She ran off, leaving him behind. He lightly smirked at the thought that someone cared about him. Legitimately cared about him. And something about her felt familiar and it wasn't that ring. He fell asleep, trying to figure out why she felt familiar.


	78. Volare

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

A Changeling's Lament

Chapter 13

Volare

"…and then, Sweetie Belle falls in love with Spike and she's trying and trying and trying to impress him but he was in love with Rarity and she fell in love with him, coming to a quite a awkward moment."  
Dinky was telling her own version of the story up to now to a sleepy Oscurita from his shoulder. He didn't even ask for a story. How could he? He hasn't spoken in so long. He is this close [ ] to hitting his head against the mountain and he showed it. Dinky noticed it and nervously chuckled.  
"un… sorry. I didn't mean to go all out. Guess I picked up my mom's habit of blabbering. In fact, she even gave me this necklace when I couldn't find mine. Said it belonged to a old friend of hers that disappeared awhile ago. She never said who it was; she never even dropped a name."  
Oscurita softly growled for a bit, wanting her to go away.  
"oh, you probably want to go to sleep, don'tcha?" she jumped down from his shoulder, landed on a small outcropping, then jumped off that to the ground. "sorry if I kept you up. Better get back before I get in trouble." Dinky ran off while waving good-bye.  
Oscurita opened his eyes and went to sleep. At least for 2 minutes before he heard foot-steps again. He opened his eye and saw Dinky standing right there again. "Sorry. I forgot to give you this." she tossed up a shard of a donut. It landed on the same spot where she sat. "sorry. Bad throwing arm." she ran off again, for good this time. Oscurita closed his eyes and slammed his head into the mountain, falling asleep this time.

Scootaloo and Eris sighed together. Rainbow Dash hasn't once tried to make amends with Shadow, same with him to her. Both were being stubborn and rather worried by the fact that they don't know what the other will do, but most of all they were worried that the other will leave again. So, Scoot's and Eris came up with a plan to try and get them together.

"you want me to look pretty?" a surprised Dash replied, sitting up in the bed in her little hotel room.  
"yeah. Men do not like Tomboys. Believe me, I know." Scootaloo said, feigning a nervous groan.  
Dash laughed at the concept. "I do not do pretty. Like, at all. Last time I tried to look pretty, I ended up looking like a dweep."  
"Do you want Shadow or not?" Scoots asked, insisting that she make up her mind.  
A dumb expression came over Dash's face as she thought to herself. She looked up at the mirror and tugged at her hair. She didn't want to lose Shadow again. "pretty me up." she sternly said.

Eris tugged at Shadow's ears, trying to get him to leave his garage.  
"for the last time, Eris, I don't want to play." he replied as he tinkered with his blueprints.  
Eris's face puffed up as she angrily sat down. so much for that plan. She needed to think of a new one and fast; Scootaloo should be going well with her plan to get Dash down to the beach and if she bombs, there goes any plans of getting Dash and Shadow together. She had to get desperate.  
Shadow leaned back in his chair, trying to figure out what would make his invention better, when he noticed Eris standing over him. "What do you want now?" he groaned.  
Her response was a frying pan to the face. Instead of knocking him out, as it should've, it instead caused a lot of pain. "OW!" Shadow fell back and to the floor. Eris jumped off before the chair hit and tossed the frying pan away, acting like it wasn't there. Shadow held his bloody nose as he angrily looked at her. "if I play with you at the beach, will you leave me along?"  
Eris delightfully nodded and ran out of the garage to the street. Shadow gave a groaning sigh as he got up and walked after her.  
"mind if we stop by the hospital first?"

The basement beneath the library was turned into a make-shift prison for the Changelings prisoners. Well, their non-pony prisoners. Pods hung from the ceiling for their prisoners to hang out. Hehe. Get it? Hang o- you don't get it. Anyway, only 2 were filled, both of them human.  
"Let us go!" Lina exclaimed, trying to break out of her cocoon. Chrysalis stood belong and chuckled at her naivety and stupidity. Nobodies every broken out of that. "you better let us go before I turn you into a Dragon Slave shish-ka-bob!"  
"my my. What anger. If only you were evil like me." Chrysalis chuckled as she strode throughout the room. "then you would be free."  
"yeah, I think I'll pass, you prick." Lina sarcastically said.  
"please don't piss her off." Aura asked. "I would like to get out of this in one piece."  
"oh, we're gonna get out of this in one piece, all right. And the queeny down there is gonna get out of this in pieces!" a glow came from inside Lina's cocoon.  
"oh no." Aura said in worry. Chrysalis wasn't worried. She just looked at Twilight's old scientific equipment to try and confirm Pinkie's Pinkie Sense.  
"Gaav Flare!"  
Lina's spell didn't fire. Instead, her cocoon electrocuted her, very comedicly I might add.  
"warned you." Aura muttered.  
"guess you're lacking in the brain department." Chrysalis chuckled as she left. A burned and twitchy Lina hissed as smoke rose out of her body.

Chrysalis walked out of the battle-damaged Ponyville and out to a nearby mountain. There rested the reconstructed and all-new Orion. Everything that was inside the ship was now outside with little to no care for the occupants privacy.  
one Changeling grabbed a magazine and turned it on it's side. A much larger picture flipped out but he wasn't too sure what he was looking at. "is this what humans look like naked?" he said in disgust. he threw the Playboy away and went back to rummaging though the ships contents.  
Chrysalis arrived and saw them looking though it. She noticed a odd poster lying on the ground. She grabbed it and it showed a half-naked model on it. "these humans are disturbing." she said as she threw it away.  
"no argument here." Friction said as she read though 'Of Mice and Men'. "this is just crap." she tossed it into the same pile and went though the crap again.  
Leon bumped into a box and opened it up. Inside was tons of movies. He grabbed one and looked at the cover. "Land Before Time?"  
Friction looked in it as well and pulled out another. "Twilight: New Moon? it's official; The humans are nuts."  
"yep." all her brothers and sisters there agreed.  
"So what do we do with all of these?" one of her subordinates asked.  
"just leave them. We won't have any use for them." Chrysalis said, tossing aside a fake earring.  
"And what of the ship?" Edge asked, looking up at it.  
"leave it. Celestia and her cohorts have been routed to who-knows-where. Besides, that idiot Jax said it was wrecked thanks to Oscurita." she looked up at it. "they may have fixed the body, but I doubt it's still flight-worthy." she turned and left the ship.  
Since she never gave orders, the Changelings were unsure what to do. So, they just put the stuff back and went back to their old posts.

Rarity hummed as she worked on Dash's hair and face. Scootaloo helped out by holding Rarity's supplies.  
"are you sure I won't look like a complete dweeb?" Dash worriedly asked.  
"you want to win Shadow, don't you?" Rarity asked.  
"…yeah, but do I need to look like a dweeb?"  
"you'll look fine, Dash. Trust us." Scootaloo said as she handed Rarity a perfume bottle.  
Dash saw it and freaked out. "no no. no perfume. NO Perfume!" Rarity sprayed the bottle on the stubborn Dash, who coughed at the smell of it. "Ach. I said no perfume." she gagged.  
"it doesn't matter. You're all done." Rarity said, feeling confident about her work. Scootaloo smiled at how beautiful her distant cousin looked.  
Dash took a deep breath and nervously exhaled. "okay. Let me see it." Rarity used her magic to bring a full-body mirror in front of Dash.  
Dash gasped when she saw that her hair rolled up like toothpaste and curled to the right. A small jewelry scrunchie tied the back of her hair a la Applejack with a headband holding the top of her hair in place.  
{in short, this picture: albums/zz224/monsterlord-18/76666_496612120362435_1587092136_ }  
Dash looked herself over and slightly blushed. She was never gonna say it out loud but Rarity did a awesome job. She did look beautiful. Now, time to impress Shadow.

A torrent of black fire appeared in the woods near the human ship for a moment before dissipating. Footsteps crunched in the snow as the person who appeared as it walked over to the Orion. It dug it's hand into the movie bin and pulled out a monster movie.  
"hehe. This will get those pathetic morons running." he snickered.  
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a blank card. He opened the case and placed the card on the disc. The card glowed a charcoal glow as the image painted by itself onto it. Once done, he closed the case and tossed the DVD back. He raised the new monster card up to the sun and sneered.  
"Time for the King to make his big return." he put the card back in his pocket as another torrent of black fire appeared behind him. "and I was so looking forward to that Legendary remake before Catalyst ruined Earth." he walked into the fire and disappeared.

A bored Shadow blinked a few times as Eris made a sand castle. "Flag." she said, telling him to put a flag on top of one of the towers. Shadow sighed and begrudgingly placed a seashell on top of it. This may be a part of the plan but Eris was feeling nothing from him. She looked up and saw that the other half of the plan was approaching.  
"Can I please go home now?" Shadow asked, really wanting to leave. Eris stammered for a moment, trying to think of a way for him to stay but she couldn't, unless he could surf. Or she could. Shadow groaned and got up. "I'm heading home."  
He turned to leave onto to run into the BEAUTIFUL Rainbow Dash. Both instantly blushed when they saw the other.  
"h-hey Shadow." Dash nervously said.  
"hey, Dash." he replied, just as nervous.  
Eris and Scootaloo walked to the side, leaving them alone. Not far, Requiem popped in a tape into a radio and began playing Volare. How'd she get on this? It's Req. romance is her drug.  
After a awkward silence, Shadow was the first to say it. "you look different."  
Dash brushed her hair back and blushed. "Rarity and Scootaloo got to it."  
Shadow smiled at the gesture. "well, it wasn't necessary. You looked hot the way you were." Dash nervously chuckled and groaned as she lowered her head. "but… why would dress up like this?"  
"well… because I… I wanted to impress you."  
"me?"  
Dash sat down on the beach and sighed. "when you left, I was devastated. I didn't know what to do."  
"I know. Scoots told me." he said as he sat down beside her. "you actually tried to kill yourself?"  
That was one part she wishes she could forget. "well, you were a big part of why I did that but… another reason was because…" Dash stopped as several tears came to her eyes. Shadow felt bad and looked away. He caused her to try and kill herself. He never suspected that she was hiding her true feelings from Soarin' to prevent hurting him. Shows how much he knows.  
"I left because I didn't want to hurt you. And I didn't want to make you choose between me, a going nowhere inventor, and Soarin', a world-wide celebrity. It's obvious who would've won."  
"you don't know that. God, you're just like Halo; completely nervous when it comes to relationships."  
"Can you blame me? I had no experience when it came to this stuff."  
"Halo's best excuse right there."  
The two stopped talking for a moment and just looked out to the ocean.  
"so… where do we go from here?" Dash asked.  
Shadow sighed as he scratched the back of his neck. "well… you hurt me when you were going out with Soarin'. and we both know it wasn't on purpose but you still hurt me."  
"what do you think I felt when you left? I was hurt too. I didn't even get a proper good-bye." Dash sighed as she got up. "something tells me you're not gonna go for this. God, this was such a stupid idea." Dash started to walk away as Shadow just continued to sit there.  
She was almost off the beach when Shadow turned her around and hugged her close. "I know we didn't leave things on a positive note but…" he let go but still held on to her. "I am willing to put my heart on the line one more time. If you'll let me."  
Dash was dumb-struck at first but smiled. Finally, things were going right in her life. "and if you'll let me put my heart on the line, I'll accept."  
"Deal." both smiled. they leaned their heads forward and touched their foreheads together. "so… do we cement this with a kiss, senorita?"  
"let's wait till date number 3. I may be a tomboy but I'm not easy."  
Shadow chuckled. "I know that's true." Dash smiled.

Elsewhere on the beach, Eris high-fived with Scootaloo and Req. this was one relationship brought back from the abyss that nobody thought they'd see.

"so… what's the real reason you broke up with Soarin'?" Shadow asked, curious about the true tale.  
Dash broke the embrace and nervously chuckled. "un… turns out we had the same father."  
"oh." he said, not surprised by it. At first. "OH! So, that means you two are…"  
"brother and sister."  
A very disturbing thought entered shadow's mind, causing him to wince. "did you two…"  
Dash knew where he was going before he even said it. "thankfully, no."


	79. King of Monsters

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

A Changeling's Lament

Chapter 14

The King of Monsters

Chrysalis looked at a map of the world with great interest. She is busy trying to find a new target on her world-wide conquest but she wasn't going to use Oscurita this time around. He's been acting weird lately and she was unsure why so until he finds out, he's gonna be out of the war.  
"having trouble finding a target, my queen?" Edge asked.  
"yes. There's so many prime targets and so little time. It's like a baby in a candy store; the choices are too good. You wish you can take them all." Edge slightly chuckled. He somewhat knew the feeling.  
Unable to make a decision, Chrysalis used her magic to summon up a knife; the same knife she almost used to kill Celestia. "what are you doing?" Edge asked.  
"leaving our next target up to chance." using her magic, she tossed the knife into the air above the map and let it go. The knife spun in mid-air and fell to the map, landing on the Changelings next target.  
the coastal town of Maredrid.

Derpy yawned as she woke up on another day. Another day without her Dinky. She wishes that she was taken prisoner instead of her daughter; Faust knows what torture she's being put though right now. She depressingly sat back and looked out the window. The sun wasn't even over the horizon and she was up.  
"geez, I never woke up this early since my days with eTu`nes." she yawned. eTu`nes. Just saying that name always made her smile. If only she knew what happened to him, then she could…  
Several figures flew away from the city and towards the mountains near the town. One of them looked a little bit familiar. Curious, she got up and went after them.

Fluttershy sat by herself on a bench near the darkened beach. She was playing the raid on Ponyville in her mind and why Edge was there, helping the bad guys.  
*Flashback*  
Fluttershy and the CMC ran as fast as they could though the war-torn streets, not wanting to become corpses or prisoners. They unknowingly ran underneath Edge's little platform. He saw them and snickered.  
He jumped off it, flapped his wings as fast as he could, and shot down towards them.  
He rammed into Fluttershy, flew into a alley, pinned her against a wall, summoned up some claws, and held them up to her face.  
Fluttershy panted in fear with her eyes snapped close. Edge held the claws up to her neck but felt like something was holding him back.  
"Grgh. Gra. Gy…" the claws shook as his mind began to flash with images, images he never saw before.  
Fluttershy heard the shaking and wondered why she wasn't dead yet. She opened them up and looked in a mix of surprise and horror to see that Edge was the one holding her up against the wall, the one trying to kill her "Edge…"  
His soulless eyes sparked back to his normal purple eyes then back again. He was surprised to hear that from a normal Pegasus. "How do you know my name?"  
*end Flashback*  
"he acted like he didn't know me." Fluttershy muttered to herself. "And those eyes. Those soulless eyes." she tightly closed her eyes, tears softly rolling down her face. "what happened to you, Edge? What did Chrysalis do to you?"  
A passing Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, who just woke up from playing too hard on the beach with Scootaloo, Eris, Pipsqueak, and Feather Weight. heard her cry and looked at each other, wondering what's going on with her.

Edge looked at himself in the mirror, replaying his recent conquest of Ponyville. That yellow Pegasus knew his name and acted like he knew him. Not to mention those weird images that ran though his head. This was a mystery he is determined to figure out and that Pegasus, Fluttershy, has the answer. He walked out of his room and onto the deck of a pitch-black ship where his forces waited for his order.

Derpy flew though the air, wondering where those mystery ponies flew off to. She's curious as to what they were doing up in the snow-filled mountains near Maredrid but the bigger question is who would fly all the way up here.  
She spotted several figures up ahead, all gathered around a small bonfire. More curious now then she was a few moments ago, she flew on down.  
When she touched down, the first thing she noticed was that everyone there were Lunar Guards; the bat-ponies that served as Luna's guard. And with them was the S1/Day look Princess Luna.  
"Luna?" Derpy said in confusion. She walked over to her as she was talking to a couple of her guard.  
One of her guards was in the middle of a explanation when she approached. "they appear to be unguarded on the west approach so if we…"  
"Luna? What are you doing here?" Derpy asked as she approached.  
"Derpy?" Luna returned in surprise. "What are you doing here?"  
"I saw some mystery ponies fly up here so I came to find out who. Why are you up here?"  
Luna looked to the map. "we're gonna launch a sneak attack on Canterlot."  
"What!?  
"a spy of ours, who was there when the barrier came down, told us that most of the Changeling forces have left to conquer another city. At that time, Canterlot is defenseless. We'll look for a chink in the armor, infiltrate the city, and take out Chrysalis."  
She may not be part of the guard but Derpy knew that was a stupid plan. "un… can I make a few constructive criticisms?"  
"Constructive Criticisms?" Luna repeated, not sure what she meant.  
"yeah, um… for starters, that is a stupid plan! For starters, you know that only half of the Changeling horde is gone. So what about that giant monster, the one whose monsters made us lose Canterlot and Ponyville? You take him into account?"  
"we know this will likely be a suicide mission." one of the guards said.  
"then why do this?"  
"for our families." Luna said. "some of us have families still in Canterlot. Free Fall's husband, Sun Frail, is still in there, as well as Cryo Spell's son. as well as your daughter, Derpy."  
Luna had her their. She did miss Dinky something fierce but she knew that… "I know but I'm not going to risk my life on a suicide mission. And you said your fighting for your families so what about Trixie, Luna?" Luna was caught off guard by that and looked away. "the two of you just got married and you already want her to become a widow?"  
Luna wasn't sure what to say. Her own guard lost family during this war but she still has hers; Her sister. Her friends. Trixie. "I…"

Begin Song: watch?v=PzB6KavJF3c The Ark - Transformers: Fall of Cybertron OST

A large shadow passed over them all, cutting the conversation short. Everyone there looked up and gasped in terror when they saw what passed over them.  
"They…. They have one?" Derpy gasped.  
The shadow moved away from them, leaving them to wonder what they just witnessed. Luna shook her head and regained herself. "It's heading for Maredrid. We have to get back and warn them." she said.  
Luna and her guard gave themselves a running start before taking to the air.  
"h-hey!" Derpy exclaimed, not a fast runner or flyer like them. "I'm not as skilled as you guys!" she flew after them, hoping to catch up.

The shadow moved down out of the mountains and moved over Maredrid, covering the city completely.

"What in the world is this?" Hiccup exclaimed.  
"how can there be a shadow during dusk?" Twi exclaimed. "it's not possible."  
Cynder looked up and gulped. "I'd say that makes it possible."

Above the city was a massive ship similar in shape to Orion. The difference is that it was made entirely out of lumonesint shadow.

"is that Orion?" Satoshi gasped. "it's impossible. I took the blueprints."  
"Doesn't mean that Oscurita can't copy it." Req said. "remember all the Shadow Beings he sent after us were copies of us and the ponies. Who's to say he can't copy ships?"  
"good point."

The Changelings on board the shadow ship were antsy in the pantsy, eager to get some fighting in. they let Oscurita take the first two cities, now it's their turn.  
Edge walked out onto the bow and thrust one of his hooves forward.  
"Take this city in the name of our great leader Chrysalis. And show them all the power of the Changelings and the power of our new flagship, the Vascillia!"

The cannons aimed down at the city and fired, destroying a good chunk of buildings in a single volley.

The Changeling horde hissed as they jumped from the ship and headed down to the city. Some slammed into the ground like back at Cadence's wedding and went to work.

A changeling hissed as it chased Colgate and Berry Pinch into a alley. Riku smirked and summoned up his Keyblade.  
"Wait! Stop!" Berry Punch exclaimed as she ran in front of him.  
"what are you doing? You want those two to get killed?"  
"no, but I don't want you to kill the changeling."  
"What?" Riku said in confusion and anger.  
"in the millennia's we raged war, we never killed anyone, even if they killed us. That's our rule for war and we're sticking to it."  
Great. Not killing is going to make this entire conflict more difficult.  
The Changeling hissed as it closed in on Pinch and Colgate. It was about to deliver the final blow when it suddenly froze. The two looked to the exit and saw Riku standing there. Berry Punch ran in and hugged them both.  
Riku sighed and rolled his eyes. "not a good time to be hugging."

Orochi appeared on the side of a mountain overlooking the city and smiled. He lived for stuff like this. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the card he had made the night before.  
"time for you to make your return…" Glacies said as he raised the card into the sky. Wind swirled around him and shot up into the air. "Mighty King of Death!" a beam of Neon Blue light shot out of the card and into the air.

Derpy, Luna, and the rest of the Lunar guard returned to see Maredrid in flames and the citizens in it screaming our in fear and terror.  
"and there's another reason you can't launch an attack on Canterlot." Derpy somberly said.  
A stern Luna heard her but didn't want to say anything about it. "all right. Let's get down there and help out anyway we can."  
Luna and her guard flew on down to the city. Derpy spread her wings to follow but noticed Orochi standing on the cliff, holding the card up. The beam shot out, catching her off guard.  
"what's he up too?" she muttered.

Edge scanned the town from above, trying to find the Pegasus he was looking for. Sure enough, he found her running though town, trying to get to safety. He jumped of and flew down after her.

End Song.

Fluttershy ran though town as fast as she could, avoiding all the localized fights and fires as best she could.  
Edge hit her from the side and dragged her down a alleyway before pinning her up against a well with his right hoof. In his left hoof, he summoned up those claws and held them up to her.  
Fluttershy strained as she opened one eye. "…E-Edge…"  
"there you go again with my name. Last we met, you also mentioned that name. how do you know me?" he pushed her up further, putting pressure on her throat. "Tell me."  
Fluttershy strained as she tried to breath. "y-you are… my best friend."  
Friend? Best friend? This Pegasus has really lost it. He let her go and let her fall to the ground. She held her neck as she coughed, filling her lungs with air. "Friend? Impossible. Ponies and Changelings can never be friends. Chrysalis told us herself."  
Fluttershy coughed as she looked up at him. "do you believe everything she says?"  
"yes. She's our queen."  
"well, she's wrong. We were friends. The best of friends. You helped me get reconcile things with my mothers. You helped some of my friends with tough spots in their lives. You… you even…"  
"Shut up!" Edge exclaimed. "you honestly expect me to buy such drivel? How dumb do you think I am?"  
"I'm not trying to trick you. Chrysalis did something to your mind, I'm sure of it. The Edge I knew- no. the Edge I still know was a kind and gentle soul who was friends with everyone. I even gave you a present for Hearth's Warming Eve."  
Geez, doesn't she ever shut up? How can someone ever be friends with a Changeling? There's no way.  
"Fluttershy!" Bahamut exclaimed as he flew down the alley towards her and Edge. He slammed in the Changeling and held him in the same position he had Fluttershy in seconds earlier.  
"Time for you to face the music, Changeling." Bahamut snarled as fire formed in his mouth.  
"Bahamut, wait. That's Edge!"  
Bahamut stopped his fire when he heard that. He took a closer look and recognized him. "it… is Edge." he gasped. He let him go, making him fall to the ground. "but why is he working for the enemy?"  
"Chrysalis did something to him, I'm sure of it."  
"Who in Tartarus are you?" Edge groaned as he rubbed his neck.  
"it's me. Bahamut. Your friend, remember?"  
Another one, claiming to be his friend. And a Dragon, no less. That started filling him with doubt. What if there was some truth to the Pegasus' words.

A dark cloud lowered from the sky and began to take the form of what was on the card. "time for the king to make his return." Glacies said forebodingly as the wind whipped around him.  
"Hey!" Derpy exclaimed as she walked up to him. She had a stick on her back, ready to go. "who the heck are you?"  
Orochi looked back and snickered as Ignis took over. "well, well, well. If it isn't the nuisance."  
"nuisance?" Derpy asked, not sure what he met by it.  
"it's thanks to you that he isn't operating to his fullest potential." Aqua said.  
"What are you talking about?" Derpy asked, still trying to figure it out.  
Lumen took over and pulled her over. "you should know. The two of you go back a long ways." he tossed Derpy over his back and kicked her down to the city. "lousy wretch."

Derpy yelled as she fell to the ground. The kick cracked her left wing so she couldn't fly right. A flash of blue flew over and caught her, making them both fall into a few garbage cans.  
Derpy moaned as she got up and rubbed her head. Luna moaned as she sat up. "that hurt." they both moaned.  
Trixie and several Lunar guards ran over to them. "are you two okay?" Trixie asked.  
"just peachy." they both sarcastically replied.

The dark cloud took shape of a familiar monster, much to Orochi's glee. "Now. Rise, King of the Monsters! Rise, Gojira!" Terra exclaimed.

Begin Song: watch?v=RQ43d2uQAhc Guardando Nel Buio - Kingdom Hearts 1 OST

Lightning bolts made out of pure darkness shot out of the clouds and struck the mass, giving it organic qualities.

A Changeling was shot beneath the feet by Ash then head butted by Spyro. They both heard a loud boom and looked up.

Giant lavender eyes opened wide as the monster from the card finally came to life.  
"Hahahahaha! There's no way they can stop you now! Now, Crush them Godzilla!"  
Godzilla (in his Godzilla 2000 look) growled for a moment then let loose his Trademark Roar. It was loud enough to echo across the entire planet. "what was that?" Dinky asked back in Canterlot.

Req looked up and instantly reacted. "HOLY SHIT! Where'd that thing come from!?" she exclaimed in fear. "we have to run!" she said to Celestia.  
"no." Celestia said her to herself. "I won't run away. Not again. I already lost two cities and many of my subjects. I won't lose anymore!"  
"normally, I would agree with you, but NOT WITH THIS GUY!" Requiem yelled, pointing to the towering king. "This is the kind of thing you want to run away from!" Req ran around, sounding like Shemp as she ran.  
"Trust us. If it can scare Req, you should really run." Sora said.

Orochi, or rather Terra, laughed like a mad-man. "HAHAHAHA! Destroy! Crush! Obliterate! Kill them all!"  
The monsters spines flashed for a minute before he let loose a fireball. "Don't remember him doing that in the movies." Ventus mentioned.  
The fireball hit downtown Maredrid, destroying everything in it.

Vascillia aimed it's cannons and fired again at the town.  
Shadow gathered up his blueprints for his invention and ran out his house. And just in the nick of time as it exploded not 5 seconds after he left.

Having already planned in case the Changelings attacked the coastal town, trains were already made to leave, with one car separated for food and water. The first train is loaded with Maredrid natives, as well as children. Once it was filled, it took off, leaving only one more train; the same train used in the escapes from Canterlot and Ponyville.

A explosion rocked the town.  
Fluttershy yelled and fell over. As if by instinct, Edge caught her before she hit the ground, catching all 3 of them by surprise.  
"Did I…" Edge muttered. Fluttershy blushed at the awkward position, but mostly due to the fact that it was Edge that caught her. He let her go as another explosion echoed. He looked up at the ship, thought to himself, then looked to the Pegasus and Dragon. "Go. Leave." he calmly said.  
"Edge, I…" Fluttershy stopped right there. She wasn't sure what to say.  
"Go before I change my mind."  
Bahamut grabbed Fluttershy's hoof and both ran out of the alleyway. Edge watched them leave and felt… relieved. Why would he feel relieved. Images flooded though his mind, bombarding him with strange pictures of that Pegasus. Either the Pegasus or his Queen was lying to him. And only one person had the answers he needed.

The spines on Godzilla's back glowed bright pink, same with his mouth.  
After watching his movies, Req knew what was happened. "Nyaaaaaah!" she exclaimed like a Stooge. "Hurry, hurry, hurry! Get in quick!" she exclaimed.  
Fluttershy, Bahamut, Luna, Trixie, and Derpy were the last ones on board. Req jumped on top of the train and fired a sliver of light past the engine.  
Having seen the signal, the engineers threw the train into motion.

The train squeaked as it's wheels spun and pulled the train out.

The Vascillia pulled out of the city, every Changeling in the attack on board.

Fully powered up, Godzilla let loose a powerful Heat Beam. It struck the center of town. What followed could only be categorized as a miniature A-Bomb.

The force from the explosion caught up to the train, making it rumble violently. Thankfully, it stayed on the tracks and kept on chugging.

End Song.

Godzilla growled as he disintegrated and went back into the card. Orochi lifted it up and smiled. "works better then I thought." Lumen snickered as he put it away. He looked out at the remains of Maredrid. There was nothing left of the city but a smoking crater.  
He heard a train whistle off in the distance and playfully smiled. "well, time for me to indulge myself." Tenebrae said as he looked though the cards. He found one just perfect. "Time to unleashed the Hounds of Hell."

Lloyd groaned as he fell onto his back. "What a day."  
"At least we got a 3 day break out of all this." Amelia said, trying to stay positive.  
Satoshi glanced out the window, looking back at the rising mushroom cloud from what was once Maredrid. His vision moved down and he saw something running towards them. Multiple something's.  
"Grab your guns." he told Fox and Ash.  
Confused by what he meant by that, Req got up and walked to the window as the trio walked to the caboose. "oh, shit. Hell Hounds."  
A pack of Hell Hounds ran towards the train, moving as fast as the locomotive. Ash, Satoshi, and Fox took aim and fired at the monsters.  
Their shots fired wide, covering a wide area. Some hit the Hell Hounds but they were stubborn and just shrugged them off.  
One Hell Hound got up and lunged towards them, mouth wide open.


	80. Leviathan

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

A Changeling's Lament

Chapter 15

Leviathan

Lloyd groaned as he fell onto his back. "What a day."  
"At least we got a 3 day break out of all this." Amelia said, trying to stay positive.  
Satoshi glanced out the window, looking back at the rising mushroom cloud from what was once Maredrid. His vision moved down and he saw something running towards them. Multiple something's.  
"Grab your guns." he told Fox and Ash.  
Confused by what he meant by that, Req got up and walked to the window as the trio walked to the caboose. "oh, shit. Hell Hounds."  
A pack of Hell Hounds ran towards the train, moving as fast as the locomotive. Ash, Satoshi, and Fox took aim and fired at the monsters.  
Their shots fired wide, covering a wide area. Some hit the Hell Hounds but they were stubborn and just shrugged them off.  
One Hell Hound got up and lunged towards them, mouth wide open.

The Vascillia flew though the air, heading back to Canterlot. The Changelings on board cheered at a top well done. On this side of the country, there's no way for the escapees to hide now.  
Edge, however, felt uncomfortable. He had 2 different people say that he was their friend; both of whom he swears he never met. But… there was something in him that's telling him he met them, he knew them. And every time he thinks about that Pegasus, he feels… weird. Like really weird. And Chrysalis told him that there's no way Ponies could ever be friends with Changelings. Her story said otherwise and that Pegasus also says other wise. So who's lying? He saw Leon and Friction walk by but didn't pay it much heed.  
"my liege. The prisoner is resisting." a subordinate said to him. Edge got up and went with her down to the bowels of the ship. The soldier opened the door and Edge went right in.  
"Let me go." a familiar English accent said. "I'm just a foal, what do you want with me?" Pipsqueak asked.  
Edge leaned forward and snarled. "you are something to keep a nuisance from further interfering with our ally."  
Pip had absolutely new clue what he was talking about. Edge knew that but didn't care. He left the room and closed the door behind him.  
"soldier." Leon said as he walked over to the navigator of the ship. "when that train left, what route did it take?"  
The Navigator thought back to the attack and the trains fleeing from Maredrid before it blew up. "mmm… that route would…"

Begin Song: watch?v=PqBhDo1-iMg a Hard Ride - Assassin's Creed Revelations Unreleased OST

0:00.  
One Hell Hound caught up and lunged towards them, mouth wide open. A fireball flew down it's gullet and blew it apart from the inside.  
Fox spun his staff and put it back behind his back as he raised his rifle. "these things are worse then Sharpclaws."  
"I remember those. Not fun." Satoshi said with a gasp at the end as they continued to fire.

Shots fired out from the caboose, each one trying to take out one of those Hell Hounds but they were too fast and too dexterous. In short, they were in trouble.  
A few shots from Ash's pistols hit one right in the head but it kept on chugging along.

"what's going on out there?" Cynder asked, poking her head out. A fireball shot past her head, singeing her horns. "never mind." she said. She looked the other way and saw that the train was nearing a bridge.

"Bomdi Wind!" Zel and Amelia yelled out, casting a powerful wind spell that slowed the Hell Hounds down and gave the train a little boost.  
"Not sure what you guys did but it worked." Pinkie said up to them. A fireball shot right by her, singeing her hair. "oop."

0:32.  
The train rolled onto the bridge, beginning a 2 day slog across it to the other side. The lead Hound growled to it's compatriots, who growled back at him. the Hell Hounds split up; some going on the sides and running along it, not losing momentum or grip.  
"now that's cheating." Satoshi whined.  
"just keep shooting." Ash said.

Something LARGE stirred beneath the surface of the water. It growled up at the train, feeling something familiar was on it, then swam along the side of the bridge, keeping pace with the locomotive.

"why does this keep happening?" a random pony screamed out as everyone inside took cover the best they could. Fireballs from the Hounds flew by the windows, creating scary shadows on the walls that scared the fillies and foals.

A Hell Hound running along the side caught up to the train and fired a fireball at it, hitting the caboose on the right side, destroying the wall.

The explosion rocked the entire train. Twi grunted as she hit against the side. She rubbed her shoulder then looked out the window.  
"wait… something about this feels… familiar." she muttered. The same glistening water, the super-wide river, the ship sailing across it. A knot formed in her stomach as she recognized it and she felt Starlight get the same knot.  
They were heading back to the Gryphon Kingdom.

1:04.  
The Hell Hounds started to gain momentum over the train and caught up with it easy. One jumped up onto the caboose onto to be met with the cold steel of Zel's sword, knocking it over the side.  
"Freeze Arrow!" he yelled, firing a arrow of ice out of his sword, hitting the hound. The hound froze and fell to the river below.  
Once he hit it, the hound howled out in pain as it evaporated in mist.  
"what just happened?" Satoshi asked, looking over the side.  
"I think they don't like water." Amelia said.  
That gave Ash an idea. He input a sequence into the jewels encrusted into the handles of his pistols, took aim, and fired at a Hell Hound. The round hit and splashed over the monster like water. It howled in pain as it too evaporated.  
"huh. They do hate water. Zel, Amelia…"  
"Already on it." they both said as they powered up a water spell.

1:40.  
Surrounding the train on all sides, the Hell Hounds moved up onto the train itself and snarled at the windows, scaring everyone inside.

Spell fully powered up, Zel and Amelia opened their eyes and let it loose.  
"Torrent!"  
A tidal wave started from the front of the train and moved it's way towards the caboose, taking out any monster on the way. It eventually moved past the caboose and took out any remaining perusing Hell Hounds.

1:59. End Song.

Zel and Amelia panted as they fell back onto the caboose's roof. They looked at each other and high-fived.

Ash walked back into 4th train car and sputtered as he fell to his feet. "they're gone." he sighed. "ugly bastards almost got us, though."  
"We know." Emil pointed to a window which shows the outline of a Hell Hounds head.  
"but where did they come from? Those things aren't indigenous to our world." Zil wondered.  
"I think I know." Derpy said, getting their attention. "Back at Maredrid, I saw someone use a card to summon up that monster that destroyed the town."  
"a card? what is this, Yu-Gi-Oh?" he muttered to Sora. She shrugged, not really knowing.  
"you remember anything else?" Sora asked.  
"not really. Just that he kicked me hard." she said as she rubbed her back.  
Suddenly, the train screeched to a halt, propelling everyone forward.

The wheels sparked as the train grinded to a halt. The steam rushed forward and rose into the air.  
Celestia walked to the engine, holding a bad neck. "what gives?" she asked with a groan.  
"there's a large beast blocking the road ahead." the engineer explained. Curious, she walked over to the side and looked out ahead of them, as did everyone else in the cars.  
Blocking their route was a Leviathan, a large serpentine creature with the head of a crocodile. This one had a bad left eye with a noticeable scar over it. The passengers gasped in fear at the sight of it.  
"They have them here too?" Req muttered. She remembered the Leviathan she and her friends encountered on Earth, and again on Berk and Warfang. They have the same design. Couldn't be just coincidence.  
The Leviathan slithered off the bridge and slowly swam over to the train. It peered inside the cars and snarled. He knows he felt something familiar inside it.  
"What's he doing?" Marble asked with a gulp.  
"I think he's looking for someone." Pinkie whispered back.

Back at the engine, the engineer was trying to get the train moving again. That sudden stop messed with the coal intake and the train was still beat up after all 3 escapes.

The Leviathan looked into each car, searching for his target.  
"just to clarify, how strong is that thing?" Emil shakingly asked.  
"VERY strong." Applejack replied, just as shaken up.  
The Leviathan reached car 4, looked in, and saw a familiar gray mare; one he hasn't seen in years.  
"YOU!" he exclaimed in anger. A confused Derpy pointed to herself, wondering if he was talking about her.

Begin Song: watch?v=ptAPujlGcB0 Modern Crisis City - Sonic Generations OST

He reared his head back, powered up his beam attack, and fired at the car. It hit, causing a explosion that destroyed the wall and covered the entire train in smoke. Everyone inside coughed as the smoke did it's job and incapacitated them. The leviathan reached in, grabbed Derpy, and fell back into the water.

"Who'd he take?" Fox exclaimed, watching from the last car..  
"I don't know. But there's one way to find out." Zel said as he cast ray-wing.

The Leviathan swam up the clear river, taking the gasping Derpy with him. She struggled to get loose so she can get more air but his grip was too strong.  
The Leviathan broke the surface not far from the bridge and roared to the sky.  
Derpy took a deep breath and coughed up water. The monster looked down at her and snarled. "why did you take me?" she strained to the Leviathan. "just who are you?"  
The Leviathan gave a guttural growl as he brought her to eye level. "what a shame. You don't remember me? Well I remember you as clear as day. And I remember that welp you were with; that waste of scales eTu`nes." he put on the squeeze. Derpy grunted in pain as she felt her body be put under a lot of pressure. "It's ironic, really. I mess up your eyes and he goes and takes out my left eye."  
Derpy yelled out in pain and, at the same time, remembered what he was talking about; that day 20 years ago, when she got her derped up eyes. "I-it's you. You're that monster from 20 years ago."  
The monster chuckled, glad that she remembered him. "and now, since your little friend isn't hear anymore and I'm feeling hungry, I think it's time for a little snack. I'm thinking on having Pegasus Cakes!"  
Derpy yelled as the monster pulled her to his mouth. A surge of electricity hit him in the back, causing him to yell in pain. When it stopped, he kneeled forward. A spot on his lower back crackled as burns traced all over it. The monster snarled and looked in the direction it came from.  
"Let her go, you… you thing." Amelia demanded. Zel fired another lightning round at the monster. The Leviathan moved to the side and roared up at him. He powered up and fired his beam attack. It cut between the two, forcing them to separate. Req flew beneath it and powered up her sword.  
"Seraphim Blade!"  
She cut up, sending a sword-beam at the monster. It hit him on the neck, causing a mini-explosion.  
The monster snarled then laughed. "oh, that tickled." he evilly glanced up at him and powered up his beam attack again. "now let me show you a true beam." he reared back his head, ready to fire again.  
Req brought her sword up to defend herself when a large black mass suddenly flew by and crashed into the Leviathan, sending both into the water with a huge splash.  
Derpy was sent flying into the air. Due to the pain caused by the leviathan, she wasn't able to spread her wings in time. Thankfully, Luna caught her before she got anywhere near the water.  
Derpy took a breath of relief and sighed. "thanks for the save, Luna."  
"it's no problem."

A large, explosive splash erupted out of the water. "Move it!" Req yelled. All 4 of them moved away from the big splash, only getting soaked instead.  
The Leviathan snarled and bit down on his attacker's arm. His foe responded by grabbed his throat and choking him.  
Luna looked back at the battle and saw who the new guy was. "Is that…"  
"Oscurita?" Amelia finished.  
A shadow-less Oscurita roared as he also bit down on the Leviathan's neck. The Leviathan roared out in pain. With one swift stroke, he tail-whipped the dragon in the head, making him let go. Oscurita punched the monster right in the jaw, knocking a few teeth out.  
"I don't understand. Why's he fighting for us?"  
"And what happened to his shadow disguise?" Req added.  
"Who cares." Zel said. "let's get out of here before he decides to come after us."  
Everyone nodded and flew back to the train. Derpy looked back at the fight, wondering why a enemy would help them. But her bigger question is… "Why does he feel… so familiar?"  
The Leviathan wrapped itself around Oscurita and put down the squeeze, hoping to choke the life out of him. The monster recognized who he was fighting and chuckled. "I remember you. The little welp that took my eye. Hmhm. After I'm done with you, I'm gonna have that mare for a snack."  
Oscurita growled in anger. He struggled and got loose of the hold the monster had on him. He turned around in mid-flight and powered up his beam attack. The Leviathan powered up his and reared his head back. Both fired at the same time and both hit in the middle, causing a big explosion that sent the leviathan into the river and the dragon into the coast.  
The force caught up to the fliers, lifting them up into the sky for a moment. They looked back and saw the explosions residue. They also saw a long dark shape swimming towards them under the water.  
"Move it!" Req yelled. Everyone flew away as fast as they could but the Leviathan was pretty fast by it's own right.  
Req, Amelia, and Zel already returned to the train but Luna was taking her time thanks to the injured Derpy on her back.  
The Leviathan burst out of the water, mouth wide open, ready to eat them whole.  
"Derpy!"  
"LUNA!"  
The monster was suddenly slammed into the bridge by a foot. The hand belonging to the same foot grabbed Luna and Derpy and flew beneath the bridge to the other side. Oscurita spun around several times and stopped in a epic pose far above them, Derpy and Luna in his clutches.  
"LUNA!" Trixie yelled out.  
The Leviathan held his head, shook it, then growled as he looked up at Oscurita. A beam hit him in the head, sending him flying away. The beam continued to strike, sending him far, far, far away.  
Oscurita closed his mouth then looked down at the two mares he clutched out of the air. They were both out cold. Not surprising, considering what he did. He spun around and flew away, leaving behind epic contrails.

End Song.

"No! Luna!"  
Req snarled and flew to the other side of the bridge. She looked back to the distrat Trixie and winked. That somewhat filled Trixie with confidence. "leave Luna and Derpy to us. You all get to Feather Top as soon as possible."  
Zel and Amelia joined up with Req. Toothless, Hiccup, and Gourry joined up with them.  
"leave the rescuing to us." Zel said with a thumbs-up.  
"Dealing with giant monsters is our specialty." Gourry and Hiccup both said in confidence.  
She didn't like this but Celestia knew it was the right choice. "Agreed. You come back safe with Derpy and Luna, you hear? There's a reason that monster took them both and something tells me it's tied into this whole mess. Bring them back alive, okay?"  
"will do."  
Req's body shone bright as she cast a spell that would help them. "Angel Wings!" the spell spread over them, giving the humans, minus Hiccup, angel wings. "this'll get us there faster." everyone nodded and flew off after Oscurita.  
The train began to move again as Celestia watched them fly away. "(those two… eTu`nes and Derpy… they may be the only ones worthy…)"


	81. Return

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

A Changeling's Lament

Chapter 16

Return

Chrysalis angrily snarled when she heard the news. Out of anger, she fired at and destroyed a pillar. Edge and Pipsqueak were taking off guard by her destroying that pillar in a such a violent fashion  
"I don't think I heard you correctly!" she snarled.  
"un… on the way back, we saw Oscurita fly in the direction of their escape. And when we saw him again, he was flying away from a battlefield where, from what we guess, fought a Leviathan and saved Princess Luna and a gray mare. He didn't even touch the train on which the escapees escaped on."  
Chrysalis snarled again and destroyed yet another pillar. "that damn bastard has gone rogue. It seems he doesn't care if he gets turned back or not. When he returns, make sure he receives due punishment." Edge isn't sure how he would do that but agreed none-the-less. "now… who's this little colt?" she gestured to Pipsqueak.  
"this was the only prisoner we could get from the attack from Maredrid. Calls himself Pipsqueak."  
Chrysalis looked down at the kid, who cowered behind Edge in fear. "why is he here?"  
"I figured he would keep our little purple nuisance in check."

Jax sat back on a crystal pillar and sputtered as she let go of her pick-ax and fell to the floor. "what a week." she grumbled. Dinky mimicked her perfectly. Things slowly and gradually got worse as time went on. More then a dozen ponies started getting sick from all the mining dust and lack of air deep within it. Even though she was heavily pregnant, Cadence was also sent down to work. Fortunately, it was just taking food and water to the miners.  
"better then digging at rocks." the princess said with a groan as she sat down beside Jax.  
Jax looked back at Cadence's prego belly and got a bit mad. "that Chrysalis has some nerve sending a expectant mother down here." she angrily muttered.  
"I know but after what she thinks I did 16 years ago, I don't blame her."  
"you ever thought of telling her that? Might get us out of here." Dinky suggested.  
"I tried to get to her a few times to tell her but those guards of hers, Leon and Friction, won't let me."  
The sound of a pick-ax hitting the ground caught their attention. The pony it belonged to fell to the ground, having trouble breathing. "Dad." his son exclaimed, running to his side.  
Cadence lamentably sighed. "seeing that always makes my heart sink." a couple of guards came in and dragged the sick pony away. "civilians caught in a war nobody saw coming, forced to do dangerous work for a tyrant."  
"sounds like war on every other world to me." Jax muttered, using a small but sharp rock to clean her fingernails. "just have to hope that it'll get better soon. I think that's what keeps people going…" she looked and saw the kid pick up his father's pick-ax and go to work. "… hope that it will end soon."  
Cadence nodded in agreement for a few seconds. Pain shot out of her mid-section, forcing her to bend forward and hold her stomach in pain. "princess!" Dinky exclaimed.  
Cadence gasped for air and panted. "I-I'm okay." she said painfully.  
Jax didn't buy that lame excuse, recognizing the signs. "no, you are not. I remember this from when Krystal had Marcus and when Toothless' girlfriend Cupid laid eggs. Cadence… you're going into labor."  
"What!?" Dinky exclaimed in surprise. "it's coming now?"  
Cadence shrugged off the pain and sighed. "no. no, it's not. That's the first contraction I had in 3 days. The baby is still far from coming. Odds are, it's gonna be another week until it comes."  
Jax must've heard that wrong. "wait wait wait. You've been in labor for 3 days?" she gave a sighing chuckle. "you're stronger then me. I can't even deal with the flu, let alone labor pains."  
"well… I do know that she won't be coming anytime soon."  
Dinky sighed and looked out to the outside though a crack in the ceiling. She's wondering if her mother will come back soon, along with everyone else.

Speaking of whom…  
Derpy groaned as she opened her eyes. They were blurry at first but eventually cleared up. She had a killer headache. "Man. I wish I had some Tylenol right now." she groaned. She looked up and saw that she was in a large cave. She heard snoring to her right. She looked and saw that Oscurita was sleeping. "why… would he save me?" she wondered to herself. She heard groaning to her left and saw that Luna was there with her. "Luna!" Derpy ran over and shook her. "Princess. Princess Luna."  
Luna groaned as she woke up. She saw a worried Derpy standing over her, concerned for her. "D-Derpy." she held her head as she sat up. "where are we?"  
"I don't know but I think we should get out of here." she pointed behind her to Oscurita.  
Luna winced in fear. "we should get out of here before he wakes up."  
"right. But where do we go?" they both looked around, trying to find a way out. A small pebble hit Luna in the head, getting her attention.  
"Psst! Over here!" Amelia whispered. Luna and Derpy looked and saw her and the others right behind a pillar. The two tip-toed over to them, trying not to wake Oscurita.  
"Be careful not to make any noise." Gourry whispered.  
They neared the group when Derpy tripped and fell into a small pile of pebbles, making a lot of noise. Oscurita's eyes shot open and snarled when he saw them trying to escape.  
Derpy poked her head out of the pile and shook pebbles out. She looked up and gulped. "oops." Oscurita roared and moved to take them out. "my bad." she embarrassingly said to her friends.  
Oscurita roared and moved to attack them. His back rubbed against the ceiling, causing it to cave it. A large boulder fell to the princess but she was too busy looking at Oscurita. Derpy did notice it and ran over to her. "Princess!" Derpy ran into Luna and pushed her out of the way as the entire cave caved it.

Twi depressingly sighed as she looked at the Gryphon Capital from the train. She was hoping she wouldn't have to return; not after what happened last time.

Last time she and her friends came, Trixie, in a effort to impress Twi and make the librarian fall in love with the magician instead of her brother, used a spell that inadvertadly turned every pony in Equestria human. Any pony outside of the country, such as Daring, Cadence, and Armor, were unaffected. Learning that there was a reversal spell, the gang set out for the Gryphon Kingdom. Once there, they learned that it was located in a old fortress of Nightmare Moon's. once there, they found the spell, learning too late that using any spell in the fortress, be it a light spell or the Reversal spell, Nightmare Moon would be revived without Luna. They used the spell, bringing about her return. After a long and arduous fight, which included Req getting possessed by the monster, Trixie almost dying, and Jax trying out the newly created Personality Shift, and some rather unexpected help from a giant dragon, they were able to defeat Nightmare Moon for good. Not long after that, Twi, Trix, and Derpy went out to celebrate, which resulted in Twilight getting kidnapped and that… resulted in the developing Starlight.

Halo could sense that Twi was upset and walked over to her. "you okay?" he asked.  
"no." she looked out the window to the massive tower in the middle of the city. "you remember what happened to me last time, right?"  
"yeah. You got kidnapped and that resulted in Starlight."  
Twi cringed and held her stomach. "I think Starlight hates coming back here, too." she sadly laid her head on her seat as Halo sat down beside her and nuzzled her.  
"it'll be okay. You have Armor, Cadence, Celestia and Luna, your parents. And me, if you want."  
Twi smiled and kissed her coltfriend. "of course I want you."

"I wonder how Gilda's doing." Dash wondered. "it's been too long since we last saw her." she said to 'Shy. "I wonder how she'll react when she finds out I became a mom." she looked down at the slumbering Draconequus and snickered. "well, adopted mother."  
"she'll probably be surprised." 'Shy depressingly said.  
Shadow was a little out of place, mostly due to 'Shy's personality. "un… did I miss something?"  
Dash looked to her friend and gestured Shadow to come close so she could tell him without 'Shy knowing. "her friend, Mirror's Edge, turned out to be a Changeling sent to spy on us. After he returned to his own kind and helped them take Canterlot, she's been like this."  
"oh, man. Think she'll be all right?"  
"Hopefully." she looked back to 'Shy and got sad. "I hate seeing her like this. Wish there was something I could do to cheer her up."

The train rolled into Feather Top station and hissed to a grinding halt before groaning. The engineer walked off the engine and patted her. "you did good, girl."  
"Wow. Big place." Lloyd said in astonishment as he looked at the city. "much bigger then Meltokio back home."  
"I'd say bigger then Canterlot." Sweetie Belle added, visiting the city for the first time as well.  
"it's big. No question about it." a distant Twi said, feeling off for being here.  
"you okay?" Cynder asked.  
"no. not really." she walked off to find her parents. In all this confusion these past few days, she never even tried to.  
Cynder watched in confusion as she walked off. "did I… say something wrong?"  
"no. she just has bad memories about this place." Sora said. "Really bad memories." Now Cyn was curious but didn't pursue it. Besides, she had a pretty good guess why.  
Celestia walked off and looked up at the tower. "I'll be back. I'm gonna go talk with King Zaltan."  
Ash looked to Celestia's left and gestured her to turn around. "I think he's coming to you." Celestia looked and saw the king coming to see them with Gilda and Jason coming with him.  
Zaltan arrived and bowed to Celestia. "Princess. We received your letter 11 hours ago. Allow me to be the first to say welcome to Feather Top, though I wish it was under better circumstances."  
"you and me both, Zaltan." Celestia somberly replied. "so… do you have shelter for us?"  
"Plenty. There's tons of abandoned buildings in District 4, summer get-a-ways that have been put up by the owners, and plenty of hotels. Not to mention loads of room in the tower itself."  
"Sounds better then our ol' town." the mayor of Maredrid commented.

Gilda yawned. She was never a fan of politics. Thankfully, she immediately found her ol' friend walking down to the streets. She snuck on after her and grabbed Dash.  
"Dashie. Long time no see." Gilda chortled as she gave the Pegasus a noogie.  
"hey hey hey hey." Dash grumbled, trying to get loose from Gilda's death grip. "Can't breath. Can't breath."  
Gilda chuckled and let Dash go in a spin. "so, what's new Dashie? Other then the war, I mean?"  
"well, I became a mom."  
Gilda heard that but laughed. She fell to the floor, laughing in pain. "Oh. Oh, that's rich. Dash a mom. How dumb do you think I am?"  
Dash looked at the guffawing Gilda with half-fazed eyes. Eris poked her head out from between Dash's feet and looked at the laughing Gilda. "mommy, who that?"  
"just a old friend."  
Gilda stopped laughing and wiped tears from her eyes. She noticed the Draconequus then looked up at dash. "you know you got a thing between your legs?"  
Dash looked down and saw Eris. "Hey, Eris. What are ya doing?"  
"hiding, mommy." she said in such a cute way.  
"Scootaloo being scary again?"  
"un-huh."  
Gilda shook her head, not believing what she was seeing. Dash really was a mom. Adopted, but still a mom. "you weren't kidding, were you?"  
Dash chuckled and smiled. she then remembered something she needed to do. "I-I have to go somewhere. Can you look after Eris for a minute?"  
"where to?"  
"It's just something personal." Dash unfurled her wings and flew away as Scootaloo, Shadow, and Soarin' reached where she was.  
"Where's she going?" Soarin' asked.  
"I don't know." Eris curiously walked up to Gilda and pulled out one of her feathers. "Ow." Gilda looked down at the baby and snarled. "though she left something I never expected her to have."  
Eris curiously looked up at Gilda when 3 other fliers flew over to them.  
"was that Dash that just flew away?" Zatch asked.  
"yep."  
Lightning noticed Eris and immediately went into mother mode. "OH! Look at the cute little baby!" she spoke in baby talk, which freaked out Eris rather then enjoying it.  
"Dash's daughter. Well, adopted daughter." Shadow said.  
"oh, hey. Shadow. Long time, no see." Gothic said. "so… you and Dash finally going out?" Shadow gave a groaning chuckle as he scratched his neck.  
"just trying to figure out where she went right now."  
"She did leave in a hurry. But why?" Gilda muttered.  
Scootaloo thought about it, thinking back to when Dash jumped. The reason why she left entered her mind. "I think I know where she went."

Pipsqueak yelped as he was thrown into the mine. He landed and skidded on his face, cutting his chin a bit. He quickly got up and turned to face the Changeling that threw him.  
"Try that again! Just try it." he said, trying to act brave but was, in fact, scared for his life. The Changeling chuckled and left.  
"Pipsqueak?" Dinky asked in surprise. He turned around to see Dinky right there, happy to see him. "Pipsqueak!" she ran over and hugged him, causing him to blush red like a tomato. "What are you doing here?"  
"Got captured. How else would I have gotten here?"  
"What happened?" Cadence asked as she and Jax walked over to him.  
"the Changelings attacked this small town; Maredrid I think it was called. Anyway, they used a giant monster to completely destroy the town; turn it into a crater."  
"oh no." Cadence gasped. Maredrid was one of her favorite towns.  
"What monster?" Jax asked.  
"it was that one from the movie shown at Nightmare Night. Not those gremlin things but that giant monster. What was it called?"  
"Godzilla?"  
"yeah. That's it."  
Jax was officially lost. Godzilla was a movie monster; it doesn't exist. So unless Chrysalis or Oscurita figured out how to turn movie monsters real, there's no way for him to be around. She then remembered that this happened before back on Iselia when that monster from The Host attacked. This couldn't be a coincidence; someone somewhere was making them come to life. But who and why?

The group have been given the beach house they had used the last time they were at Feather Top. Since there was more of them, they had to make every inch count, even the balcony. Thankfully for everyone sleeping outside, winters in the Gryphon Kingdom are warm; at around 68 degrees. They still had snow but it wasn't always 4 feet deep, usually for inches.  
"let's see… where will me and Luna sleep?" Trixie muttered.  
"why not take the master bed?" Armor suggested.  
"oh, no I couldn't. this is yours and Cadence's beach house, after all."  
"I know but this was supposed to be your honeymoon. Go on and take it. I insist."  
"Us too." everyone said in agreement.  
Trixie smiled at her friends but her expression took a turn south. She looked out the window to the river and sighed. "if they get back in one piece."

A soft sprinkle of rain pattered down in to a graveyard. A cyan Pegasus walked along a path to a particular gravestone and set down some roses.  
"hey, mom." Dash softly said. "I'm sorry for not visiting you when I was here 6 months ago. We were all busy trying to turn us back into ponies, and the stuff with Nightmare Moon and Twi getting knocked up… I didn't have time to come by the old homestead. Now I'm starting to wish that I did. I would've seen you one last time before you… you…" Dash tried to hold back tears but she couldn't. she broke down, fell to her knees, and cried. "Dammit. Why did you have to go and die? Why didn't you tell me you were sick? I would've tried to find you a cure." Dash hit the ground with her hoof and cried some more. "dammit… why did you have to die?"  
Tears fell from her face and landed on the grave stone. She can't believe that her mother was gone forever. Why wouldn't she tell her about a decease that was slowly killing her? Why is her life spiraling downhill like this? It's just not fair.  
Dash continued to cry until a clawed hand grabbed her right hoof. Dash tearfully looked and saw Eris standing there, holding her hoof. "Eris…" Dash grabbed Eris and hugged her tight. "I'm not going to let you go. Ever." more tears fell down her face and slipped down on Eris' shoulders. "I'm gonna be the best mom I can be. I swear it."  
Shadow walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Dash… I'm sorry."  
Dash sniffled as tears continued to fall. "I-I-It's okay." she shakingly said. She cleared her throat and got up. "it's okay. I just… I can't believe it. I don't want to believe my mom is gone. I just…"  
"I know. I know." Shadow softly said. "but you have Eris." they both looked down to Eris who looked up to them with a smile. "And you have Soarin', Scootaloo, Gilda, Zatch, Gothic, Lightning…" Shadow took her hooves and held them. "and you have me."  
"…Shadow…" Dash broke down again and cried into his shoulder. He didn't fight it and just let her cry. Eris felt that this was a tender moment between the two of them and snuck off.

Night had fallen on what was a rough week for the refugees. It felt like ages since anyone had a rest, and by golly they needed it.  
At Trixie's insistence, she's sharing the bed with Dash and Shadow. She overheard her crying at the graveyard and knew full well what it's like to lose your parents. She lost hers twice. She hoped that Luna was alright, as well as everyone else. She doesn't want to be alone just 8 days after being married.  
She heard the door open downstairs and slowly got out of bed, careful not to wake up the new slumbering couple. She reached the bottom of the stairs to see Zel, Amelia, Gourry, Hiccup, and Toothless come in. they were careful not to step on anyone.  
"Guys." She loudly whispered. "When did you get back?"  
"just 20 minutes ago." Zel whispered, holding his wounded shoulder.  
"We were lucky to get out of there alive." Gourry whispered.  
"what happened?" a curious Trixie asked.  
Amelia yawned and tried to keep her eyes open. "We'll tell you tomorrow. Right now, we're sleepy." she walked off and landed right on the floor.  
"What about Luna? And Derpy?"  
"Req took them to the hospital. Derpy saved Luna from a cave in but got crushed. And when that happen, the monster just… up and ran." Hiccup explained.  
Trixie breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness Luna was okay. But poor Derpy. She hopes she's all right. She has a lot of thanks to give the mailmare for saving her wife. But… why would Oscurita run away? From what she heard, it would've been a good opportunity to take them all right. Why didn't he?


	82. True Colors

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

A Changeling's Lament

Chapter 17

True Colors

Begin Song: watch?v=Xtlalymx848 Full of Unrest - Tales of Vesperia OST

A blast of green fire struck across Oscurita's chest, causing him to yell out in pain.  
"HOW DARE YOU DISOBEY ME!?" Chrysalis yelled at the top of her lungs. She fired another blast and hit him in the head. "YOU TRY ANYTHING LIKE THIS AGAIN AND I'LL DO MORE THEN JUST THIS!"  
she blasted him again and again and again. Her Changeling horde watched in horror as she laid the smack-down on the fight-less dragon. The ponies also watched in horror.  
A hissing Oscurita fell to his knees and coughed up purple. "YOU PULL SOMETHING LIKE THIS ONE MORE FUCKING TIME AND THE DEAL IS OFF!" Chrysalis stormed off, not before blasting him one last time.  
"oh my Faust." Cadence gasped.  
"I may be kinda sadistic but even I know that's borderline devilish." Jax said.  
Dinky worriedly looked at the dragon. Oscurita snarled as he held his chest, the last spot she blasted.

"Don't you think that was going overboard, Chrysalis?" Leon asked as he, Friction, and Edge followed after her. "I mean, he just disappeared for a day."  
Chrysalis snarled and pinned Leon to the wall, pressing down on his neck, cutting off his air. " 'just disappeared?' there's a lot of things he can do in a day. He could've told that Celestia our battle plans; our secrets; a way to break though the barrier." Leon struggled to breath as Friction stood there in shock. "Is that what you want? our endless food supply to go away? Our species to go extinct? Is that what YOU WANT!?"  
Leon had trouble breathing but was able to nod yes. Chrysalis let him go and allowed him to fall to the floor. She walked off in a huff. Leon got up just as Edge pinned him to the wall. "you would be wise not to cross our wise queen. Or me." he said in a threatening tone before walking off.  
Leon rubbed his throat as Friction walked up next to him. "absolute power corrupts absolutely." Leon said. They looked at each other. "you unfortunately thinking what I'm thinking?"  
"yeah. And I'm regretting thinking it." Friction said in a monotone.

End Song.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.  
The steady beep-beep of a heart monitor filled the hospital room. The machine was connected to a unconscious Derpy. Req and Luna were sound asleep on nearby chairs, keeping an eye on her. Well, Req was asleep. Luna was contemplating. That could've been her in that bed, out cold with a 50/50 chance of coming out of it. She owes Derpy her life for saving hers; if she ever comes out of that coma.  
The door to the room softly opened as Trixie slipped in. "Hey." she whispered to Luna.  
"hey." Luna replied.  
Trixie softly walked over and sat down on Luna's lap, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. "how's she doing?"  
"Still out cold." she looked at Derpy and sighed. "that could've been me."  
"huh?"  
"I don't know if the others told you but when they saved us from that monster, there was a cave-in. it was going to hit me when Derpy pushed me out of the way and took the full force. If she didn't do what she did, I would be laying there."  
"you can't control what some ponies are going to do." Trixie snickered as she thought back. "if I didn't try to turn myself into a stallion for Twi, I wouldn't have turned every pony human, we wouldn't have come here, Nightmare Moon wouldn't have been revived, Twi wouldn't have gotten pregnant, and I wouldn't have met you."  
"yeah, but…"  
"but what?" Luna softly snorted and got up. She grabbed a nearby pencil and plunged it deep into her hoof.  
"Luna!" Trixie softly exclaimed, surprised her wife would do that. Luna stopped her from doing anything and showed the little hole she put in her body. The wound bled but the bleeding slowed and eventually halted as the wound closed itself up. "What did…"  
"We Alicorns can heal faster then any other pony, Just like how Req can heal broken bones in just 2 days because she's a demi-goddess." she looked to Derpy and sighed. "so that should've been me lying there. I would've been healed by now."  
"but why you? You have me, Twilight, Celestia, Cadence, and everyone else who care about you. So why do you think you should be injured right now?"  
Luna looked back to the mare, knowing the answer long before Trixie asked. "because she's a mother. And I don't want her daughter to lose her mother during a war. I know what that's like." Luna somberly said, thinking back to when she and Celestia lost their mother. Trixie held Luna, knowing she needed someone right now.

Twi grabbed a bag and put it on her back. Halo and Armor were in another section of the shop, acting like a couple of idiots.  
"that will be 10 bits." the Changeling shopkeep said.  
"okay." she reached back and pulled out the said bits. "hard to believe that Changelings can be as nice as you."  
He gave her a snarl look. "And what does that mean? are all us Changelings all evil beings hell bent on world conquest?"  
Twi bit her hoof and gulped. She caused a big mess now. "no no no. I mean that with all that's happened, you didn't really get a stunning reputation."  
The Changeling sighed. He knew she didn't mean harm. "I know. But not all us Changeling's are as evil and sadistic as Chrysalis. Most of us prefer peace. Some of us even lived in Equestria when the invasion, the current one, hit. I can only imagine what happened to them. Some were my best friends."  
Twi could only imagine as well. If someone found out they had a Changeling living in their midst, it would turn into chaos for their city. And the Changeling themselves- Faust only knows what would happen to them.  
"Twilight. You okay?" Halo asked.  
"oh. No. just thinking." Twi made sure her bag was secured and headed to the door. "Well, I better get going."  
"Okay. And congratulations on the baby." Twi waved back with a smile but, inside, she felt like crap. It probably had to do where he built his shop. This building, the place where she was… taken advantage of, was turned into a maternity store. In some weird way, that makes appropriate.  
She walked out and headed down the street with her brother and boyfriend, both of them talking about boy things, something she's not interested in. they passed though a marketplace on the way home, dodging people of all species left and right.  
"… I tell you, it sucks that it closed down. I mean, where am I going to get my fix now?"  
Twilight went wide-eyed when she heard that voice. She froze in place and shivered with each breath. Halo looked back and noticed her like that. He tapped Armor, making him stop. "Twi? You okay?"  
"he's here." she gasped.  
"who?" Armor asked.  
"they guy who…" she held her stomach with both fore-hooves, still in shock. That's all the information those two needed. They looked around, trying to find the Pegasus she described when she was… well, you know. She also looked around and found him when he spoke again.  
"…I'm telling you, you do it a few times and you'll be right as rain." a mint-green Pegasus said to a couple of Dragons.

Spike sat by himself on a couch in the beach house, reading a book. Rarity sat down next to him and snuggled up next to him. "What'cha reading?"  
"Something of Sora's but I don't quite get it."  
Rarity looked underneath for the title. "50 Shades of Grey? Odd title."  
"Odder book." Spike muttered and threw it away. "I couldn't even follow it."  
Rarity chuckled softly. "so… did you think about what we should do about IT?"  
Spike sat back and got comfy. "well… we know we won't be able to show up Luna and Trixie. There's no way anyone can top that."  
"so true." Rarity rested her head on Spike's lap. "so… a small one? With just family and very close friends?"  
"sounds like our best option. Might get everyone's mind off the war."  
"I know I want my mind off it." she rolled onto her back and looked up at him. "Seems like just yesterday we were going out."  
"Seems like yesterday I was still a kid." Spike added.  
Rarity chuckled and kissed him on the cheek. "now look at us; we're having a child and getting married."  
"I'm glad it's with you. I can't picture my life without you."  
"you're such a charmer." Rarity cooed as she leaned up and kissed him.  
The door to the beach house opened up and Sweetie Belle walked in. "oh. Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt."  
"It's okay, sis." Rarity giggled. "do you want something?"  
"no, it's Fluttershy. She's been crying really hard."  
Fluttershy? Crying? Normally, this would sound like every day thing for her but she hasn't cried much since she became friends with Edge. Now, these seems like something out of the ordinary and something worth investigating.

Edge walked though the castle corridors and out into a garden. Something about this place felt familiar to him. He walked down the path to a pagoda and looked out at the view.  
"Wow. If there's one nice thing I can say about ponies, they know how to build cities with views." He turned to walk off when light reflected off something in the snow into his eyes. He covered his eyes as he moved out of it's range. "What is that?" he muttered as he walked towards it.

Sweetie Belle lead Spike and Rarity to the same sand dune she left her friends.  
"well, good news is that she's stopped crying." Applebloom said.  
"Still, we should probably talk to her." Rarity said as she walked over. Spike and the rest of the CMC followed. As they got closer, they heard what sounded like singing.

Edge reached down into the snow and picked up what was shining in his face. He brushed the snow off of it and took a good look at it.  
It was a golden chain necklace with a butterfly pendent.  
Something about it felt familiar. Very very familiar.  
As if carried over the wind, a song entered his mind. A song that felt heartwarming and friendly.

As Spike, Rarity, and the CMC got closer to Fluttershy, they definitely heard a song.

Begin Song: watch?v=bphjo4BWfTc Serah's Theme (Japanese version) - Final Fantasy XIII

Make my wish come true, let darkness slip aside  
Hiding all our hope, mocking what we treasure  
Battles we can win, if we believe our souls  
Hang in for the light, till dawn  
Fate will not leave you, hate will not heal you  
Pray and one day, peace shall flow everywhere

End song.

Fluttershy opened her eyes and looked up to the sky. That song always helped her feel better.  
"Fluttershy?" Rarity said in confusion.  
'Shy looked over to her and saw them all. "Rarity? Spike, Scootaloo? What are you guys doing here?"  
"we heard you crying. Same way you did back in Ponyville." Applebloom said. "are you okay?"  
Fluttershy sadly looked away and sighed. "no. I'm not. I've been thinking about Edge and… that song just came out."  
"Why?" Spike asked.  
Fluttershy looked up to the sky and closed her eyes, taking in the salt air. "I think I figured out why Edge betrayed us."

Edge tried to pin where he heard that song from but he swears that he never heard it before. Suddenly, his head began to hurt. He grabbed it in pain and fell to his knees.

"does he need a reason to betray us? He's a Changeling. They will betray you whenever they get a chance." Rarity said.  
"that is so not true, Sis." Sweetie Belle said with genuine force. "did you forget the 5 months he spent with all us? He was kind and caring and loveable. There's no way he would betray us; at least without some good excuse."  
"And besides, the Changelings that live here are nice and sweet just like him." Scootaloo added. "They hate this war as much as we do."  
Spike and Rarity looked at each other. Leave it to kids to point out the obvious, but overlooked, views the grown-ups always seem to miss. "well, even if that's true, that still doesn't give him a reason to betray us." Spike said.  
Fluttershy winced in pain. "Actually. I know why. Back at the rehearsal dinner, during the dance, Edge told me that he… that he loved me."  
"Loved you?!" they all exclaimed.  
"Can a Changeling even fall in love?" Sweetie Belle asked.  
"I guess so. They feed on it; who's to say they can't feel it."  
"Edge told me that there's no physical way for Changelings to feel love but… I think I did something to him." a seagull landed on the sand and poked it's beak into seashells. "All those weeks caring for him when he was injured; willingly giving him love… he probably devolved it himself."  
"so… he betrayed us because you rejected him?" Rarity asked, trying to make sure.  
"Well… yes. But that was only because he was a Changeling. There was no way it would work out between us. But… now that I think about it, I think I made a mistake. When I see couples like you and Spike, or Daring and Bolt, or any of the other couples here in the capital, the more I think I made… a very big mistake."  
"Mistake?" everyone calmly asked.  
Fluttershy deeply sighed as she held her heart. "I had the best time of my life with him; my favorite laughs, my favorite cries, my favorite hugs. He even helped me get back together with my mothers. And… every time I was around him in the last month, I got nervous and excited to be near him."  
Rarity pieced what she was saying together and figured it out. "Wait… are you saying…"  
Fluttershy removed her hoof from her heart and softly cried a single tear.  
"I love him… from the bottom of my heart."

Edge held his head in pain as a major headache worked it's way though, bombarding him with images upon images of someone's life he swears were not his. He saw… a crimson Pegasus hanging out with the same people he was in charge of pursuing, hanging out with that purple dragon called Spike… spending time with that yellow Pegasus.  
"Fluttershy…" he groaned in pain.  
Something snapped in his mind, something that made complete sense, like a barrier had been destroyed. He fell to the snow and took in a deep breath, coughing along the way. Beads of sweat fell from his brow and landed in the snow with each jagged breath.  
"what… is happening to me?" he cringed as he held his heart.  
Eventually the pain passed, allowing him to get up. He grabbed the necklace and looked at it. The butterfly… it was the same one that was on Fluttershy's flank. She says they were friends, even a dragon confirmed it. And this necklace was solidifying that fact. So if it was true, one question remained.  
Why can't he remember any of it?  
A shadow passed over him and flew away. He looked up and saw Vascillia fly away. He put the necklace inside his armor and took off after it. He had a different destination for that ship.

"I love him… from the bottom of my heart."  
"you what!?" everyone exclaimed in surprise.  
"what? You find pony/changeling relationships disgusting?" Someone said from behind. They looked to see a couple of figures standing behind them, both Changeling. Spike snarled as he got claws ready. "well, I think pony/dragon relationships are disgusting." Leon said.  
"What are you two doing here?" Fluttershy asked, ignoring the danger.  
Friction walked in front of Leon. "we know what happened to Edge and how our queen got that monster. And we're willing to tell you…"


	83. The True Reason

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

A Changeling's Lament

Chapter 18

The True Reason

Orochi walked though the fortress that once belonged to Nightmare Moon centuries ago. Now there was nothing but rubble and dust.

"My my my. They really torn this place up." Terra joked.

"And that's somehow funny?" Fulmen asked.

"well… yeah."

Aqua groaned as she rolled her eyes. "un-believable. And I thought Ignis was the volatile one."

"hey! That's violent." Ignis said.

"Quiet!" Glacies exclaimed. "if we want to get our toy back, we have to make sure that Chrysalis has no one to oppose her." Orochi walked though the decimated forest and to the edge of the mountain top. He reached back into his pockets and pulled out a deck of cards. "and since he worked so well last time…" he reached in and pulled out the one he used last time. "…I think it's time for the king to make his return." he looked up and smirked at the distant city of Feather Top.

In the main throne room, Celestia had just finished explaining the full story to Zaltan and his two children Gilda and Silverbolt.

"…and then, after a unexpected bout with a Leviathan, we ended up here and you know the rest."

"hmm… I never knew Chrysalis would be this desperate." Zaltan muttered.

"desperate?"

Zaltan got up off his throne and walked down. "you know that we trade with all nations, regardless of standing, and that we have Changelings living here, right?"

"yeah. I saw a few down in un… section 3, was it, on the way here. Why?"

"well, before we made them citizens, we asked them why they left their homeland and came here. What we heard was… disturbing."

"Disturbing?"

"very disturbing. Not something we like to discuss openly." Leon said as he walked in. Celestia readied her magic and prepared to attack him. "peace, princess. I come not to fight."

"Then why are you here?"

Leon looked back to the guards and counted only two. In case Celestia said no, he'd need to make a quick getaway. "to help you defeat Chrysalis."

Fluttershy sat along on the snow covered hill, absorbing what Friction and Leon had told her. She replayed the scene in her head, still trying to understand.

"Purged?" Fluttershy asked, making sure she heard that correctly.

Friction nodded in confirmation. "Purge is what Chrysalis calls her little toy."

"but what is it?" Spike asked.

"it's something Chrysalis does to make her most troublesome and disobedient soldiers loyal and mindless members of the hive. Well, that's one of it's functions but nobody knows all of them. She mostly uses it for obedience issues."

"what did it do to Edge?" Fluttershy insisted.

"from what Chrysalis has told me, it purged Edge's memory of the past 6 months, leaving him as he was before meeting all of you; a sadistic general in Chrysalis' army. He lead the attacks that took Ponyville and Maredrid."

Fluttershy's soul sank when she heard that. "so… he has no memory of his time with us?" Applebloom asked.

"no, they're there. They've just been violently moved to the most remote recesses of his mind."

"violently?" Rarity asked.

"well, Purging isn't exactly the most kind of experiences." Friction shivered in fear. "I still have nightmares about mine."

Fluttershy fell to her knees when she heard that. Edge? In such pain? This was all her fault. it had to be.

"Why are you telling us this? What's your angle?" Spike asked.

Friction turned to leave and unfurled her wings. "Come to the King's Chambers in 2 hours with your friends; both Elements of Harmony and Human. Everything will be explained there."

Fluttershy opened her eyes and looked up to the sky. Edge being turned into what he was now, it had to have been her fault. If she hadn't rejected him, maybe this whole war would've been avoided.

A mysterious soft shrieking sound entered her ears. She looked and saw something in the distance, heading straight for her and the city.

"oh no…"

Dinky lead Pipsqueak down a path to a being only she seemed to approach without dying.

"are you sure he's nice? He did destroy Canterlot."

"Trust me. He's nice." Dinky insisted. "he's just misunderstood."

"are you sure? He's a giant monster."

"That doesn't mean that he doesn't have feelings."

They walked around the corner and neared the giant dragon. Pipsqueak gulped in fear when he came face to face with the giant. He was waiting for them and stared at them when they approached. He noticed the new guy and snarled angrily.

Pipsqueak squealed as he ducked behind Dinky. "hey!" Dinky exclaimed with gusto. "Be nice! He's a friend."

Oscurita snorted steam out of his nose before going back into his familiar sleeping position.

"He listened?" Pipsqueak said in surprise.

"yeah." she looked down to her chest and the ring hanging off the chain. "I think he's only listening because I have this ring."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure. But as long as he doesn't eat me…" Pip nervously chuckled as he walked over with Dinky. Dinky jumped onto his arm, much to Pip's shock. "he won't hurt you. Trust me."

Pip gulped in fear. He wasn't so sure. He was a giant monster. They're known for not having feelings. Dinky rolled her eyes and used what magic she could to bring him up. Pip nervously shook when Oscurita looked towards them. "un… hi…" he nervously said as he waved.

Back in the throne room, the heroes of multiple worlds entered the throne room, some caught completely by surprise when they saw Leon and Friction standing on the other side with Celestia and Zaltan.

"What are those things doing here!?" Armor angrily said as he prepared his magic.

"every single pony is going to do that, aren't that?" Friction asked.

"We didn't exactly leave a good reputation on them." Leon joked.

"Calm yourself, Armor." Celestia ordered. "They are here as friends."

"Friends?" Fox said in confusion. "un… did you forget what those two did to Canterlot?"

"I am well aware but they have decided to side with us."

"Why?" Twilight said, not believing it for a moment.

"Because our Queen Chrysalis had grown too corrupt and too vile for her to keep saying she's doing this for out benefit." Leon said.

"Absolute power corrupts absolutely." Ash said, leaning on the wall.

"Exactly." Leon and Friction looked at each other and nodded. "but before we go any further, you'll gonna need to know our history.

Begin Song:  watch?v=wO1FdPXlsWw From Shadow Unto Crystal by youtuber CarbonMaestro

Leon and Friction's horns glowed as they prepared to use their magic. Some of the group took that as a threat and readied their weapons. Req stopped them before they did something stupid.

The shades will closed shut and the windows covered.

Leon and Friction combined their magic and shot a sliver of light into the center of the room. It sparked and expanded out, covering the entire room. Everyone reacted and backed up a bit, even the royalty.

The light turned into a lush green countryside with rolling hills and plenty of plains.

"for countless centuries, we Changelings lived in peace, living in seclusion from the other races…" Leon started. The image flashed, bringing forth plenty of towns inhabited by Changelings. "…we happily fed off the love for each other, keeping us substrate for great a long while. But, we would travel to the other countries on occasion and… ahem… borrow loving families."

"you mean kidnap." Riku said.

"if you want to put it that way."

"anyway…" Friction interrupted. "… we lived happy and peaceful lives, living under the monarchy of the royal family. Until…"

"until what?"

"until HE came."

The image changed from a peaceful and tranquil place to one of war and death. At the far end was a black unicorn with purple fire coming out of his eyes and a red horn. He had armor on his chest and a red cape which morphed into wings. Dark fire rose around him as he smiled wickedly.

"w-w-w-w-w-who is that?" Applebloom said, scared out of her wits. And she wasn't the only one. Everyone was pretty frightened by his appearance, even Celestia and Luna.

"We don't know." Leon said.

The Unicorn raised a staff into the air and swung it towards a Changeling city in the distance. A army of shadow ponies rose from shadows and marched towards it, leaving dark crystals in their wake.

"he launched an attack on our country, seeking to turn it into his own chaotic playground. He was quite powerful and nearly overwhelmed us. But, thanks to the sacrifice of the royal family, we were able to rout him away, sealing his powers away."

The Unicorn snarled and roared, launching a bolt of magic into the sky before a wave of green fire washed over him.

"but before we sealed his powers away, he cursed our land, turning it into a veritable wasteland."

The image changed, showing a damaged country-side that looked like it was hit by several dozen nukes.

"nothing ever grew there anymore. And anything that did turned into ravenous mutants that devoured anything and everything. At some points we… even had to resort to cannibalism to survive."

"oh dear." Amelia somberly said.

"that's not the worst of it." Friction said. "during the final battle, we lost the last heir to our throne. She sent flying by one of HIS spells. From what she told us, she wound up at the Crystal Empire, where she befriended it's heir."

The image changed to filly Cadence and Chrysalis meeting each other for the first time in the forest.

"Cadence?" Armor breathed.

"they became the best of friends until Cadence was ripped away from our princess and taken to Canterlot 16 years ago."

"16 years." Celestia muttered. Something about that time felt familiar. It also felt familiar to Twilight. They both arrived at the same conclusion.

"it was because of me, wasn't it?" Twilight asked, knowing full well the truth. "Cadence came to Canterlot because I became Celestia's student and she needed a foal-sitter to look after me when she couldn't."

"no. It was mine." Celestia sadly said. "I never knew she could be capable of this, at that young age. And I didn't believe that was her 6 months ago, either."

"what are you talking about?" Gilda asked, having trouble following that part of the story.

"she's saying that the filly Cadence befriended 16 years ago…" Req said as she walked to the center of the image, right near Cadence and Chrysalis. "… is currently the one in control of Canterlot."

Armor looked at the filly, knowing who it was even before Req said it. "Chrysalis. She launched both invasions as revenge at Celestia for taking Cadence away, and to save her people."

"that was her original intent…" Leon said as the image changed to the current Chrysalis with the same eyes as the Unicorn from before. "… but she's grown too power-hungry. She'll see the world burn before helping out her people."

"it all leads back to that Unicorn." Zel said. the image switched back to the evil and epic looking equine with fire around him. "if we find him, we can probably reverse this."

"we tried but we couldn't find him. It's like he disappeared into the shadows he commanded. No, it all comes down to defeating Chrysalis; even if it does leave us without a ruler."

Celestia couldn't accept that. She could never take out a kingdom for her own. And each country is connected to their rulers. If they die, the country and it's citizens go with them. "no. there has to be another way. Changelings don't deserve to die. They have a right to live just like us."

"but if you want your country and friends back, you have to take her out." Leon insisted.

"Oh!" Pinkie exclaimed out. "didn't Jax say she invented a spell that could help with these type of scenarios?"

Req hit herself in the head; how could she have been so blind? "of course. Personality Shift!"

"the what?" the newcomers asked.

Req snapped her fingers, switching the picture to their battle with Nightmare Moon. "during our fight with Nightmare Moon, she took advantage of a situation and possessed me and the only way to get her out of me was for Jax to use a spell she had recently invented; Personality Shift!"

The image moved, showing Jax casting the spell. The spell turned into a white blade, which she grabbed and charged at Nightmare Requiem. She hit her in the head, causing a flash of light. When it passed, Req and Nightmare fell to the ground separately.

"well, that's good and all but Chrysalis isn't possessed by anyone." Friction said.

"Ah, but that's the beauty. The spell has two different ways to work. The first one, you already saw, but the second one…" the image changed the 2 different Chrysalis'. "turns the victim into two separate people; One good. One evil."

Now they were getting it. "so if we rescue Jax and have her cast the spell on Chrysalis…" Spike started.

"… we then take out the evil one and leave the good one for the Changelings. Everyone wins." Applejack finished.

Celestia liked it. It was better then no plan at all. "all right. But we still need a plan of attack. Chrysalis still has that barrier surrounding Canterlot as well as that monster Oscurita."

The doors opened wide, breaking the image. "I'm afraid we have bigger problems right now." Fluttershy panted.

Vascillia flew over the river and right towards the capital. The Changelings and Shadow Beings prepared for a fight but Edge was here for a different reason.

He was looking for confirmation about a number of things, biggest of which was those images that keep entering his mind.

He reached into his armor and pulled out the necklace. This seemed to be the catalyst for it all. Another flood of images raced though his mind. He bent over and held his head in pain. The answers he needed were here; he's sure of it.

Orochi raised the card up and let it go. It hovered their as the image glowed.

Tenebrae snickered. "Time for a grand finale…"

Wisps of darkness wrapped around the image then into the sky.


	84. Battle of Feather Top

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

A Changeling's Lament

Chapter 19

Battle of Feather Top

"haha. You're right. He is friendly." Pipsqueak laughed as he swung from Oscurita's finger. He was trying to take a nap but these ponies kept waking him up.  
Dinky looked at his face and snickered. "lazy and tired would be the better word."  
"Well, I'm just glad he's not eating me."  
"me too. Life would be pretty boring if one of my friends became lunch." Dinky chuckled before adopting a somber expression. "hope everyone else, and mom, are okay."

Begin Song: watch?v=p8Sw8D9RfL0 Chaotic Tension by youtuber Baschfire

The Vascillia, the Changeling flagship, fired it's cannons down at the city walls, destroying the towers on the eastern-most side.  
Different cannons aimed at the city and fired blobs of darkness. The blobs hit in major population centers and formed into Shadow Creatures. Everyone yelled in fear when they took form.

The group ran to the nearest balcony and looked out to see the ship hover over the city's defense line and fly right in.  
"well, that's not good." Hiccup said sarcastically.  
"looks like Chrysalis is serious on conquering the entire world." Armor muttered.  
"no worries." Zaltan said as he walked to the edge of the balcony. "we Gryphons never go down without a fight."  
"Don't we know it?" Dash and Pinkie joked, looking directly at Gilda.  
Req drew her sword and summoned her wings. "well, we can't let them get away with this. At this rate, they'll conquer the world by this time next week. And I don't know about you but I'm not going to let that happen!"  
"yeah. And neither are we!" Spyro said, hitting his fists together. "we've grown to like you all and we're not gonna let some vengeful queen kill our friends." all the humans nodded in agreement as they readied their weapons.  
That filled the ponies with hope, knowing that their otherworldly friends are willing to risk their lives for a world that's not their own. Celestia would be lying if she said she didn't consider it. She didn't want them sacrificing their own lives in a war that doesn't concern them but she knows that they aren't going to be swayed.  
Req looked back and winked. "This is going to be easy peasy. We dealt with tougher foes then this." she got ready to jump when Leon stopped her. "What?"  
"just remember. Don't kill any of the Changelings. There are too few of us as it is."  
"how few?" Applejack asked.  
"remember the invasion 6 months ago? That was our entire population."  
"so few…" Celestia gasped. "very well. We will do all we can to keep your brethren alive."  
Leon and Friction felt relieved. Req climbed up onto the railing and turned around to face them. "Catch you all on the flip side." she said with a wink before falling backwards. Spyro, Cynder, Bahamut, and Toothless jumped up and fell after her.  
"now how do we get down that fast?" Emil asked.  
Riku pretended to think before lifting him up onto the railing with him. "how else? With the express elevator."  
"you have to be kidding. We'll become pancakes." Sora said.  
"I don't think so." Fox said, looking down.  
Ice shot out of Spyro's mouth and stuck to the side of the tower, he then flew around and around the tower, making a grind path for them.  
"That'll work." Gourry quickly said.  
Without another word, the humans jumped off and fell to the ground below. They landed on the trail of ice and skidded down it.  
The ponies all watched from above when Dash was the one to say it. She flew up a few feet into the air and turned to her friends. "Come on. We're not gonna let them do all the fighting for us. This is our war." the ponies all looked at each other and nodded. This was their fight as well and they weren't gonna let the humans do all the work. The Pegasi and Gryphons flew off the side and towards the city while everyone else headed for the exit.  
Everyone but Fluttershy, that is. She just stood there, contemplating what to do. The sound of cannon fire got her attention. She looked up to the ship and steeled herself. Edge was on that ship, commanding this battle. And she had to stop him. And she could only think of one way to do it.

Half-way down the tower, Spyro broke off and spun around, firing dozens of ice trails in multiple directions, all leading to different sections of the city. The humans took advantage of this and each one jumped onto a different trail.

A Shadow Lion snarled as it cornered a defenseless earth pony in a corner.  
"oh, no you don't!" Zel exclaimed as he jumped on it's back and stabbed his sword down though it's head, killing it instantly. He instantly ducked when a Shadow Troll swung it's club at him. "Fireball!" as the name suggested, a fireball shot out of his hand and hit the troll right in the head, killing it and turning it into dark wisps.

A 40-foot long Shadow Snake hissed as it wrapped around quite a lot of citizens and began to choke the life out of them. And Eris was among them.  
"Hey!" Dash punched the snake in the head, flipped over, and kicked him. "Nobody hurts my daughter!"  
The dazed snake shook it's head and hissed at Dash. It lunged it's head to bite her. Dash didn't move but held her ground.  
Twin katana blades came down though the bottom of it's cranium, killing it and dispersing it into darkness. Lloyd jumped off it before it fully disintegrated and spun his blades around as a few Shadow Dogs came ran towards him.

The Vascillia's cannons continued to fire at the city but only half were doing that task. The other half were busy trying to take down a stubborn Demi-Goddess and two powerful rulers of night and day.  
Req cut a cannon ball in half, spun her sword around, and swung it down towards the ship, sending a sword beam it's way. It hit against the side, leaving quite a hole in it, before it repaired itself.  
"that's not fair." Req whined.  
"it's war. When is it ever fair?" Luna retorted as she flew past.  
"Good point."  
Luna flew to one side of the ship whilst Celestia flew to the other side. They both fired their magic at the ship, hitting on the sides. Normally, it should've blown into pieces but since they're dealing with dark magic, the beams shot though the other side and hit the other's sister.  
Both fell to the ground, wings crippled by each other. Req flew down after them. She grabbed Celestia's unconscious body then used the Bind spell on Luna, bringing the Alicorn to her.  
They crashed into a fountain, sending a small splash into the sky. Req surfaced and put the princess's on the edge.  
"that could've gone better." Req moaned. She blew her wet hair out of her face and coughed.

The cannons continued to fire at the town, either destroying buildings or adding new Shadow Creatures to the battle.

Edge stood at the helm and looked down at the battle. He reached into his armor and pulled out the necklace. He felt uneasy doing this but was unsure why. He felt guilty for doing this but just doesn't know why. He didn't have to wonder why for long as his answer's were flying towards the ship.  
"don't fire at that yellow Pegasus. She's mine." he said with gusto to the fire crew. They reluctantly followed his orders and didn't shot at her. The Pegasus landed on the deck and stared him down.  
"I was hoping you would arrive. Fluttershy."

End song.

Cadence pushed a mine cart down into the mines, still being forced to do her job of passing out food and water. She noticed that Jax and Dinky were missing. "if they find out, nobodies' going to come out happy." she muttered. And there's only so much she can do to keep everyone happy in this scenario.  
A sharp pain shot though her stomach, causing her to keel over and hold her midsection. She was hoping she had more time but feels like she doesn't.

"Edge! Please, stop this!" Fluttershy asked with tear-filled eyes.  
Images began to flood though his mind again, something he's starting to get really tired of. He shook his head and got rid of them. "Listen. The reason I'm here is because I want answers. You and that dragon back at Maredrid said I was your friend. I keep getting these images in my head about some crimson pony that feels like me. And to top it off…" he pulled out the necklace for her to see. "… I found this lying in the snow and when I picked it up, I heard a song. Tell me, what is going on!?"  
Fluttershy was stunned that he still had the necklace she gave him for Hearth's Warming Eve, even though he doesn't remember it. "Edge… your friends told me that… you were Purged."  
Purged? Him? Impossible. He's the most loyal Changeling in Chrysalis' army. There's no way he could be purged. But… that's the only way that can explain everything; the images, the song, reason why he got a bit nervous when he was around or thought about that Pegasus. It's possible that…  
A loud and thundering boom stopped his train of thought as they both looked up.

Begin Song: watch?v=Lz3OyJXLs1o End of the Road - Assassin's Creed Revelations Unreleased OST

0:00.  
Dark clouds rumbled far above the city, swirling into one spot not far beneath it. The clouds began to take shape as it did last time.

"oh crap." Bahamut gulped.  
"not him again." Shadow said in worry.

"what in the world is that?" Zaltan gasped.  
"nothing pretty." a soaked and injured Celestia said as she limped over.  
"last time we saw this, it turned Maredrid into a crater." Req said.  
Zaltan gulped out of fear. "what was it?"  
"pretty powerful monster."

Orochi smiled from the mountain top as the monster took form.  
"yes. Rise from the abyss once more and destroy our enemies!" Tenebrae laughed. "Come, King of the Monsters!"

The clouds took on organic qualities and fell from the sky to the swamp below. It landed with a big boom, causing bit of a earthquake and sending a lot of water into the sky. Clouds swirled out of the crash site and into the air.

"this isn't going to end well." Applejack gulped.

0:40.  
Dark red eyes shone out of the water and smoke before they all dispersed.  
Godzilla roared to the sky as loud as he could, signaling his return.

Back on the mountain, Orochi was practically giddy. "Yes. Go, Godzilla. Kill, destroy. Eradicate them all! HAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAH! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"how do we beat that thing?" Gilda shakingly asked.  
Req summoned her wings. "I don't think we can."

1:12.  
Godzilla heard and Godzilla obeyed. He powered up and fired his heatbeam right for the tower.  
The beam was blocked by a joint barrier by Req, Zel, Riku, Spyro. A shock slivered up the heat beam and into Godzilla's mouth but nobody noticed. Unfortunately, the king was too strong for them all and the beam, although weakened, still broke though, sending the four of them rolling and spinning away in different directions.  
The beam hit the tower but wasn't as strong as before. It brushed against the side, taking out a large chunk of the tower but not destroying it completely or to where it's so damaged on one side, it fell down the other.  
Godzilla snorted angrily and powered up his heat beam yet again.

1:28.  
When Godzilla fired his heat beam, something unexpected happened.  
His back flickered like a light bulb and his heat beam came out all cut up and in three's, like a three-shot rifle. One of the shots shot over the city and into the river while the other two hit harmlessly outside of town.  
Everyone, even Godzilla himself, was surprised by that change of events.

"Well, so much for your new toy, Tenebrae." Fulmen snickered.  
"Shut up. He's still unstoppable."

Godzilla thought of a way he could use this to his advantage. He powered up his new heat beam again and fired, this time aiming very carefully. The shots hit right in the town itself, causing block-sized explosions.

1:52.  
Fluttershy watched in horror from the ship as the city beneath them burned. She turned to Edge, who was just as dumbstruck as she was.  
"Edge, stop him!" she pleaded.  
"what makes you think I'm controlling him? I was with you and that dragon when he appeared at Maredrid, remember? So this isn't my fault."

Godzilla roared to the sky as lightning crashed down around him.

2:17. End Song.

Jax walked though the town, trying to find Dinky and Pip. They always went missing every day and at the same time. Something bugged her about that and she had to find out. She rounded a corner and found the tired beast with Dinky and Pipsqueak in his hand. Initially, she got protective.  
"LET THEM GO!" Jax yelled. That got the attention of the trio but also the attention of several Changeling guards. She ran over to the monster who snarled back at her.  
"Wait!" Dinky jumped off and got in Jax's way. "he's not dangerous."  
"Not dangerous? He stranded me and my friends, helped the bad guy take over the world, and probably the biggest one of all, he's making me go though pure hell."  
"he's not a bad guy. He's just being used and misunderstood."  
"Misunderstood!?" the Changelings rounded the corner to see the human and filly argue. "He's a monster! Monster's aren't misunderstood! They have no feelings and they are focused on one thing and one thing only; who's gonna be lunch!"  
"He is not like that! He let me live when I stumbled across him."  
"he was probably full! Trust me, kid! That thing is only thinking about how to have you; with fries or a salad?!"  
Dinky angrily frowned at Jax. Super mad at her stubbornness, but also that Jax may be acting out because of her hatred for the monster for stranding her on what she calls 'hell'. "sometimes… I wonder who the real monster is; Oscurita. Or you."  
Dinky stormed off, walking past Jax and the surprised Changelings. They wanted nothing to do with this. Pip gradually followed after Dinky and past the Changelings. Jax stood there, completely dumbstruck. She's not a monster. That… thing was the monster. She was right and she knows it. She angrily looked up at Oscurita who angrily looked back at her. She just scoffed and walked off. Oscurita snorted and went back to sleep. Thanks to that annoying human, he had lost the only pony willing to come even remotely close to him. First chance he get's, he's gonna do what that human suggested and have Jax with a side of fries and a salad.

Godzilla loudly roared as the citizens in the town below screamed and ran for their lives.  
"what do we do!?" Sweetie Belle whined, cowering with her friends under a picnic table.  
Zaltan thought for a moment and only had one painful conclusion to go with. "I'm afraid we're gonna have to leave Feather Top."  
"What!?" the Princess' exclaimed.  
"there's no way we can beat such a monstrosity. There's just no way."  
"no."

Begin Song: watch?v=B0DE5zyRI6U Unfinished Battle - Xenoblade Chronicles OST

Req walked past them, sword in hand and ready to go. "no more running. I ran when I found out who I was. I ran from my brother. But I am not gonna let my friends run themselves into oblivion!"  
"Requiem…" Twilight softly said.  
"me and my friends have been able to take down gods before. This is just a giant lizard that breath's fire with a tendency of being indestructible. Nothing more then a overgrown dragon." Ash said as he walked up next to her.  
"you're not backing down from this, are you?" Luna asked in a mutter.  
"Yeah. Remember, we are gonna fight for you, even if this isn't our world." Spyro said as he walked up. "just because we're from different planets doesn't mean we can't help out, right?" he asked with a wink.  
"right." Celestia said with a gasp. They really meant what they said.

Godzilla snarled and fired his heat beam. Just like before, it broke into three shots and hit separate parts of the city. One such beam headed for them.  
Req glowed for a moment. Her blade extended and burst into light. Req swung it with all her might and hit the beam back to it's sender. It hit Godzilla in the chest, making him stagger.

"What?" Tenebrae gasped, completely caught off guard that a measly human could reflect a powerful attack.  
"So much for your little plan, Tenebrae." Glacies said in his cold tone.  
"Grr. Just shut up! He can still win this." Tenebrae snarled, returning his attention to the fight.

Godzilla roared as he powered up his heat beam again as the groups premiere ice users ran to his feet.  
"you have a plan for this?" Amelia asked, staying back far enough not to be crushed.  
"Well, Jax would probably use Blizzard." Zel said.  
"So…" Spyro came up with a good idea.  
Fox came up with the same idea and spun his staff to his shoulder, a small but powerful puff of ice coming out of it when it hit. "we freeze his feet."

The king snarled as he tried to swat flies away from his face.  
Req dodged one such swipe and fired a beam out of her blade and into his cheek. It hit, cutting deep enough to draw blood.  
"at least we know he's not invulnerable." Hiccup remarked.  
"just focus on dodging." Satoshi said as his little brick deally morphed into a rocket launcher. "leave the fighting to me." he aimed the rocket and fired, hitting the wound and making it explode.  
The King roared in pain then tried to bite down on Toothless. Thank goodness that Night Fury's are fast.

Ash fired at the king from the ground with his pistols and Sora from her bow. If anything, they can distract Godzilla long enough for someone to come up with a plan.  
"you know that won't do anything, right?" Spike asked.  
"We know. Doesn't hurt to try, right?" Ash replied.

Lloyd, Emil, and Riku ran up the kings tail, dragging their blades behind them, creating a path of blood. Godzilla swung his tail back and forth, trying to swing them off, which he did.  
They fell 100 feet to the ground, not screaming. Riku tried to think of a way out of this when he remembered he was still wearing the outfit he had on The Grid. So, hopefully… he reached into his pocket and pulled out a baton.  
"oh, please let this thing work." he hoped as he activated it. The baton separated and morphed into a Light Cycle just like in the movie and show. "Yes!" he happily exclaimed. He got behind the wheel and revved it up.  
Using a Gravity spell, he pulled Emil and Lloyd over to him, revved up the engine, and landed safely on the ground, with a big bounce I might add.  
"Whoa! How'd you do this?" Lloyd said in great exclaim.  
"don't know the how. Just be thankful for the why." He said back to them as he drove off.

Cannons fired from the tower, all directed at Godzilla. The Changelings had all but retreated, knowing that with him around, this city is toast.  
Fluttershy just watched from the ship, not able to move. Meanwhile, more images flashed though Edge's head, this time of him protecting him. And his heart was telling him to save her as well.  
A heat beam shot towards the ship. As if by instinct, Edge pushed Fluttershy off the ship just before the beam hit the bow.  
Fluttershy tumbled though the air but was able to regain herself to see the ship take the hit but still fly. Her heart was a bit joyous by what had happened.  
"Edge… you are still in there… right?" she hopefully asked as she held her heart.  
A bruised Edge pulled himself up and looked over the side to see that Fluttershy was alright. Grateful that she wasn't hurt, for some reason, Edge ordered them to retreat.  
"Pull back to the river!" he announced. "let the beast finish this." he looked back over and softly spoke to himself. "Don't make me regret this. Fluttershy."

Req yelled as she fell into the fountain near the princess's. she pulled herself and spit out water. "Thanks for the help. Really appreciate it." she groaned.  
"Well, what can we do against a monster like that!?" Dash exclaimed, gesturing to the towering behemoth.  
She had a point. There was little these ponies and gryphons could do against such a beast. Unless… "wait. Twilight. You said you were cutting back on magic for Starlight, right?"  
"Yeah…" Twi reluctantly replied, not really sure what she's talking about.  
"did you use any magic this month?"  
"Other then getting us out of those caves, no."  
"Great. Armor, Rarity. How good are you with ice spells?"  
"ice spells?" they both replied in confusion.  
"Just what are you getting at, Req?" Lyra and Vinyl asked.  
Req looked at them and snickered.

Spyro, Fox, Zel, and Amelia had just frozen Godzilla's feet in place, making him unable to move, when Fox was suddenly picked up by Zaltan. The dragon and magicians noticed it and flew after them.  
"what's going on?" Spyro asked, flying alongside them.  
"we got a plan." Zaltan said with a snicker.

The Changelings watched from the ship as dozens upon dozens of spots filled the skies. "What in the world…?" Edge muttered.

Chrysalis watched this from the throne room via a crystal and snarled. "No!"

The Prisoners watched from a crystal in the mines, each taken by surprise by the sheer numbers. Even Jax and Cadence were taken aback.  
"Whoa!" Pip exclaimed in surprise.

A unknown black equine watched from a faraway hill.  
"well… seems that the various species can come together after all." he said with a deep and sinister voice. "Looks like Orochi was wrong after all." he said before disappearing in dark flame.

Orochi, or rather Tenebrae, snarled at the sight. "NO!" he jumped up and down like a bratty child. "NO NO NO NO NO NO!"

Every flier in the Gryphon Kingdom capital took to the air; Gryphon, Pegasi, G.K.(Gryphon Kingdom) Changelings, and Dragons. Each one carrying a Unicorn, each one with a glowing horn.  
Godzilla took notice of them and roared loudly at them. His jaw was clamped shut by a well placed Bind, leaving only a small portion of his mouth open but not enough to where he can fire his beam.  
Req flew past Luna, who was carrying Twilight, and stopped right in front of everyone. "Everyone, concentrate on a Ice Spell! We're gonna freeze this guy from the inside out!"  
All the Unicorns nodded and concentrated with all their might on a Ice Spell. The other-worldly magicians thought of the strongest ice attack they could think of.

Godzilla tried to rip the spell off his mouth but Req had it on tight. There was no way he was going to get it off.  
Small blue beams of light descended from the horns of the unicorns and into Req's blade, which she held above her head. "(we only have one shot at this. So we better make this count!)"  
The spells reached their apex and were ready to fire. Req sensed this and bellowed "BLIZZARD!" as she thrust her blade to the monster and fired a beam of pure ice to the king. Ice spells of various types shot from the Unicorns and Magicians and joined with hers, making it more powerful.  
Godzilla got the spell off and fired his heat beam, forgetting that it had somehow turned into a three-shot attack. The shots all flew past the ice, past the fliers, and past the Vascillia, exploding harmlessly in thin air.

The beam shot into Godzilla's mouth and right down his throat, reaching his heart and freezing it. The ice expanded out of it and went down every vein in his body.

Godzilla shrieked in pain, unable to do anything of what was going on inside of him. The beam continued to shot into his mouth, making it even more painful.  
Ice extended out of every part of his body, including his eyes and nails, until he was nothing but a frozen dead statue."

End Song.

Chrysalis yelled in anger she slammed the crystal into the floor. "Dammit! Even that arrogant jerk can't kill them!"  
The doors opened and a soldeir walked in. "Your majesty, w-"  
"WHAT!?" Chrysalis yelled. "What could be so important that you had to disturb me!?"  
The Changeling, though dumb-struck by his queen's outburst, kept his same posture. "we have a development with Oscurita. We know why he's behaving the way he is."

Tenebrae yelled as loud as he could over the fact that Godzilla lost. "Stupid, mother bucking, self-centered…" in his anger, he tore up Godzilla's card. "I wash my hands with this!"  
Aqua sighed. "you do know you could've used that card again on another world in a few days, right?"  
Tenebrae, realizing his mistakes, gathered up the shards and tried to put them together to no avail.  
"idiot." Ignis muttered.  
"I vote we get out of here before he does something stupid." Ventus voted.  
"Agreed." Glacies said. A portal of dark fire opened up behind them and he walked into it.  
Tenebrae yelled yet again, this time in anger towards one certain human. "ARGH! Oh, I'm gonna get that Requiem if it's that last thing I do!"

the ice spell stopped and everyone panted as they looked at what they did; The King forever frozen in a statue of death.  
Fluttershy flew up beside Req and lamentably looked at it. "he may have been a creature of shadow… but I still feel sorry for him."  
"me too." Req said. She powered up her sword and sent a sword beam towards the monster. It hit, shattering the kind into a million pieces. Wisps of darkness rose from the pieces and dissipated in the air.  
"I didn't think Oscurita could make monsters like that." Celestia gasped as she flew down beside her.  
Req was going to agree but didn't. Oscurita couldn't have been able to make that thing. For starters, he hasn't even seen a Godzilla movie. How could he have know what he looked like? Secondly, Oscurita had to be there to make the Shadow Creatures and the ones that came with the Changelings were made before hand. And thirdly, is Oscurita was on site, why didn't he attack them himself?  
She had a bad feeling about all this.


	85. To Win a War

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

A Changeling's Lament

Chapter 20

To Win a War

Dinky yelled as she was thrown into the throne room. She landed hard and skidded to a halt. "what was that for!?" she yelled to the Changelings. They ignored her and left.  
"why am I even here?" she asked herself as she got up.  
"You are here…" a super angry Chrysalis said from behind. Dinky looked to see her sitting on the throne with wind gusting around her. "to pay for your insolence!"  
A fearful Dinky backed up in fear. "w-what? What are you talking about?"  
Chrysalis snarled as her horn glowed. Dinky was lifted off the floor and slammed into the ceiling. "you know what I'm talking about!" she flew up to Dinky and snarled in her face. "Your association with Oscurita is putting a halt to my plans!" she grabbed the filly and squeezed her throat. "He's gone soft and it's all your fault!" Chrysalis physically threw Dinky to the floor. She hit and heard something crack.  
Chrysalis landed on the ground with a frightful force. She walked over and pressed down on Dinky's neck again. "If Oscurita can't work properly, then I can't control the world!" Chrysalis' eyes turned green with red pupils and purple fire coming out of the sides. "and it's your fault that he's like this!" she kicked Dinky into a pillar, cracking her back. Chrysalis' horn glowed as she stopped a few feet away from Dinky.  
Dinky struggled to get up, feeling something broken in her rear-left leg. "he's not… some thing… for you to use." she groaned. "he has feelings."  
That tears it. Chrysalis used her magic to pulled Dinky to her. "he is nothing but a tool. Nothing more. A monster like him has no feelings!"  
Dinky looked at her with a slight chuckle. "then why did he spare me? Explain that."  
Chrysalis snarled and threw her to the ground. "Ask your mother! She and he go WAY back." Chrysalis evilly chuckled as she raised her hoof. "if you're still alive, that is." she looked to the door and saw Edge standing there, stunned that she's doing this. "Watch close, Edge. This is what happens to those who oppose me!" with all her might, Chrysalis slammed down on Dinky's head.

Elsewhere, far in the Gryphon Kingdom, a mother sensed her daughter in distress and shot awake.  
"DINKY!" Derpy yelled out as she shot up. Pain erupted though her body, causing her to fall back holding her stomach area.  
Sparkler and Luna, who happened to be in the hospital helping with the wounded from the battle, heard her outburst and went into her room. "well, look who's finally awake." Luna said.  
Derpy opened one eye and painfully looked at them. "Luna…" Sparkler suddenly hugged her, causing Derpy to blush a little bit. "Sparkler… sorry for ending up like this…"  
"I'm just glad your okay, mom!" Sparkler tearfully said.  
Luna rolled her eyes under her eyelids and chuckled. "I'm just glad your okay. We were all so worried that you wouldn't come out of the coma."  
"coma…?" she pushed Sparkler away for a moment and looked her body over and saw that she was covered in bandages. "what happened? The last thing I remember is a cave-in and… oh, Luna. Are you okay?"  
Luna chuckled. "I'm fine. Thanks to you. You pushed me out of the way in the nick of time but… Derpy, it really should've been me."  
"why?"  
"well, Alicorns can heal faster then normal ponies, like how Req can heal faster then her friends. I would've been out of a coma in 3 days then you being in a coma for… Faust, who knows how long."  
Derpy patted Luna on the back and chuckled. "it's okay. Even if I did know, I still would've done it."  
"but…"  
"just stop right there, Luna." Sparkler chuckled. "my mom can be stubborn and it's usually when it involves her friends."  
"that's right. Besides, we're friends now. You would do the same for me, right?"  
Friend. Until now, she only considered Celestia, Twilight, and Trixie her friends. She never considered anybody else to be her friends. "yeah. We are, Derpy." Derpy smiled and they both hugged.  
Derpy heard crying outside her room. She looked to see a whole lot of people worse then her. "did I miss something important?"  
"We'll explain later." Luna chuckled.  
Sparkler remembered that Derpy had shouted something that made them come in. "mom… you yelled out something when you woke up."  
"I did?" Derpy thought back to it and remembered. "Oh. It's Dinky. I think she's hurt."  
"Dinky?" Sparkler exclaimed in surprise.  
"But she's all the way back in Canterlot. How could you tell she was in pain?" Luna asked. "Are you sure she was hurt?"  
"I'm positive. I know my daughter better then anyone. She's hurt. I think something bad is going on back home."

*Half a hour past the battle with Godzilla…*

"…repeat what you just said." Celestia asked in confusion, not really understanding what Leon and Friction are planning. She, Zaltan, and the other major players were in the throne room, talking about what to do.  
"launch an attack right now! Chrysalis is vulnerable right now." Leon said. "This kind of defeat will make her angry and unfocused."  
"you're asking to launch an attack…" Armor started. "on our capital. Which is enveloped by a impenetrable force field. Which is guarded by a giant monster that makes hordes of monsters made out of shadow. With just what little forces we have?"  
Friction shrugged. "it's not perfect."  
"you're basically asking us to launch a suicide mission." Celestia exclaimed.  
"you want your empire back or not?" Leon asked in anger.  
"I want it back. I just don't want to lose my people taking it back."  
"nor mine." Zaltan agreed. "unless there's a way so that we all come out alive, we're not going to risk our lives in a suicide run."  
"I believe…" Satoshi said as he barged in, carrying blueprints in his hands. "… I can help with that.

*present day*

The mint-green Pegasus somberly walked though town with Armor, Halo, and Twi following right behind him.  
"Are you sure that's the bastard who took advantage of you?" Armor asked for confirmation.  
"well…" Twi wasn't sure. "he has the same voice b-"  
"that's good enough for us." Halo wickedly said as he and Armor headed to him. Using their magic, they caught the Pegasus off guard and dragged him down a alley when they pinned him up against the wall.  
"You have a lot to answer for!" Armor sinisterly said, holding the Pegasus in place with his front-right leg. "I could send you to jail for attacking a member of the royal family!"  
"What!? What are you talking about?" he replied in confusion.  
"Don't play dumb. You know what you did!" Halo angrily said. He walked to the entrance and brought Twi in.  
"Oh. She's cute." the Pegasus idiotically said. He looked down and saw the preggo belly. "yikes. Pregnant. Never mind."  
That sent Armor over the breaking point. He hardly pushed the Pegasus against the wall as his horn began to glow. "That's all you have to say for taking advantage of a member of the royal family?!"  
That didn't do much except make the Pegasus more confused. "okay. I have no idea what you're talking about."  
"6 months ago, you took advantage of my sister in a house of ill repute and now she's pregnant with your child."  
"What!? Impossible. I've never gone near one of those places in my life."  
"but you said that ever since the place closed down, it's been tough to get your fix." Halo said.  
"I was talking about my favorite ice cream parlor. It closed down and I haven't been able to find a place that does it as great."  
"And the 'do it a few times and you'll be right as rain line?'"  
"I was giving a friend advice on how to grow radishes. Granted, it's not good advice, bu-"  
Armor squeezed down on the Pegasus' neck. "Stop lying!"  
"It's the truth."  
"doubt it. Twili, is this the one who took advantage of you?"  
Twilight looked at the Pegasus, who looked back at her. With a sigh, she shook her head no. "It's not him. He has the same voice but not that feeling of dread I felt."  
"dread?" Halo and Armor muttered.  
"See? I told you it wasn't me. And plus, there's only so many voices in the world. Some are bound to repeat."  
He had a point there. Armor let him go and let him breath. "Sorry. Guess I got the wrong guy."  
The Pegasus rubbed where Armor pinned him and got up. "that happens. You'd be surprised how many people mistake me for someone else." he walked to the exit. "good luck with whoever got ya knocked up. He's in for a painful surprise." he slightly joked, still rubbing his neck.  
"so it wasn't him." Halo said.  
"sorry, Twili."  
Twi smiled and hugged them both. "it's okay. Just knowing you two are going to help is more then enough for me." while still in the hug, she looked the alley exit and watched the Pegasus walk away. She remembers green, just not as a skin color.

Bodies of the dead lay under cloth along main street. Families and friends mourned the loss of their fallen comrades and cried.  
Soarin' sat in front of one, keeping a straight face but was broken up inside. "Soarin'?" Dash was surprised to see him here. "what are you doing here?"  
"saying good-bye… to a old friend…"  
Curious who, Dash walked over and pulled the cloth off the dead guys head. It was a stallion she never saw before. "Who…"  
"Diamond Cage. He was a Wonderbolt who retired and moved here. He was my idol. He taught me everything he knew."  
"wow. Sorry he's gone. Wish I could've met him."  
"yeah…" Soarin' looked away down the street and sighed. "makes you think if you should… just go for it."  
"Go for it?" Dash replied in confusion. She walked over and looked in Soarin's direction. They both saw Spitfire walking down, making sure that the grieving families were all right. Dash chuckled softly. "are you in love with Spitfire?"  
Soarin' gave a wry chuckle. "you may say that."  
"why didn't you say anything?"  
"Same reason why Shadow couldn't ask you out. She's way out of league."  
Dash sputtered and laughed. "nonsense. Just go and ask. You never know if it'll work if you don't go and try."  
Soarin' knew she was right and didn't try to argue. He looked to Spitfire, took a deep breath, filled up with confidence, and walked over to Spitfire. Dash hoped for the best, unaware that her little 'speech' was overheard by her coltfriend.  
Shadow took a deep breath and walked over to Dash just as Soarin' walked up to Spitfire.  
"Spitfire…"  
"Dash…"  
Both mares turned around and looked to the other. "will you go out on a date with me?" they both asked, hoping for the best.  
Before Spitfire and Dash could ask, everyone in the city heard a lot of commotion coming from the tower. For the past couple of days, there was something happening up there but they couldn't piece what was going on.  
Well they were about to find out.

"Are you sure it's ready?" Celestia asked Satoshi.  
"only one way to find out."  
"Right. Well, I better go and get ready for a big rousing speech." she joked before she and Zaltan walked off.  
Satoshi and Gilda looked at each other and chuckled. "let's hope this works." they both said, hoping it would.

The sound of spinning fan blades echoed though the air, getting the attention of everyone in the city.  
"What is that?" Amelia muttered.  
Something descended from the clouds above, putting the city under a cloak of darkness. For a moment, everyone thought it was the Changelings again then realized that it wasn't.  
"they didn't." Req said, realizing that they were looking at.  
"they did." Ash said with a big smile.  
A big ol' Airship flew on down from above and hovered above the city. It looked exactly like the Orion except for a few differences.  
First, the masts have been replaced with a giant hot-air balloon bigger then the ship.  
Second, the ship is a bit shorter and pointier, making it like a flying arrow.  
Thirdly and lastly, there wasn't as many decks like with Orion. While Orion had 4, this new airship only had one for cannons.  
In short, this new airship was designed for combat.

The ship landed in the center of town, or as close to the center as it could. Celestia and Zaltan walked up to the bow together. Down in the town, just in front of the ship, a news crew put a microphone in front of the ship and were gonna transmit this around the world.  
Celestia cleared her throat and spoke as loudly as she could. "3 weeks ago, something happened that no pony, gryphon, or anyone could've seen coming; Canterlot fell. To a powerful horde. A horde we could not comprehend."  
Zaltan cleared his throat and walked in front of her. "it was horde that has conquered all of Equestria and has set their sites on the world itself. The Gryphon Capital Feather Top was recently hit by a attack against a powerful foe. Not everyone… got out alive."

All over the world, this little speech was playing though tv's, radios, basically whatever electronics that can convey sound.

Ponyville: the occupying Changelings listened from a radio that was loud enough to be heard down in the library's basement for Aura and Lina to hear.  
"The hoard is the Changelings." Celestia said as she took over. "and their sights are on the world itself. And if they don't get their way, the world will burn."

Trottingham: the radios all over the city played the little speech.  
"but it's not the Changelings fault that they launched this invasion. They were forced to do so via a lack of resources and a vengeful queen."

Badlands: the dragons overheard this though radios they had 'procured'  
"their country was decimated with by a unknown foe in a war that is much like what's going on now. A war of destruction and annihilation. They didn't ask for it and they paid the price for it."

Cloudsdale: the Pegasi hovered, stopping what they were doing to listen.  
"so this war they had launched is to prevent themselves from dying out; from going extinct. But their ruler, in her pursuit of vengeance, is taking things too far. If she gets her way, the world as we know it will drastically change."

Canterlot: the prisoners and changelings overheard this though the same crystals they saw Ponyville, Maredrid, and Maredrid in. Chrysalis heard this and snarled as angrily as she could.  
"as much as we feel sorry for the Changelings, we are not going to let them conquer the world just so their queen can get her revenge."

Feather Top:  
"so, by this time next week, we are going to launch a counter-attack. We're gonna take Canterlot back, take down the queen, free the Changelings, and save the world!" Zaltan said with gusto.  
"everything you know is at risk." Celestia said to finish. "If the queen wins, they will suffer the consequences. We're not forcing you but we're asking you… we're asking you to help us save the world. To save your family and loved ones. So save everything and everyone you know! To bring an end to this dreadful Winter War."  
The crowd, without a word, cheered.  
"Well, that got them wiled up." Applejack chuckled.  
"And they needed it." Zil said.

Edge walked thought the castle, shocked by what he saw. He never suspected that Chrysalis would do such a thing to a child. He looked up and saw that he had somehow got in the dungeons.  
"how'd I get here?" he muttered. He continued down into the dungeons, looking around when he saw something odd.  
A large crystal, shining bright despite there being no sun. "A Crystal? Here?" a shiver went down his spine. There was something deathly familiar about this. He slowly walked in close to it. He saw his reflection in the crystal, which changed to a crimson Pegasus before changing back. "What was…"  
He reached out to touch his reflection. When he did, a surge of energy shot though him and sent him crashing into a wall and falling to the floor, being knocked unconscious.


	86. I want to be with you

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

A Changeling's Lament

Chapter 21

I want to be with you

Edge woke up to find himself floating in a white abyss. "what in th-" he fired a bolt out into it but it kept going on and on and on and on an- you get the picture.  
"what kind of foolishness is this!?" he exclaimed. "Where am I?"  
"in your mind, dingle-dork." his voice said from everywhere.  
"Who are you? I demand you show yourself."  
"I was already planning on it."  
In a small flash, the crimson Pegasus he kept seeing in those images appeared in front of him. "you." Edge growled. "Who in Tartarus are you? Why do I keep seeing you in images that run though my mind."  
The Pegasus snickered. "Duh." he was engulfed in green fire and changed back into a white version of Edge. "because I'm you."  
Edge powered down his magic attack, mostly in confusion. "what? That's Impossible. I'm me."  
"I know. I'm your memories."  
"memories?"  
White Edge shown bright and changed the image to 3 weeks ago. Edge looked down to see him chained to the same crystal he just touched. "You were purged. Chrysalis took your memories from the past 6 months and just… send them away to a corner of your mind. But… turns out we have a strong will."  
"how so?"  
"cause I kept on surfacing in those images. You started getting them back in Ponyville when you met back up with Fluttershy. And ever since then, they kept coming. It was me trying to resurface."  
"why?"  
"because this isn't you. Fluttershy changed you and for the better."  
"wh-why? What is so special about her?"  
The background changed to Fluttershy's cottage with her sleeping in her bed. Edge looked at her and started blushing. "because she cared for you when you were injured. She helped heal you. She willingly gave you love to feed on. And… she was the only one to give you a present." Edge knew what his memories were talking about. He reached into his armor and pulled out the necklace. "and… if we weren't so brash and we weren't a Changeling… she would've been our marefriend."  
"Marefriend?"  
"yeah. During our six months with her… something happened. Something that allowed us, a Changeling, a being incapable from producing love, to fall in love. That told me that Chrysalis was lying to us about our nature. And… if we didn't act so stupid and joined with her… then maybe this war wouldn't have happened."  
Edge deeply sighed. "you're telling me the truth."  
White Edge gave a sighing chuckle. "of course I am." he walked over to him. "Memories can't lie." he stopped a few feet away and offered his hoof. "come on. Don't fight it."  
Edge glanced away from his memories. So it was all true. All of it; being friends with that Pegasus, Chrysalis lying to him. He had a lot to make up for, and this was the first step. He looked down at the necklace, closing his hoof around it.  
He nodded to White Edge and accepted his hoof with the one with the necklace.

Edge found himself back in the hallway where the crystal thrown him into. He held his head in pain as all his memories and old personality came back.  
He noticed the necklace a few feet away and grabbed it. Several tears fell down his face when he remembered the horrible things he did these past 3 weeks.  
"Fluttershy… I'm so sorry…" he softly and tearfully said.  
He took a deep breath and sighed. He steeled himself and closed his hoofs on the necklace. He put it on and walked out of the dungeons. He had a lot to make up for.  
He exited the dungeons and the castle just in time to see this.

Dinky fell to the ground in front of the prisoners. Everyone gasped when they saw how badly injured she was.  
"Dinky!" Pipsqueak exclaimed as he ran over to her. She weakly looked up to him and managed to break a smile before falling unconscious.  
All the prisoners were stunned that this would happen to a child and looked at her with such distain that they couldn't look anymore. Jax was horrified as well. It reminded her of how she looked when she was caught in that stampede.  
"Dinks…" she softly said before she couldn't take anymore and looked away.  
Chrysalis walked in with clear anger in her eyes. "THIS!…" she used her magic to raise Dinky to the air. "THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU OPPOSE ME!" Leon and Friction appeared in a out-of-sight area and walked out from behind a building to see this. "IF ANY OF YOU PULL SOMETHING LIKE WHAT SHE PULLED, YOU WILL GET FAR WORSE!"  
Chrysalis angrily turned to leave. Jax, furious that someone would hurt a kid, grabbed a pick-ax and slowly ran up to her. She raised it, ready to pierce it into the tyrants neck, when she was suddenly grabbed by magic. She was lifted off the ground and constricted by a unseen snake. Chrysalis turned around and grabbed Jax's neck.  
"you… you are the cause for all this!" the queen snarled. She blasted Jax right in the face, sending her into a pillar. She collapsed right into a mine cart filled with sharp crystals. "and let her be a lesson as well!" Chrysalis threatened.  
Cadence watched in terror as her former childhood friend walked away. She didn't know that leaving 16 years ago would affect her. Well, the green eyes, red iris', and purple fire coming out of her eyes seems to be proof enough. She changed. and not for the better.  
Edge took a few feet towards them when Leon and Friction ran in. some of the prisoners got ready to fight them.  
"It's okay. We're allies." Friction said.  
"Allies?" Pip asked, not budging from Dinky.  
"it's a long story." Leon said. He looked out and saw Edge standing there. "maybe we should move Dinky and Jax in. we don't want anyone cynical to overhear us."  
The Prisoners grabbed Jax while Cadence put Dinky on her back. They went further into the mine away from Edge. He doesn't blame them, but that means he has to work on his own. And if nobody knows he changed back, that leaves him with a lot of free room.  
"Edge!" Chrysalis exclaimed. Edge was caught off guard and looked to her. "Come with me! We have to talk." a reluctant Edge followed. He wanted to help his friends but, for now, he better keep up his mean sadistic nature.

Back in Feather Top, following Celestia's and Zaltan's speech, every citizen in the city, including the filthy rich and children, have pitched in to help build as many airships as they can in a week. If what Leon and Friction said was true, Chrysalis will be venerable. She does not take defeat well, I believe is what they choose to describe it. And with the Winter War coming to either end in a few days, some people are looking to the hopeful future.

"all this time and we still didn't find our Cutie Marks." Sweetie Belle sighed as she and her friends hung at one of many parks.  
"and if the world ends, I won't wanna go to the afterworld with a blank flank." Scootaloo said with gusto.  
"but I doubt we can find our Cutie Marks in a week." Applebloom said.  
"we can still try." Sweetie said.  
"well… we're in a new city." Scootaloo said. "And it there is a war on so…"  
"nothing war related." Sweetie and Applebloom said in unison. Scootaloo frowned and hit her hoof on a nearby tree. She hit it hard and it hurt. A lot. Scoots whined as she held her injured hoof in pain. Her friends didn't show support by laughing.  
Req, overheard them while passing by, chuckled as she came up with a idea for them. "you need help finding your Cutie Marks?"  
"yeah. You have a idea, Req?" Scootaloo painfully asked with one eye open.  
Req chortled. "oh, do I."  
"Well, what is it?" Sweetie Belle asked.  
"come to the tower Tuesday at 7 P.M. I'll explain everything there."

Applejack and Zilver sat on a bench, looking out at the city.  
"So… war." Zil softly, hating that this came around.  
"yeah. War." Applejack replied in the same tone.  
Zil thought to himself for a moment. "listen… I've been thinking." A.J. curiously looked at him. "the reason we're together was because of that near pregnancy scare 3 months ago. And we never done anything close to what Spike & Rarity or Twi & my brother are. At best we're friends with benefits."  
"What are you saying, Zil?"  
Zil sighed. "if you want to see other ponies, I won't blame you. I'm not exactly boyfriend material. So…" Zil got off the bench. "if you want to see other people, I won't stop you."  
Zil started to walk off when a lasso wrapped around him and pulled him close. A.J. kissed him with a smile. "Zilver… I don't wanna see other ponies. I wanna be with you."  
Zil was pleasantly surprised by that. "really?"  
"Of course I do. I love your sense of humor. I love the way you hold me at night." then she went uncouth. "and I like what you do to me at night." Zil blushed in embarrassment as he scratched his head. "and if I could picture me with anyone, it would be you."  
"Really?"  
"well, running off when we thought I was Pregnant set you back a few points…" Zil shrugged in agreement. That was a low point, even for him. "but… other then that… there's no one I see spending my life with."  
"you just saying that?" Zil asked, making sure.  
A.J. smiled and placed her hat on his head. "Honesty is my specialty."

Twi and Halo sat on their backs, looking up at the starry night sky.  
"nice night." Halo said.  
"yeah. Too bad this could probably be our last." Twi sighed. Halo nodded in agreement. He knew that was likely true. "oh." she squealed, holding her stomach.  
"what's wrong?"  
"Starlight's kicking." she waited and the baby kicked again. "Oh, it feels so weird." she shakingly said with a hint of glee. "Come feel."  
Halo flipped onto his front and placed his hoof on her stomach. "whoa." a astonished Halo said. "That must feel weird."  
"you have no idea." Twi breathily laughed. "that's my Starlight."  
Halo chuckled as the baby continued to kick where his hoof was. That feeling of hope in him, and her, solidified his decision. "Twi…"  
"hmm…"  
Halo let go and scooched up. "ever since we met, I've been in love with you. Though for a time, I haven't been able to say it." Twi remembered that and didn't like it. "and… when you got pregnant with Starlight, I thought I wouldn't be with you at all. But thanks to everyone, I was able to ask you out."  
"are you going somewhere with this?" Twi asked.  
"yeah. I am." he used his magic to pull a box to his hooves. Twi gasped when she realized where he was going. "the more I think about it, the more I'm convinced. I want to be with you and with Starlight for the rest of eternity." he opened the box, revealing a diamond ring. Tears formed in her eyes even before he asked.  
"Twilight… will you marry me?"  
Twi gasped and cried at the same time. "yes. Yes, Halo. I will!" she cried. Halo smiled wide and put the ring on her horn. She cried happily as he kissed her on the lips.  
"I love you, Twilight."  
"I love you too, Halo."  
They kissed again long and passionately. Twi chuckled in the kiss, making Halo a bit curious and nervous. "I am getting one big family."  
"huh?"  
"Trixie married Luna and my brother married Cadence, which technically makes us royalty. And Spike is pining for Rarity and your brother is going out with Applejack…"  
Halo knew where she was going. "dear Faust, the family get-togethers will be hectic." Twi nodded with a chuckle. "and I've seen Applejack's family pictures."  
Twi chuckled as she leaned forward. "that's why A.J. has a farm. Lotsa room."  
That gave Halo a kinky idea. "speaking of rooms. What do you say we un… find one?"  
"Halo." Twi seductively chuckled. "well… guess we should consummate our engagement. Just… go easy for Starlight."  
Halo winked. "deal."  
Twi looked up to the stars which sparkled in her eyes. "this night has been just Magical."

Back at the local bakery, which had taken in Pinkie, Marble, and the Cake family, Marble and Pinkie were in their own little room, talking about the days ahead.  
"This is so exciting!" Pinkie exclaimed as normal.  
"War is exciting?" Marble asked, wondering if she had officially lost it.  
"of course War isn't exciting. I was just saying that us… being together… alone…" she said with seductive eyes. She slowly scooched over to him. "you know… we haven't done anything… fun ever since we started going out."  
"We were going out?" Marble asked, acting oblivious to her flirting.  
That ruined the moment. "wh… yes. We were going out, Marble."  
"I was just messing with ya. I always do that to ponies I love."  
Pinkie chuckled and nuzzled up next to him. "You love me?"  
"you changed me from a Emo kid to my old self. I'd say that qualifies for love."  
"oh, Marble." Pinkie kissed him on the lips and he kissed back. "are the doors and windows locked?"  
"yeah. Why?"  
Pinkie chuckled then pinned him on the floor, much to both his surprise and pleasure. "cause I'm about to give you the best laugh of your life."

"keep your eyes closed." Shadow said as he lead Dash down in a alley.  
"Shadow. You better not be leading me into a wall." Dash said with her eyes closed.  
"I won't. thought you might want to…" Dash interrupted him and walking into a trash can. "never mind."  
Dash tripped over it but kept walking. "Could've warned me."  
"I was about to." Shadow lead her into a small little outcropping and stopped her. "okay. Open your eyes."  
Dash opened her eyes to see a fancy table with quite a spread on it. "whoa. Wha… did you do all this?"  
"Yeah. Not bad for a first date, right?"  
Dash smiled with a chuckle. "yeah. Not bad for a first date."  
Shadow pulled out a seat and offered it to her. Dash politely bowed and took it. "we have all your favorites; Dandelion Lasagna, Apple Pie, Mint Ice Cream…"  
Dash laughed. "what's all this for, Shadow?"  
"well, it's probably our last day together so, I figured, right not go all out." Shadow said as he sat down on the opposite side.  
"Shadow…" she insisted.  
"Fine." Shadow sighed. "I… I don't want to lose you again."  
"lose me?"  
"like with Soarin'. of course, that was thanks to my own stupidity and not saying anything. And I made it worse when I left."  
Dash shook her head as she grabbed a glass. "no. it was me. I was in love with you too but since I was with Soarin', I didn't want to break his heart. Didn't imagine you were feeling the same. Plus, I never abandon anyone."  
"I know." Shadow said. "like how you never abandon your friends or like how you didn't abandon Eris when you found her."  
Dash nodded. "sometimes, Loyalty can be a burden."  
"but it shows that you never abandon someone in need. That's a good thing." Shadow tapped his hooves on the table. "so… if you ever fall in love with someone and… want to be with him instead of me… I want you to know that I won't feel bad if you do."  
Dash was surprised that he would say something like that. "Shadow. I won't fall in love with anyone else. I love you, and even if I wasn't the most Loyal pony in Equestria, I'd still be with you. To quote Applejack, 'that's the honest truth.'" she said in A.J.'s voice.  
Shadow smiled. "thanks, Dash. Just needed to hear that." Dash smiled back and even winked. "So… no sense in letting this food go to waste. Let's eat." Dash whole-heartily agreed and they both dug in.

Spike and Rarity looked at a wedding book in the part nearest to the south exit.  
"what about a festive Caribbean wedding?" Spike suggested.  
"mmm…" Rarity wasn't sure about that.  
Spike realized he asked a stupid question. "no?"  
"no. as fun as it sounds, I think we should just have a small formal wedding with just our close friends and family."  
Spike considered that. He looked at his fiancée and got a idea. "hmmm… maybe we can do a combination of the two."  
"a combination?"  
"yeah. A Formal and Fancy ceremony for you…"  
"… and a Caribbean party for the reception." Rarity finished. "huh… that does sound like a good idea." Spike smiled and sat back. "where'd you come up with this idea?"  
Spike looked to her, smiled, and placed his hand on her stomach. "our little dragon/pony hybrid here."  
Rarity chuckled. His hands are cold but she liked that. "yeah. It's funny. 3 months ago, we were just friends; you were just a kid and helping Twilight at the Library and I was trying to find the perfect Coltfriend. Now… you're all grown up and we're having a baby & engaged to be wed."  
"life can surely hit you by surprise." Spike chuckled.  
"Thief!"  
The couple looked down to the park way below to see a Gryphon Cop chase after a G.K. Changeling thief. The Changeling tripped on a rock and fell to the ground. Several cans and bags of food fell and rolled along the ground. The Gryphon caught up and pinned him on the ground.  
"Nice try, Thief. Now you're gonna go away for a long time." the Gryphon said, putting the pressure on the Changeling. Rarity and Spike walked on down, wondering what's going on. "this doesn't concern you two. Just walk off and mind your own business."  
"What did he do?" Spike asked.  
The Changeling was able to wiggle his throat out enough for her to talk clearly. "my family is starving and we don't have any money for food so I had to resort to drastic measures."  
"well, unfortunately for you, stealing is a crime." the Gryphon said. "I'm afraid you're going away for a long time."  
"no. my family will die."  
"then you should've thought about that. Now come on." the Gryphon picked up the Changeling and began to haul her back to town.  
Without thinking, acting on instinct, Rarity stepped in. "Wait." she said. The Gryphon stopped and both he and the Changeling looked back. "how much would you say all the stuff she stole is worth?"  
The Gryphon looked at the items and did a quick count. "about 65 Bits."  
A purse appeared beside Rarity. She put out a single bit that said '100' on it. "here. This should be more then enough."  
The Changeling, happy by her generosity, took it and smiled. "Thanks." she used what magic she had to gather up the foodstuffs. "I'll be by the store tomorrow to apologize and pay for all this stuff." she told the cop before running off.  
"that was really nice of you." the Gryphon said as he turned around.  
"Well… in such dark times, it pays to show Generosity." Rarity said.

The CMC arrived at the tower at the right time but there was nothing here. Req wasn't there, leaving them confused.  
"Didn't Req say to meet her here?" Sweetie said.  
"yeah. Where is she?" Applebloom muttered.  
"I'm over here." Req said, walking up with a sound set.  
"What is all this?" Scootaloo asked.  
Req stopped pushing it and jumped onto a speaker. "a little something that will get the troops morale up. A… USO show."  
"USO Show?" the CMC asked, not really sure what she was talking about.  
Req rolled her eyes. "just help me set up. We're gonna blow everyone's minds away."

Chrysalis poured some wine into a couple of glasses. "ugh. Sometimes… I wonder why I don't just destroy this city and just move on to another." she sighed. She offered a glass to Edge, who took it.  
"Why don't you?" he asked.  
"because what I did to that girl will make them produce stronger love. Plus…" she grabbed a little crystal and held it up to the light. "this is the only place in the world with these kinds of Crystals."  
"how so, my queen?" Edge asked, keeping up his little guise.  
"this kinds of crystals can be easily manipulated to become any shape you want it to be. For example…" Chrysalis tossed the crystal up and shot her magic at it, a powerful thing already in her head. The beam hit the crystal. It violently bulged and shattered. Edge covered his eyes to protect himself from the shards.  
Growling emanated though the throne room. Edge looked and saw what the crystal had become.  
A silver crystalline dragon growled and roared, looking around like a frightened puppy. Chrysalis softly pet it on it's chin, calming it down.  
"What in the world is that thing?" Edge asked with fear.  
"A Silver Dragon. A long lost species that I had just brought back. And this one is the first of many. They were quite frequent in the Crystal Empire, until they were hunted to extinction for their crystalline coats." with a shine from her horn, Chrysalis changed the dragon's personality from freighted and nervous to mad and enraged. The dragon roared loudly, echoing down into the mines. "and I hope for this one to be the vanguard of my new force."  
"new force?"  
"yes. Oscurita's been too… what's the word? touchy-feely. So… he's being, eh… let go."  
"Let go?"  
"yes. Cut loose. Set free. Kicked out of our little club. Why have a dragon with feelings get in the way…" Chrysalis turned her attention to her new pet. With a quick use of magic, Chrysalis made a dragon head-shaped scar on his forehead, making him the leader of her new force. "why I can have soulless beasts leading the way?"  
Edge was beyond words. She made a promise to Oscurita and she wasn't going to keep it. If he was still the heartless general he was, he'd say it was a good idea. Now… he quickly thought of a lie to get out of the room. "I have some things to attend to, your grace." he bowed to her. "by your leave." Edge turned and walked out. Chrysalis chuckled as she petted her new toy.

"Chrysie really did a number on her." Cadence somberly said. She was able to bandage Dinky up the best she could but she was too beat up for her to do anything good. "unless we get her to a hospital, she won't live past a week."  
"Dinky…" Pip somberly said, sitting right beside her.  
Jax, who was just cut in several spots on her body, looked at Dinky. She still can't believe that someone would do that to a child. "what's wrong with her?"  
"What isn't wrong with her? She's got broken bones in every part of her body. I pretty sure she's got concussions and collapsed organs but what do I know? I'm not a doctor."  
Pipsqueak looked at Dinky with a sad expression when he remembered something. "wait. Jax, you're a magician. Don't you have any healing spells?"  
Jax looked at Pip like he said he was getting a sex change. "what? If I knew a healing spell, I would've used it on myself to heal these lacerations. No, Req's the healer in our group."  
"then… we have no choice but hope Leon and Frictions' plan works." Cadence said.  
"and if we hold up our end of the plan." Pip finished.  
Cadence dipped a rag into water and placed it on dinky's forehead. Another shot of pain raged though her stomach, causing her to lean forward and hold her stomach in pain.  
"Cadence…" Pip said worriedly.  
"I-I'm fine." Cadence painfully said as it passed. "I'm okay."  
"like hell, you're not." Jax said. She got up and walked over.  
"I said I'm fine. I think I know my own body. Besides, the contractions are still 5 hours apart. I'm fine. I can survive."  
Jax didn't buy it but she knew that Cadence wouldn't listen. "fine." Jax sat back down. "Just don't come crying to me when that baby is half-way out." Cadence rolled her eyes with a slight humor.

Begin Song: watch?v=mhhDaQ8QUlk 1000 Words (English Orchestral Version) - Final Fantasy X-2 OST or watch?v=GITwZOxeyRQ 1000 Words - Sweetbox Version  
(yeah. Another choice. Like with 'This is Halloween' back in the Nightmare Night chapter, you have a choice.)

Suddenly, a song began playing on all bandwidths, broadband, the works all over the planet. Jax immediately recognized the voice. "Req?"

Requiem:  
I know that you're hiding things  
Using gentle words to shelter me  
Your words were like a dream  
But dreams could never fool me  
Not that easily

Req stood on top of a stage right in front of the Capital tower, singing into a microphone. Applebloom and Scootaloo pulled the last two cables and plugged them in, making lights appear around her. Sweetie Belle, however, was doing nothing and is bored.

Requiem:  
I acted so distant then  
Didn't say goodbye before you left  
But I was listening  
You'll fight your battles far from me  
Far too easily

A crowd began to form in Feather Top as most of it's citizens came to hear her sing.

Back in Ponyville, Aura and Lina, where were still in cocoons, heard the song. They looked to each other and snickered. They knew what was coming.

Fluttershy listened to the concert from the outskirts of the city. She saw a changeling run by, carrying food. Curious why a Changeling would need food, she followed.

Requiem:  
"Save your tears 'cause I'll come back"  
I could hear that you whispered as you walked through that door  
But still I swore to hide the pain when I turn back the pages  
Shouting might have been the answer  
What if I'd cried my eyes out and begged you not to depart?  
But now I'm not afraid to say what's in my heart

Fluttershy followed the Changeling to a small hut. She crept up to a window and peered in. inside were 3 children; 1 Pony, 1 Changeling, and 1 Hybrid. Their father, a regular Earth Pony, sat with them as the Changeling came in.  
"Mommy!" the Children all shouted as they ran to her and hugged her.  
"Mommy?" Fluttershy mouthed.  
"hey." the Changeling chuckled, hugging each other them. Her husband walked over and kissed her. "I met the nicest pony today. She paid for all this."  
"Wow." the Changeling child said as she looked in.  
"remind me to thank her." the Earth Pony said. He kissed her in the cheek and smiled. "I missed you."  
The Changeling smiled and nuzzled up to him, grossing out the children.  
Fluttershy lowered herself from the window, holding her heart as she struggled to take in what she saw.  
"Edge…" she tearfully said before flying off.

Requiem:  
Though a thousand words  
Have never been spoken  
They'll fly to you  
Crossing over the time and distance holding you  
Suspended on silver wings  
And a thousand words  
One thousand confessions  
Will cradle you  
Making all of the pain you feel seem far away  
They'll hold you forever

Requiem looked to the bored Sweetie Belle and gestured her to come up. Sweetie looked to the crowd and shook her head & mouthed 'no'. Req rolled her eyes and pulled her onto the stage. She tossed the filly a mike, which she reluctantly caught.  
"just sing what comes naturally." Req whispered with a wink.  
Sweetie looked to the crowd and gulped. She took a deep breath, calmed down, and grabbed the mike with what Magic she said.

Sweetie Belle:  
The dream isn't over yet  
Though I often say I can forget  
I still relive that day  
You've been there with me all the way  
I still hear you say

Fluttershy landed under a tree and softly cried. She really hurt him back at Trixie's and Luna's wedding rehearsal. She knew then what she did was wrong and her heart told her so. She sadly looked up to the moon and continued to cry. "Edge…"

Meanwhile, back in Canterlot, Edge looked up at the same moon from atop the tallest tower in Canterlot. There was no liable way he was going to get Fluttershy back. He heard her say that she doesn't want to be with a Changeling.

Both of them closed their eyes and thought of the same dream.

Requiem:  
"Wait for me, I'll write you letters"  
I could see how you stammered with your eyes to the floor  
But still I swore to hide the doubt when I turn back the pages  
Anger might have been the answer  
What if I'd hung my head and said that I couldn't wait?  
But now I'm strong enough to know it's not too late

Fluttershy and Edge, both dressed for a wedding, slow danced with each other with their friends watching. Both smiled at each other as they had found true love with each other. They both leaned in and kissed.

They both snapped out of their imagination to see themselves kissing thin air.

Sweetie Belle and Requiem:  
'Cause a thousand words  
Call out through the ages  
They'll fly to you  
Even though I can't see, I know they're reaching you  
Suspended on silver wings

Fluttershy shed a few tears before looking up at the moon with a mean glare. She is going to get Edge back or die trying. She was going to tell him her feelings or, like I said, die trying. She got up and headed to the city.

Edge pulled out the necklace and looked at it. Even if he couldn't be with her, he wanted to give Fluttershy a future. He tenderly closed his hoof on the necklace then put it back. He got up and flew down to the ground. He was going to give Fluttershy a future or die trying.

Requiem and Sweetie Belle:  
Oh, a thousand words  
One thousand embraces  
Will cradle you  
Making all of your weary days seem far away  
They'll hold you forever

Princess Celestia, all dressed up in battle armor, walked out into the balcony and looked down at the concert. Luna and Zaltan, dressed them same, joined her.  
A Airship hovered up and stopped in front of the balcony. All 3 of them unfurled their wings and flew into it.

The train that had helped them all escape from the Invasion of Canterlot, the Sacking of Ponyville, and the Destruction of Maredrid, was being loaded up with soldiers, half of them off-worlders. The conductor tapped the engine and sighed.  
"well, girl. Time for one last run." he somberly said as he started her up.

The Elements of Harmony, their family, and half the off-worlders loaded up onto the same airship that the royalty boarded. Fluttershy landed on it just as it was about to take off. The Elements looked at each other and nodded. Half of them might not be able to fight

The train whistle blowed, getting Req's attention. She patted Sweetie Belle on the back, told her she had to go, and flew off to the locomotive. Sweetie and the crowd watched her fly away.  
"Okay, Sweetie Belle. Time to go in for a big finish." she softly told herself. She took a deep breath and…

Sweetie Belle:  
Oh, a thousand words  
Have never been spoken  
They'll fly to you  
They'll carry you home and back into my arms  
Suspended on silver wings ohhhh  
And a thousand words  
Call out through the ages  
They'll cradle you  
Turning all of the lonely years to only days  
They'll hold you forever

Sweetie Belle ended just in time for them all to see the airships take off and fly of for war. Her pregnant sister was up there, leaving Sweetie Belle to worry about her. For about a few seconds.  
She felt something odd with her flank. She looked back and gasped when she saw a note-shaped Cutie Mark. She squealed and showed it to her friends. They smiled and cheered her on.

The Airships flew over the city and out to the horizon. The fanciest among them, covered in ribbons, red cloth banners, and silver armor on the front, took the lead. The airplane-like sound filled the air as they flew off.

6:24. End Song.


	87. Dawn of the Winter War

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

A Changeling's Lament

Chapter 22

Dawn of the Winter War

A Gryphon child living in the port town on the massive river woke up to the sound of rumbling. And not just him, every person living in town. He crawled on his bed to the window and opened it wide.

Begin Song: watch?v=askrm3Io4Mg Put the Feelings to the Sky - Tales of Graces OST.

0:00.  
The train, all geared up for war, rolled along the tracks from Feather Top and over to the other side of the river. Inside each car, every soldier willing to fight to save the world.  
Req, Riku, and Gourry sat on top of the train, waiting for the moment.

The rumbling still came but it wasn't from the train. So where it was coming from? The Gryphon looked to the streets. It wasn't coming from there. He and everyone in town looked up.

0:29.  
A Airship flew down close to the town and off over the river. Another Airship followed it, then another, then another.

The entire fleet passed over, each one loaded to bear. The droning sound of the fan-blades filled the air as they zoomed over.

The flagship of the fleet, the fanciest one, grazed just a few feet above the river before flying up to take the helm.

0:50.  
Celestia stood at the front most section of the ship. Chrysalis better be prepared cause one way or another, she is going to take her country back.  
She heard growling to her left. She looked and saw toothless, with Hiccup on top, jump over the side. He unfurled his wings and took flight. He hovered just a few feet beneath the bow. Satoshi and Fox jumped off and landed on Toothless's back.  
Toothless banked left and down to the train. The trio on the dragon looked to the trio on the train. All 7 of them nodded in unison.

Riku pulled out his baton and broke it in half. He jumped off the train, forming the Light Cycle in mid-air before in landed on the bridge. Requiem and Gourry jumped off and landed on top of it.

1:13.  
Riku revved the engine and took off.  
The cycle jumped over the rails and in front of the train and zoomed off ahead of it. Toothless roared and flew on after the bike. Their Destination: Ponyville.

The Winter War has truly begun.

1:33. End Song.


	88. War

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

A Changeling's Lament

Chapter 23

War

Edge looked around, making sure nobody was around. Once he was sure there was no one there, he started up his wings and flew up to the top of the castle. Well, the near death Dinky and Oscurita saw him but didn't they didn't do anything. Edge reached the top of the tallest tower and almost tripped. "Whoa." he got himself up right and sighed. "that was close."  
He hopped over a small indent and walked towards the crystal supplying power and energy to the barrier.  
"okay… how do I work this thing?" he muttered. He cautiously reached out and touched the crystal but it didn't do anything. "hmm…" he walked around it and touched it on the other side. "maybe it's a flick of the wrist?" he waved his hoof in front of the crystal. A small screen appeared with a keyboard underneath it. "that'll work."  
He clicked in a few keys, causing command interfaces to appear. "Hmm… Friction said they were 2 hours out 14 minutes ago, so…" Edge pressed in a few keys, causing the shield functions to appear. "huh… quite a number. Let's see… organics. That must be why we Changelings are able to pass though it but I don't need that. Items… Cookies? Na… ah. Here we go. Sleep Mode."  
He pressed on the icon for that, causing a timer to appear. "let's see… a scout said he saw a train roll by two hours ago, so… 1 hour and… 44 minutes outta be enough time." he put in the time and hit enter. A timer appeared and began counting down. "better put in a secondary feature, in case the Sleep fails." he went back to the desktop and went to Functions. "hmm… I'm gonna need to think of a good way to make both sides think one of them destroyed the barrier. And the only one powerful enough on their side is that goddess."  
He put in the code where once Req hit the barrier with her sword, it would shatter. Of course, that's only if she does it before Sleep Mode counts down completely or if it fails.  
Once it was in, Edge closed it, and flew down to the ground before anyone could see him. He feels guilty for betraying his kind but he won't let Fluttershy live in Chrysalis' twisted world.  
He pulled out the necklace and held it close for a minute before putting it back and flying off.

Satoshi looked though the lens of a sniper rifle down to Ponyville. He, Fox, Req, Riku, Hiccup & Toothless, and Gourry took cover on top of a mountain a reasonable distance from the taken town.  
"What do you see?" Riku asked.  
"well…" he moved the scope to the library. "good news is that the town is intact. Guess all the fire and explosions were just for show."  
"just for show?" Gourry asked, acting like the idiot he is.  
"meaning they didn't destroy any houses but left plenty of craters." Req explained.  
"oh."  
Fox pulled a handle out of his knapsack, which instantly transformed into a sniper rifle. He looked though it. "there's plenty of Changelings and Shadow Creatures on hand. Oh, well this is new."  
"what?" Hiccup asked.  
"they have a dragon." Satoshi said, finding the same thing Fox saw. "with a coat made out of crystals."  
"Rarity's gonna throw a fit when she finds out she missed a dragon made out of diamonds." Req chuckled.  
"So where would they be keeping Aura and Lina?" Gourry asked.  
"my guess, in the deepest part of the town." Req guessed. "either Applejack's apple cellar or Twilight's basement. Either way, when they hear the battle, they'll join up."  
"true." everyone agreed.  
Satoshi and Fox cocked their weapons and took aim. Req pushed their weapons down. "wait. Remember what Leon and Friction said. There's too few of the Changelings left so don't kill them. You want the ones in the Gryphon Kingdom to be the last of their kind?" Satoshi and Fox looked at each other then tinkered with their weapons, setting them for stun.  
Req flicked out and looked at her watch. "we have… 30 minutes before the fleet arrives so we have to move now."

Begin Song: watch?v=l_PjUvwHBs4 Assault - Final Fantasy X OST

Riku flipped his baton out with a smirk and Toothless spread his wings. Req jumped onto Toothless with Hiccup while Gourry climbed onto Riku's light cycle. Toothless took off and the Light Cycle zoomed on down the mountain. Fox and Satoshi laid on their stomachs and took aim at their opponents.

A Shadow Manticore snarled as it moved town, unaware of what was soon to befall him. It heard a sound whiz by it's head. It turned to look. Big mistake as a bullet hit it in the head, killing it and making it disintegrate. The other Shadow Creatures and Changelings looked to see what had befallen it when another shot hit a Shadow Chimera in the head. A stun round hit a Changeling in the shoulder, knocking him out. That put them all on high alert, each one eager to find and take out the perpetrator.  
The sound of a revving engine caught their attention. Riku's Light Cycle revved up a ramp and jumped over Berry Punch's house. The bike turned back into a baton in mid-air, Riku grabbed it and quickly put it away as Gourry drew his sword, or rather a handle.  
"Light come forth!" Gourry exclaimed. Light extended out of the handle and formed into a sword.  
"neat trick." Riku said. "but…" Riku summoned his Keyblade. "Can it do this?" Riku aimed his Keyblade down at the horde and fired a Dark Firaga spell. The spell hit the ground and exploded outwards a few feet, taking out a few Shadow Creatures.  
"Who needs it when I can do this?" Gourry gripped his sword with both hands, spun around, and sliced 5 Shadow Gryphon's heads off. He skidded as he landed and swung his sword around again, taking out 3 more.  
Toothless roared as he zoomed overhead. He passed the town and pulled up. Req jumped off the dragons back and fell to the town with the force of a locomotive. She spun her sword around her body, engulfing her a pink shield, and shot towards the ground like a rocket, it even exploded when she hit the ground.

The ceiling shook, sending dirt and dust falling onto Aura's and Lina's cocoons.  
"I'd say they're back." Aura said.  
"Duh, you think?" Lina said in a mocking tone.  
"well, how do we get out of here?" Lina's pod began to blow red. Aura was able to overhear a few words. '…Pledge myself to conquer all the foes who stand…' Aura freaked out when he realized it was Lina's most destructive and trademark spell. "No. no no!" he struggled to get loose. "Someone get me away fr-"  
"DRAGON SLAVE!"

A loud boom and a whole lot of smoke came from the basement of the library. The smoke burst out of the library and out onto the Ponyville streets.  
"I think it's safe to say Lina is now loose." Satoshi joked. Fox rolled his eyes as the human looked down the scope and shot a Changeling with a stun round.

Lina got up off the ground and dusted herself off. A dazed Aura sat up and spoke gibberish. "I made sure it wasn't powerful enough to destroy the place. Sheesh. Give me some credit." she walked over to a nearby table. Aura cleared his head and got up as his lance was tossed to him.  
"they sure didn't take them far." Aura said as he swung it around, making sure he wasn't rusty.  
"whatever. Now let's get in the fight." Lina said with a slight cheer. Aura nodded and ran up the stairs. Lina ran a few feet when she noticed a pair of yellow rings lying on the same table.  
"these look like Jax's Chakrams." she muttered as she picked them up. "she's gonna need these." she put them in a pocket and ran up to join him.

Req grunted as she was pinned up against a wall by a Shadow Scorpion. She used her sword to hold one pincer at bay and magic for the other. The Scorpion readied it's tail, which she had completely forgot about, when the monster suddenly exploded in a torrent of fire.  
"What?" she whispered to herself as she fell back to the ground. She looked and saw Aura running towards her. "Aura!" she happily exclaimed. She ran over to him. A horde of Shadow Dogs interrupted what they were originally going to do, instead forcing them to go back to back.  
"so? What did I miss?" Aura asked.  
"I'll explain later. For now, let's just focus on getting out of here alive." Req said with a smirk. They both spun their weapons and ran into battle.

The Silver Dragon roared and swiped it's tail along the ground. Riku jumped over the tail and landed on the dragons back. He then ran up to it's neck and stabbed his Keyblade into it. The Dragon roared and tried to bite him off. Riku slipped and held onto the Keyblade.  
"Some help here!" Riku yelled.  
Toothless came screeching out of the sky and shot fireball after fireball after fireball at the monster. The fireballs bounced off the dragons diamond skin; he didn't even get his attention.  
"that's some tough armor." Hiccup said as Toothless pulled a wide u-turn.  
Gourry yelled as he slashed at the dragons legs. Like with Toothless, he just bounced off. "This isn't good." this time, however, the dragon did take notice and growled at the knight. "I, un… was just trying to clip your toenails." Gourry said in worry, trying to prevent the dragon from eating him.  
The Dragon roared and ran right towards Gourry when…  
"Ragna Blade!"  
A sword made out of pure darkness sliced the monster down the head all the way down to it's tail. Riku pulled his legs up to avoid the attack.  
The two halves fell apart and slumped onto the ground. Riku jumped off and summoned the Keyblade to his hand.  
"Lina!" Gourry happily exclaimed, seeing the sorceress standing on top of a fountain head, Ragna Blade dissipating.  
"Sorry I'm late. Traffic was terrible." she joked.

"That's all of them." Fox said as he put his sniper rifle away.  
"Okay." Satoshi's rifle turned back into it's original brick form before he put it away. "now…" he looked to the crash site then back the way they came. At best, they had 10 minutes. He could see the dots on the horizon representing the fleet. "what do you say we give ourselves some greater firepower?"  
Fox looked to the crash site and saw where he was going with it. "I like the way you think."

The trains whistle echoed though the valley, making ear contact with everyone in Ponyville.  
"Right on time." Req said, looking at the watch. "let's get to the station." everyone nodded and ran to it.

The Train barreled down the track, heading back along a route it took to escape 3 weeks ago. The group arrived at the train station and waited for them.  
"now would be a good time to fill us in on the plan." Lina said.  
"you'll find out in a few minutes." Riku said.  
Lina and Aura rolled their eyes. They could never get a straight answer.  
"We got trouble!" Hiccup yelled down, flying overhead.  
A Shadow Creature moved out in the fields and bolted for the train. "No!" Req exclaimed as she summoned her wings. It was too late. The Shadow Creature hit the train engine and exploded, causing the engine to explode and derail.  
Everyone inside the cars screamed as the cars flipped over and over. The flaming engine flipped over to the group and hit the station.

End Song.

The explosion could be heard all the way at Canterlot. Edge, Leon, and Friction, all in separate locations, ran to the edge and looked out to see a plume of fire rise from Ponyville.  
"Uh-oh." they all said.  
Chrysalis heard this as well and walked out to the balcony of the palace. "hmm… guess Celestia wasn't lying." she muttered.  
She flew off the balcony and over to the giant dragon. "Oscurita!" she yelled. The dragon stirred and looked at her. "you want me to hold my end of the deal? Then listen carefully."

Despite the wreck being very bad, nearly everyone inside was alive. Nearly everyone.  
"battle hasn't even started and already we have our first casualties." a slightly injured Gilda said, looking at 4 bodies under cloth.  
"that's always a possibility in war." Req softly said. "I learned that the hard way." she thought back to her brother and sighed.

The engineer looked at the wreckage of the train engine and sighed.  
"s-sorry about your engine." Dash said with a bandage over her right leg.  
The engineer grabbed the stick and chuckled. "well… we both knew this was going to be her last ride. She was getting close to retirement anyway. Same with me."  
Dash smiled with a sigh and grabbed a odometer. "I'm sure Shadow can make you a better one."

"how long till the fleet gets here?" Armor asked Req.  
"I think in…" suddenly, a bright pink glow temporarily blinded them.

Begin Song: watch?v=SSln9c4_98M Prince of Darkness - City of the Fallen

0:00.  
The glow came from the barrier covering Canterlot. It glowed bright then quickly diminished.

"That was odd." Chrysalis muttered, looking up at the barrier.

Edge cheered inside his thoughts. Looks like Sleep Mode is getting closer to activating. He just had a few more plans to put into play.

"what was that?" Dash asked.  
"I don't know but it can't be good." Req said.  
She and the ponies ran to the edge of the battle line to see the barrier glow again.  
"how much longer till the fleet arrives?" Armor asked again.

0:20.  
His answer immediately came as the Airships rumbled overhead. The sound on engines filled the air as each and every one flew over.

"that answer your question?" Req said with a smirk.

0:36.  
The Airships formed a tight battle line centered around the flagship.

Celestia walked to front of the ship and looked at her city. There was so much destruction, it didn't even look Canterlot anymore.  
"Chrysalis… what possessed you to do such madness?" she softly asked herself. She then steeled herself for the coming battle. She raised a hoof to the sky.

The metal tip of the ship glowed pink, as did every other tip on every other ship.  
"Fire!" she yelled out as loudly as she could.

The glows tipped of the tips of the tips (try saying that 5 times fast) and fired diamond-shaped magic missiles at the barrier.

The missiles hit the barrier but they just bounced off. The barrier glowed bright again and shot lasers of it's own.

0:57.  
The fleet maneuvered to avoid the flak.  
A laser torn though the bottom of the Flagship, making it rumble.

Satoshi and Fox ran as fast as they could thought the snow and the woods when they heard muffled explosions from above. They looked up to see the fleet taking fire from the barrier.  
"We better move it." they both said as they booked towards the crash site.

The lasers continued coming; some just passing the ships by while others hit their targets and tore though the ships.  
Suddenly, the lasers stopped coming, making everyone on the ships believe they had a chance to breath. Boy, were they wrong.

1:24.  
A single Silver Dragon, the same one that Chrysalis had marked, flew out of the barrier and roared as loud as it could.  
Before long, dozens upon hundreds of Silver Dragons flew out of the barrier and into the sky.  
"Orale…" a defeated Shadow said, looking at the dragons.

Shadows etched along the ground and out onto the fields from Canterlot to Ponyville.  
The shadows stopped just a few miles from town then extended out as far as they could.  
Hundreds of Shadow Creatures rose out of the ground and snarled at the soldiers.

Chrysalis lightly chuckled from the castle. There's no way she'll lose; not this day.

2:01. End Song.

"oh, that's not good." Sora gulped, looking at the impossible numbers.  
"Come on. We've been though worse then this." Ash said with a wink. That cheered Sora up, making her chuckle. A howl from above cut their little flirty short.

Begin Song: watch?v=xaslbOv5waI Assault of the Silver Dragons - Final Fantasy IX Ost

The lead Silver Dragon landed in front of the Shadow Creatures and spread it's wings. It gathered strength and roared to the sky as loud and as long as he could.  
The Shadow Creatures roared with him and charged at the good guys.  
The Dragon snarled and flew up to the air battle.  
The Ponies gulped out of fear and the Gryphon's bit their nails at how many there were. Req and her friends, however, weren't deterred.  
"oh, please. I dealt with 4 different Demon Lords in my sleep. This is going to be a piece of cake." Lina smugly said.  
Req slowly pulled her sword out and pointed it at the monsters. "yeah. Well, I dealt with a sadistic god who was out to get me. Beat that." the humans shrugged.  
They had nothing. The natives wondered why the humans weren't as scared as they were when they came to the same conclusion. They weren't scared cause they knew they were going to win and save the world. And they weren't going to let them take all the glory.  
Req spun her sword and took a battle pose, as did everyone else; both human and native. "here we go!" she exclaimed. She swung her sword and lobbed off the head of a Shadow Dragon. Trixie used her magic to send the body careening back to it's 'friends'.

The Silver Dragons hovered in place in front of the barrier, waiting for the fleet to make their first move. They should've attacked first. A whole lot of flak; missiles and cannonballs, streaked towards them and hit, taking out a good chunk of their forces.  
The Dragons fired back with fireballs of their own. They hit the ships, causing explosions that rocked each and every one.  
"Damn! There're too many!" Celestia grunted as the flagship shook a lot.  
The Vascillia flew from around the barrier and powered up it's main cannons. Celestia went wide-eyed in fear. "no…"  
Suddenly, a large green beam of light shot though the fleet and hit the dragon line. It caused dozens of explosions throughout the line, as well as one big explosion in the middle.  
"What?" the princess gasped.

"what in the world!?" Chrysalis exclaimed in anger, watching the fight from the balcony.

The original humans stopped their battling for a moment, saw the explosion from below and smiled.  
"he's back." they all happily said.

A Massive Airship, as big as Vascillia flew from behind the fleet and out to the front. It had masts where the balloon from the other airships should be but, thanks to that, it moved faster. It passed the Flagship and fired it's main cannons. A green beam came out of each one, spiraled into each other, and hit the center of the dragon line, causing another explosion. On the side of the ship, the name ORION was printed in big letters.

"I'm back in business, baby!" Satoshi happily exclaimed.

The Orion moved to the left, heading straight for Vascillia. While flying that way, it fired it's starboard cannons at the dragons, taking more out of commission.

"oh, I'm on Fire!" Satoshi chortled with glee.

The Orion fired it's main cannons at the enemy ship, punching a big ass hole though it's deck. The Vascillia fired back but it's shadow rounds bounced off a invisible shield.  
"nice try." Satoshi laughed as he pressed his most favorite button again. The ship fired it's main cannons again, cutting though the ship in the aft.  
"God, I love this ship!"

The explosions could be heard all the way from the mines. Jax recognized them from all the battles she spent with it and smiled with glee.  
"Orion's Back, Baby!" she cheered.

The Orion fired it's main cannons yet again. The beam hit, this time destroying the ship completely. It blew up into millions of tiny pieces that rained down on the battle field.

Chrysalis yelled in anger as she lost their only ship.  
"No more miss nice girl! OSCURITA!"  
The massive dragon flew by the castle and out of the barrier.

Satoshi heard a loud roar that was oh so familiar. He looked to see Oscurita fly out of the barrier and towards him.  
"not today, you're not." Satoshi angrily said as he pressed his favorite button. "Gonna make you work for it this time."  
The fan blades retracted into the masts of the ship which, in turn, retracted back into the ship itself. A green semi-invisible shield appeared over the deck. The massive fans in the back of the ship retracted into the ship as well with two massive engines taking their place.  
"Come and get me!" Satoshi yelled as he pushed the speed lever all the way forward.

The Orion's engines powered up and ignited, sending the ship immediately into a sonic boom. Oscurita stopped in amazement. It didn't got that fast when they fought the first time. He shook his head and gave chase, going into a sonic boom as well.

End Song.

Lloyd flipped over a Shadow Chimera and stabbed it in the head. The sonic booms reached the battlefield, sending everyone a few feet to the left from the wind.  
"that was new." Lloyd said in surprise. The Chimera, who was still alive, tried to kill the swordsman with it's snake tail. Lloyd moved to the side and sliced it right off.

Leon and Friction walked into the mines, looked thought it, found and headed over to Jax, Cadence, Pip, and Dinky.  
"they're coming." Friction said.  
"who?" Pip asked, putting a rag on the heavily injured Dinky's forehead.  
"the army. Who else?" Leon said in a joking tone. "not a good time for that, is it?"  
"not really, no." Jax said in a monotone.  
"Right. Well, they're right outside right now. Attacking the capital with airships and ground troops a-"  
Jax wasn't sure she heard that right so she interrupted him. "wait wait wait. Airships?" Leon and Friction nodded. "ha. Satoshi must've grabbed the blueprints just before they abandoned the town. How else would they have created Airships?"  
"so… ready to get back at Chrysalis?" Friction asked with a wide smile.  
Jax looked to the ponies with her. All 3 of them nodded. "then we better get ready." Cadence said. She got up to go get the prisoners when another contraction hit.  
"Okay. That's it." Jax got up and sat Cadence back down. "you're in no position to fight. Just leave this to me."  
Cadence didn't want her to do this all alone but with the baby this close, she didn't want to risk it. "*sigh* all right. You know, you changed Jax. A few months ago, you wouldn't be trying to save us."  
She was right, Jax had to admit that. A few months ago, she wouldn't lift a finger to save horses or ponies or zebra's or any other kind of Equine. Now… seeing them in this situation… she softened up to them a little. She still hated them but not as much like last time. But there's only one reason she's doing this. "it's pretty much broken now, but…" she looked to Dinky and sighed. "I made a promise. And I NEVER break my promises."  
She picked up a pick-ax and slowly made her way to the nearest Shadow Creature.

Begin Song: watch?v=fsMWvraCUVI Spiral - Red vs Blue Season 9 OST

0:00.  
Jax gradually picked up speed before jumped up and stabbing the Shadow Creature in the spine, getting the attention of the prisoners.  
"Come on! Time to show Queen Chrysalis some of our hospitality!" Jax proclaimed. The Prisoners nodded and murmured in agreement. They wanted to get back at her for some time. They grabbed whatever weapons they could and ran for the exit. Jax tinkered with the bracelets Chrysalis had forced on her and got them off in 2 seconds flat.  
"how…" Leon began to asked.  
"Figured it out a long time ago. Just didn't do it because I'd be outnumbered and wouldn't have time to cast." she ran towards the escaping prisoners as Leon and Friction looked at each other. That actually made sense.  
Jax ran to the front of the group, and just in time as the doors kicked down with a massive Shadow Spider in their way. Jax, who didn't lose any momentum, just smirked and gripped the Pick-Ax, which started to course with electricity.  
"ELECTRIC WHEEL!"

0:27.  
Outside, the battle on both the ground and in the air raged on with neither side giving way.

A squadron of Silver Dragons flew between ships of the fleet, avoiding the fire given them. They were quickly shot down by the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself.  
"nice shot, bud." Hiccup said, scratching Toothless' ear when a fireball shot past them. "*sigh* it never ends." Toothless snorted in agreement and went super sonic.

0:47.  
Bahamut roared down from the sky like a rocket and crashed into the center of the Shadow Creature horde. He flew though the horde itself, made seen by the massive blue shockwave behind him, sending up plenty of Shadow Creatures to be picked off by his allies.

Applejack used her rope to tie down a Shadow Eel long enough for Emil to cut right though it.  
"not bad thinking." Emil praised.  
"Keeps them from squirming around." A.J. said as she quickly rolled it back up.

Aura swung his lance over his head. Blades of fire came out of the lances and killed any Shadow Creature near him.  
"I love this power." he chuckled.

Spyro and Cynder spun around like a double-helix, each one covered in a dark purple glow, and crashed right into the Shadow Creature horde.

"way this is going, the Shadow Creatures will be obliterated by sundown." Zel said as he sliced from some Shadow Wolfs.  
"yeah. Considering we don't die first." Zilver said as he blasted a Silver Dragon in the face, blinding it long enough for Zel to stab it in the neck.  
"Good point." he said as he pulled his sword out.

1:39.  
Req summoned her wings and took to the air to annualize the situation. In a word, not good. The Shadow Creatures had the allied forces outnumbered 10 to 1 and they keep coming. Only way to stop them for good is to take out the source, and since Oscurita isn't here, there must be a crystal inside that's generating them.

1:50.  
Jax yelled as she stabbed a Shadow Crab in it's eye, killing it but also breaking the axe. "Crap weapon, anyway." she threw the remains down and snapped her fingers, summoning a fireball.

2:10.  
Edge ran as fast as he could though the streets. The attack hit faster then he thought so he had to move in order to make it happen. A image of Fluttershy flashed though his head, momentarily making him cry but he didn't stop running.

Req flew though the air, dodging fire left and right. She screeched to a halt and flapped her wings to go up.  
Once at a high enough altitude, Req pulled her wings in and fell towards the barrier.

At the same time, the timer for sleep mode was nearing Zero.

Nexus Ultimus glowed bright. Req flipped around and slammed her sword into the barrier at the same time as when the timer reached zero.

2:37.  
The barrier glowed bright pink and shattered into pieces.  
"YES!" Req cheered.  
She quickly saw the crystal producing the Shadow Creatures and destroyed it.

Celestia noticed the barrier go down, as did everyone else.  
"Move into the city!" she ordered.  
The Airship captains complied and ordered their ships to blockade Canterlot. Back down on the ground, that gave incentive for the troops to move.

Lina noticed the barrier go down and tossed the Chakrams as hard as she could towards the exposed city. When she heard the order to move in, she already had a good spell to go to get rid of the monsters lickaty-split.  
"Darkness beyond Twilight. Crimson beyond blood that flows. Buried in the stream of time is where your power grows…"

2:57.  
The Chakrams flew into the city like a pair of UFO's, getting the attention of the Changelings, who didn't want anything to do with that fight down in the valley.  
At the same time, the mountain began to rumble violently. The Chakrams moved towards the mountain as a red spot appeared in it and started to get brighter.

3:10.  
The side of the mountain blew up as Jax jumped out of it. She grabbed her Chakrams and began to cut though the Shadow Creatures faster then you can say 'Bob's your uncle.'

After she had her fill of that, she spun around like Req did back at Ponyville, summoning up a small pink shield.  
"CRIMSON LANCE!"  
The small shield-covered human shot towards the ground, hitting it and causing a big explosion. A normal human wouldn't survive such a ordeal but, well, Jax is far from ordinary.

3:28.  
Both Changelings and Shadow Creatures gathered around the crater of fire that the human had created and then realized they shouldn't have.  
Jax's silhouette shown though the fire, scaring the Changelings and giving the Shadow Creatures a worthy opponent.  
Jax's eyes glowed yellow as she looked up. She spun her Chakrams and took her battle pose. "tell your queen the bitch is back."

3:39.  
She shot out of the fire like a bolt of lightning, cutting though Shadow Creatures like a knife though soft butter and sparring the Changelings by bocking them on the head.

Jax flipped up into the air and slashed down at the camera.

4:04. End Song.


	89. Battle of Canterlot

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

A Changeling's Lament

Chapter 24

Battle of Canterlot

The CMC poked their heads out of the snow, having been knocked unconscious from the train wreck. The battle in the air and on the ground raged but they didn't take notice

"I blame you for this idea, Scootaloo." Feather Weight moaned as he rubbed his head.

"well, I want to try to get my cutie mark. Sweetie Belle found hers so why can't I find mine the same way?" Scoots argued as she pulled a case out of the snow.

Sweetie Belle looked at her flank and took great notice of her new Music Note Cutie Mark. "who knew singing was my special talent?"

"Well…" Scootaloo opened the case at a portable camera. "I think our talents are things we never suspected; I think my special talent is reporting."

"Won't know till you try." Applebloom said as she grabbed the camera and hosted it up to her shoulder. "ugh. Just hope mine isn't a camera girl. This thing weighs a ton." she staggered to the right. Sweetie Belle stopped her in time.

Begin Song:  watch?v=iP7mVihaW_M Red like Roses - RWBY Theme

0:00.

A big explosion caught their attention. The barrier glowed for a moment then shattered into a million pieces.

"Whoa…" all 4 of them said in amazement. They quickly gather themselves and went to work. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom grabbed the camera and pointed it to Scootaloo who pulled her hair back with a pin. Feather Weight gave her a microphone.

"Which one is the ON button?" Applebloom asked. Feather Weight pressed the button, turning it on. "oh."

Every screen in Equestria, the Gryphon Kingdom, the Badlands; everywhere had Scoots on it. Behind her was the raging battle.

"behind us, the Battle for Canterlot and the fate of the world rages. the rulers of Equestria and the Gryphon Kingdom, their combined armies, and heroes from other worlds are battling to save our world from a tyrannical queen and her hoard of shape-shifting creatures, monsters made out of shadow…" a large creature fell into the snow behind them, surprising them and the audience. The CMC looked to see the remains of a Silver Dragon in a pose of death. "…and Dragons made out of crystal." Scootaloo muttered.

"DRAGON SLAVE!"

The field turned into a large red dome-like explosion that covered it all, surprising them all. "What in the world?" all the CMC said in surprised awe.

Scootaloo gathered herself and shook her head. "un… as you can clearly see, the battle has taken a more… vio-"

"What is that!?" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

"What's what?" Feather Weight turned her around to see the space-Orion and Oscurita flying though the air as fast as possible.

"What is that thing?" Applebloom asked, referring to the ship.

Orion banked left, heading right for them. "Hope that's on our side!" Feather Weight said in fear. The Ship flew right over them, along with Oscurita, creating a large gust of wind that covered them up to their necks in snow.

"Not cool!" Applebloom shouted.

They pulled themselves out just to have a explosion go off near them and cover them in dark smoke.

1:12.

With the barrier down and most of the Shadow Creatures in the field destroyed, the army moved in towards the city, with the air fleet providing cover as best they can.

Ash flipped over a Shadow Scorpion and fired at it's head. After 10 or so shots, the Mana Bolts got though, frying it's brain and killing it.

"you know… this is going better then expected." Armor said as the two ran towards the entrance.

"Don't jinx us. Whenever someone says that, a little thing called Murphy's Law always goes into effect."

A beam of pink light shot out of the crystal that was once supplying the shield and towards the fleet.

The beam pierced though a ship, hit the engine, and destroyed it, blowing up the ship, and everyone on it, into oblivion.

Celestia watched in horror as it went down. All those innocent lives lost. She looked to the top of the tower to the malfunctioning crystal. That thing has to be taken out before more lives are lost. Everyone of the main crew knew that as well and made that thing a priority.

"Game time." Dash said as she put on a pair of goggles. She jumped off the side of the flagship and towards the town with every other flyer among them.

A Silver Dragon screeched down from above and rammed into the Pegasus, sending them falling to the ground.

The Dragon roared in her face, blowing the goggles off. "Ach. Two words buddy; Breath. Mint." the Dragon snarled and opened it's mouth wide to bite her head off. A feathered figure rammed into the side of the dragon and broke Dash loose of it's vice grip. "Thanks, Gilda."

"no problem." a fireball shot between them, cutting their conversation short. "shall we?" Gilda jokingly asked. Dash nodded and the two slammed into the same Silver Dragon that had Dash in the death grip.

Catapults moved into position and fired up at the battlements the Changelings put up in the city. Those that missed fell into the city, destroying the already destroyed buildings.

Oscurita roared as he fired his beam attack at Orion. The Orion banked to the right, flared it's engines, pulled a big u-turn, and rammed right into the monster.

The slam damaged Oscurita's wing, causing him to fall into and down the side of a mountain.

"huh. That actually worked." Satoshi said in wonderment. "Guess I own you five bucks, Fox." Satoshi moved the ship, making it's next destination Canterlot.

Another ship exploded from the attack from the crystal, adding more casualties to the list.

A angered Celestia powered up her magic and fired a beam at the crystal. It hit but it didn't destroy it. Instead, it made it stronger. The gem retaliated by firing back at the Flagship. The princess realized her mistake too late for the ship to move.

Req flew in the beam's path and blocked it with her sword. The blast lasted for 30 seconds before it gave out.

"Next time, think of what will happen if you do a stupid stunt like that!" Req yelled.

Celestia was surprised to hear such insolence from her. And Req was the nice one. Guess war can change people. Faust knows how other ponies have changed thanks to this conflict.

The crystal powered up and fired another beam at the Flagship. Req blocked it again but the blast knocked her into the ship. "damn. We can't get close to the city thanks to that thing."

A big explosion eminated from within the city, near the castle.

"Was that us?" Luna asked.

The Cannoneers shrugged. "don't think it was one of us." one of them said.

"then who…"

Both Changelings and Shadow Creatures gathered around the crater of fire that the human had created and then realized they shouldn't have.

Jax's silhouette shown though the fire, scaring the Changelings and giving the Shadow Creatures a worthy opponent.

Jax's eyes glowed yellow as she looked up. She spun her Chakrams and took her battle pose. "tell your queen the bitch is back."

2:43.

She shot out of the fire like a bolt of lightning, cutting though Shadow Creatures like a knife though soft butter and sparring the Changelings by bocking them on the head.

She jumped onto the shoulders of a Shadow Human and into the air. She spun around, creating a tornado that sucked up all the Shadow Creatures and sent them hurdling into the mountain.

Jax fell out of the Tornado she had created, somersaulted in mid-air, and slashed down on the crystal. The Crystal sparked then exploded, destroying the top of the tower it was on.

Jax fell to the streets below and onto a Shadow Lion, crushing it's spine. She ran off it and towards the castle.

3:13. End Song.

Chrysalis watched the battle from the ruined throne room. One of the catapults bombs crashed though the place, turning it into rubble. Amazingly, the stain-glass portraits were still intact. Celestia must've imbued them with magical properties to make them indestructible. She heard footsteps behind her. She looked to see Edge standing right there.

"Mirror's Edge. Why aren't you out there leading our troops?" she calmly asked. Edge replied by taking a battle pose with his horn glowing. She was surprised to see him like this in hear and not out there.

"Because I'm trying to save the world, not turn it into a wasteland like that unicorn did 16 years ago." he replied. "and, even if she won't have me, I'll keep Fluttershy safe. And you won't stop me."

Fluttershy's necklace fell and dangled out of his armor, explaining everything to the queen. "how did you overcome the purge? Nobody's been able to break though it."

Edge smirked. "the power of love can truly be frightening."

Love? The only thing love is good for is food. Chrysalis knew this and laughed at the ridiculous sentiment Edge said. "really? If love is so powerful, maybe it can save them."

Begin Song:  watch?v=ox0GMFaoK4I Epic Boss Battles of Equestria ~ Nightmare Moon by Youtuber Baschfire

Chrysalis stomped her hoof on the ground. In a flash of green fire, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Feather Weight appeared beside her, floating in mid air, each trying to take a choker off from their necks, which was increasingly getting tighter.

"NO!" Edge exclaimed. He charged at Chrysalis. She used her magic to stop him, hold him back, and lift him up into the air.

"love is only good for feeding. Nothing more. Nothing less."

She used her magic to send him careening into a pillar. Edge heard something break when he hit. He slumped to the ground, coughing up a lung.

"If love is so powerful…" Chrysalis used her magic to lift him up again and flail him about the room. "then why are you the one being beaten to death?"

"cause that's not the real me."

A blast of green fire hit Chrysalis in the back, sending her into a pile of rubble.

The real Edge jumped down from above and landed in front of the CMC. The fake flickered for a moment and disintegrated like a hologram. He used his magic to cut them CMC loose. They fell to the floor, alone with their camera equipment, which was still recording and sending out.

"What are you guys doing here? This is dangerous! What would Applejack or Rarity say if they found out?" Edge angrily asked.

Applebloom rubbed her throat as she explained. "We just wanted to find our Cutie Marks an-" she stopped when she realized that Edge was talking to them and saving them. "Edge?"

"yeah?"

"you know who we are?"

"Why shouldn't I?"

"because you-"

The rubble exploded out with the force of a bomb. Edge stood in front of the CMC and protected them with a shield spell. Chrysalis hovered out of the rubble, angry as hell. "YOU! YOU WOULD TURN YOUR BACK ON YOUR OWN ENDANGERED KIND!? YOU WOULD LEAVE US ALL TO EXTINCTION BECAUSE OF SOME WHORE OF A MARE!?" that little remark made Edge very angry. Fluttershy wasn't a whore. He never saw her with a date. The tip of Chrysalis' horn glowed as bright as it could. "YOU WILL PAY FOR BETRAYING US! YOU AND YOUR LITTLE FRIENDS!"

The top of the room cut open. Jax fell in and whapped a Bind Spell around Chrysalis' neck. She swung around, tightening the grip. Jax landed on the Queen's back and put her other Chakram to Chrysalis' neck.

"FIREBALL!"

True to it's name, a firebacll came out and hit Chrysalis at point blank range, knocking her out cold. Jax jumped and landed in front of Edge and the CMC. Angry to see the traitor there, she walked over.

"you know, I had her under-"

Jax punched Edge right in the mouth, sending him to the floor. "That's for betraying us, you son of a bitch!"

Edge wiped blood away from his mouth and groaned. "okay. I guess I had that coming…" he got up off the ground. "and something tells me that everyone else will do much worse things to me but can we please focus on the big picture?"

Chrysalis shot out of the ground, turned to them both, and snarled as her eyes turned green. "deal." Jax agreed.

Chrysalis panted and snarled then yelled at the top of her lungs, letting out a great big burst of energy.

With the air battle taken care of, mostly due to the Silver Dragons focusing their attention on the troops, the Airships moved to provide support.

The Flagship hovered down and landed in front of the city gates. Celestia flew off the ship and landed right in front of them. She had one thought on her mind right now; to make Chrysalis pay for what she did.

A large explosion came from the castle, destroying a large portion of it.

"Well, that couldn't have been good." Cynder said.

Jax, Edge, and the CMC struggled to get up from the snow-covered ground after that big blast sent them outdoors. Chrysalis hovered down. The spot where she landed twisted and contorted.

"This is what happens to those…" Chrysalis's horn glowed bright. Edge and Jax looked to each other and nodded. "WHO OPPOSE ME!" she blasted at them. Jax quickly threw one of her Chakrams, which directed the blast to the mountain, shooting off the top. Edge quickly got up, coated himself in green fire, and rammed into Chrysalis' mid-section.

Jax tossed her other Chakram to the CMC. It circled around them then glowed, sending them to a safe distance. She quickly got up and charged at the corrupt queen.

As the main group ran for the castle, Luna flew from another direction, carrying a box. "sister. I got the Elements."

"Elements?" the humans asked. They never heard of those before.

"We'll explain later." Celestia said as she used her magic to open it, revealing the 5 necklaces and the crown. "right now, we have a war to win."

"RAGNA BLADE!"

Twin blades of darkness extended out of Jax's Chakrams. She crossed them in front of her then charged at Chrysalis. Edge flew in from behind and slammed into the Queen's back. Jax yelled as she swung both blades at once towards her.

Chrysalis quickly regained herself and flew away, avoiding Jax's attack.

Chrysalis chuckled and fired a beam down to them. Jax blocked that and threw her other Chakram at her. It hit Chrysalis in the chest, sending her flying into a statue. Chrysalis snarled as she got up and charged horn first at her.

The main group arrived at the battle site and where surprised to see Edge fighting Chrysalis. Fluttershy's heart filled up with joy. She must've gotten though to him. Jax swung her Ragna Blades at the Queen, who dodged them quite easily.

"Oh, isn't that just typical?" Lina joked. "she's fighting by her lonesome against two bad guys AND she's using MY spell. I should sue her for copyright infringement." her friends groaned, some of them even face-palmed.

Jax yelled as she swung the blades down at Chrysalis. Chrysalis stopped her with her magic and swung her right into Edge. The two slid across the icy surface into the ruined wall of a building.

"I told you…" Chrysalis angrily said as she strode over. "ANYONE WHO GETS IN MY WAY WILL DIE!" she powered up another blast spell when one hit her in the side.

"No. you won't." Celestia said as she did 7 months ago.

End Song AND Begin song:  watch?v=HZHZ7YTp0ZA Battle of Canterlot by Youtuber ElectroKaplosion

0:00.

The Humans and Main Ponies took up battle positions beside her; the Mane 6 equipped with the Elements of Harmony.

"took you long enough." Jax groaned as she got up. She picked up her Chakrams, which immediately glowed yellow when she grabbed them.

"sorry. Traffic was terrible." Sora said, aiming a arrow right at the corrupt queen.

The CMC grumbled as they got up, recovered from the effects of Chrysalis' attack.

"again, I blame you Scoots." Applebloom groaned.

"Shut up." Scoots looked up and to where they once were. She saw the stand-off and whinnied. "quick, where's the camera?"

"the what?" Feather Weight asked. He looked to his right and found it still rolling. "un… right here."

"Good. Aim it at that stand-off." Scoots looked around and found her mike. She dusted it off and blew into it. "that'll work."

Her friends picked up the camera and aimed it at the stand-off. Scoots stood in front of the camera, making sure she had enough room for the people at home to see.

The mountain rumbled from the collective might of the catapults stones. Inside, the mine shook from the attack. Dust fell onto Cadence's snout. She snorted it off and looked to the exit. This was all her fault. If she didn't leave so abruptly 16 years ago, this all could've been avoided. Another contraction hit, causing her to keel over.

Celestia walked in front of the group, hoping to end this peacefully. "Chrysalis. Please stop this. If we can settle this peacefully, we can find a home for your people." Chrysalis just looked at her with a blank stare. "Chrysie…"

Chrysalis couldn't believe this. All her hard work; all that she had done. It was falling apart around her. "I…" she slowly rose up from the ground. "…WILL NOT…" Dark Energy appeared and swirled around her. "…LET MY PEOPLE…" she raised her head, revealing her eyes to be sickly green with red iris' and purple fire rising out of the sides of her eyes. "…BE DESTROYED!"

1:25.

Chrysalis yelled as she fired a beam attack at them all. It hit in the center and exploded outward, sending everyone flying in different directions.

She looked to her left and fired a beam at the mountain, destroying a large chunk of it. She looked right and sent a beam to the valley far below.

Her hatred for Celestia, Cadence, the traitor. Everyone and Everything she hated fueled her new dark power. She raised her hooves then pulled them back, pulling everything towards her with a powerful force of wind.

"this didn't happen before, did it?" Req yelled, digging her sword into the ground.

"not last time, no." Applejack yelled, holding her ground with her necklace shaking in the wind. "of course, we beat her last time."

Everyone struggled to hold their ground against the powerful wind. It was so powerful, it even made the Airships move against their own will.

At the apex, Chrysalis thrust her hooves out, shooting everything away from her in a violent manner. Everyone reacted as they were sent into walls and buildings.

"that hurt." Marble breathed.

Trixie groaned as she got up, holding her head in pain. Chrysalis suddenly appeared beside her and kicked her up into the air. The corrupt queen disappeared in a flash and reappeared beside Trixie. She punched her in the stomach, disappeared, and kicked her in the head.

Luna groaned and looked up to see her wife getting the crap kicked out of her. "TRIXIE!"

Chrysalis appeared, did something back to Trixie, and disappeared again so many times, it was hard to keep track.

On the last kick, Chrysalis hit her with enough force to send Trixie to the ground like a rocket. Luna got up and ran as fast as she could. She jumped up, caught Trixie, and the two fell into a snowdrift. "perfect." Chrysalis evilly snickered as she powered up a blast attack and sent it their way.

"Barrier!" Riku yelled, jumping in front of them and casting the spell. The blast spell hit that instead of the newlyweds and sent Riku into the same snow drift as them.

Chrysalis snarled and powered up another one when she was hit in the back by one of Toothless' fireballs. It distracted her long enough for the dragon to zoom right over her, causing her to spin in mid air.

Requiem yelled as she jumped up and swung her sword. Chrysalis regained herself and blocked it. She flipped over the goddess and kicked her in the back.

Applejack threw her lasso up, wrapping it around Chrysalis' hind legs, and pulled her down to them. Bahamut flew down from above, coated in blue fire. He rammed into her back, making her trip down a lot faster.

Aura jumped into the air, spun his lance, and aimed it down at Chrysalis. He landed on her chest and pinned Chrysalis' neck between the two blades of his lance.

Lina and Amelia joint cast a Freeze Arrow and shot it towards the queen. She kicked Aura in the back, got loose of his lance, and got up behind Aura. She pushed him right into the path of the Freeze Arrow. It hit him instead of her, freezing him in place. "oh. Sorry, Aura." Amelia winced. Chrysalis flew up from behind the frozen Aura and blasted them both square in the chest.

Twilight used her magic to wrap a whip around Chrysalis' neck. Rarity, Halo, Zilver, Armor, and Marble joined in and pulled her down. Chrysalis snarled and flew up. The girls quickly cut their ties but the males weren't so lucky as Chrysalis sent a shock down their cords, zapping them with strong electricity.

Spyro and Cynder flew from different directions and hit Chrysalis; Spyro in her stomach with fire and Cynder in her back with poison. Both of them flew off then hit her from separate directions. Chrysalis snarled and ducked on the last one, making the couple hit each other.

Leon and Friction, having finally decided to join the fight, rammed into Chrysalis, pinning her against a tower. "YOU TOO?" Chrysalis yelled, surprised to see her two most loyal pawns turning against her. She snarled and used her magic to grab them both by the throat. "THEN YOU SHALL DIE WITH THE REST!" she threw them down as hard as she could. They rolled down the tower and hit the base hard.

Chrysalis snarled as she panted. She looked at her shaking hooves in anger. She yelled as loud as she could as darkness shot out of her.

"This is new!" Pinkie yelled.

"it's just like Nightmare Moon." Twi pointed out. "I think she's going insane."

Ash shrugged. "We have that effect on people. Catalyst went bonkers when we fought him."

Armor yelled as he was blasted into a wall. "ugh. We can't even get close."

Req looked up at the gradually-insane Chrysalis. He was right. All that power, all that dark energy is making it impossible to get relatively close. Well… maybe one thing can. She looked around. They had a surplus of Unicorns and Magicians. She looked to Jax and smirked. "Hey, Jax. I have an idea."

3:48.

Gilda struggled to get loose from Chrysalis' magic death grip but she had the Gryphon Princess locked in tight.

"After I'm done with Equestria, guess who's country is next?" Chrysalis insanely said.

4:17.

5:14.

5:50. End Song

Begin Song:  watch?v=YTpj9YjkQ4Y Farewell to the Black Curtain - Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike OST

End Song.

Begin Song:  watch?v=t0_7lVVvedU Serah's Theme ~Memory~ Final Fantasy XIII-2 OST

End Song

Begin Song:  watch?v=h7eXKsZv2gI Ibitsu {Tv Size} - Tales of Symphonia OVA Soundtrack

End Song.


	90. A Changeling's Lament

Begin Song: watch?v=uFvanEzzAIU Love Is In Bloom (His World Remix) ~Queen Chrysalis Final Boss Theme pt. 2~ by youtuber KingSpartaX37

Crystals tore though the ground and hovered around Dark Chrysalis, who evilly snickered to the camera.

*Cut to black*  
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic - A Changeling's Lament

Wind picked, causing snow and dust to swirl around the corrupt queen. The humans and ponies stood their ground, trying to avoid being swept up.

*cut to black*  
Final Chapter

A series of small crystals formed around Dark Chrysalis' front-left leg, forming a cannon of sorts. She aimed it at the ground and powered it up.

*cut to black*  
A Changeling's Lament

One of Jax's Chakrams hit the cannon, making it fire off course and into the castle. Most of the palace exploded in such a torrent of fire and wind, it was like hell itself was breaking loose.  
Dark Chrysalis snarled and aimed it again. Bahamut rammed her in the stomach then jumped off her. Req jumped up into the air, sword glowing white  
"SERAPHIM BLADE!"  
She swung her blade down, sending out a sword beam that struck the queen in the same spot Bahamut hit her. Dark Chrysalis aimed her little cannon and fired it. It hit Req right in the chest, exploding and sending her falling right into rubble.  
Fox jumped down from Orion and plunged his staff down her neck. She shrieked, reached back, grabbed him, and tossed him to the ground. She pulled the staff out and tossed it away like a piece of garbage.  
Multiple beams of magic shot from the Unicorns and Alicorns, striking Dark Chrysalis on multiple parts of her body. With a flap of her wings, Dark Chrysalis shrugged it off and chuckled. "It's going to take more then that to defeat me!" the Pentagram on her forehead glowed, causing her to roar like a monster.  
The same symbol appeared on the ground beneath them and glowed a bright red. Energy rose out of it, making anyone wearing skirts hold them down. The energy slammed back down, forcing everyone inside it to slam to the ground; hard.  
Ash quickly got up and fired his pistols, same with Sora and her bow & arrows. Satoshi leaned over the side of his ship and fired down at her. All 3 projectiles struck a invisible barrier and sent the shots back to their senders.  
She aimed her cannon at Orion and fired. Satoshi quickly moved the ship to avoid it. He did so just in time, causing the shot to just graze it. "HEY! It took me months to put this thing back together!" Satoshi yelled. Dark Chrysalis didn't care and continued firing.  
Celestia and Luna flew up into the air, coated themselves in their respective power, and rammed into Dark Chrysalis from multiple sides. Eventually, Light Chrysalis and Zaltan joined in. Light Chrysalis covered herself in green fire and passed it over to the Gryphon King. The 4 of them attacked from different directions at different times, making Dark Chrysalis stagger a lot.  
Dark Chrysalis' eyes glowed and she screamed, causing a large burst of energy to erupt from her. It stuck the royalty, sending them falling to the ground.  
"ASTRAL BREAK!" Lina, Zelgadis, and Amelia shouted. That spell merged into Gourry's Sword of Light. He jumped up and slashed down at Dark Chrysalis' chest. She yelled out in pain as the spell went into effect and shut off her magic. That doesn't mean the spells she already cast were broken. She aimed her cannon at Gourry's chest and fired, sending him careening to the ground.  
Applejack's lasso wrapped around Chrysalis' hind legs. With one strong tug from A.J., Dash, Rarity, and Spike, they pulled her down right into the streets. Dark Chrysalis quickly got up and aimed it at them. A flurry of snowballs hit her in the head, blocking her vision.  
"Keep your hooves off our sisters!" Applebloom yelled as she and her friends threw snowballs at her. Dark Chrysalis snarled and aimed her cannon instead at them.  
A wreath wrapped around the queen's neck. It tightened, making her choke. "Whatever you have planned, do it fast!" Fluttershy yelled. The Mane 6 shook their heads in complete surprise. Fluttershy was helping? That would be new in their books.  
"Ain Soph Aur!"  
A purple blade of chaotic energy torn though the ground, struck Dark Chrysalis, and pulled her into the castle, where it exploded on impact.

End Song.

Emil's sword hissed from the energy it had unleashed. Emil fell over onto one knee and panted. That took a lot out of him. "Did that do it?"

Begin Song: watch?v=G2OGYMSfDfM Zanza - Xenoblade Chronicles OST

A beam of pure concentrated darkness shot into the dark clouds above. Energy shaped like electricity shot down from multiple angles and struck the spot where she hit.  
"I don't think so." Spyro said.  
Dark Chrysalis rose into the air, laughing like the madwomen she is. One she was 50 feet in the air, she looked down on the ants and laughed again.  
"you have no hope against me!" she proclaimed. "just lay down your arms and I will endeavor to make your deaths as painless as possible."  
"not a chance!" Fluttershy exclaimed. "this is our world and we will fight to protect it!"  
Dark Chrysalis laughed at the ridiculous sentiment. "Your world? This world doesn't belong to you! It belongs to me and His Eminence!"  
"Eminence?" Luna muttered to Gilda. She just shrugged in return.  
"His Eminence is the one true ruler of this world and I, his first daughter, will get it back for him!"  
"what's she talking about?" Cadence asked Light Chrysalis.  
"I don't know. Guess she's gotten cuckoo when she went evil." Light Chrysalis said, not really knowing what her dark counterpart is talking about.  
Crystals rose out of the ground and out of the mountain and began to form around the dark queen. "Soon, my brothers and sisters will rise and take this planet back for our glorious father. And then, this pathetic rock will experience true darkness beyond compare!"  
The wind picked up as the crystals began to stick together and form something around Dark Chrysalis. Whatever it was going to be, the good guys are prepared to take it on.

"Jax, here's a note for you." Aura joked, holding himself against the wind. "the evil versions are always insane."  
"Already figured that out." she replied.

Dark Chrysalis opened her eyes. That, in turn, opened the eyes of the thing that had formed around her; a massive crystal version of the demon form of Requiem's brother.  
"how'd she find out about that?" Req exclaimed.  
"She must've seen our fight with Nightmare Moon!" Trixie said, holding herself against the storm.  
Crystal Catalyst roared to the sky with lightning falling all around it.

End Song.

Orochi sat back on the mountain and watched this little show.  
"This Eminence she's talking about… you think she's talking about our local ally?" Aqua asked.  
Glacies chuckled and pushed their body off the rock. "if it is, he's gonna have a lot to explain. Thankfully, we don't have to worry about him for 17 years. And if it isn't, then there's something worse then us out there." Orochi disappeared in a flash of dark fire.

Begin Song: watch?v=fhtjSi9WjU4 Tenkuu no Canaria - Tales of Symphonia OVA Tethe'alla Arc Opening Song

0:00.  
Crystal Chrysalis Catalyst finished it's roar and prepared to do battle with them.  
"Well, we had plenty of practice with this form." Gilda joked. "This should be a walk in the park." she said with a wink.  
Crystal Chrysalis Catalyst roared and chuckled. "it's funny to think you can defeat me." she said in a deeply demonic tone. Her back sparked, forming giant crystal wings. "this world shall be return to his Eminence. And I shall be praised."  
Energy shot out of her new form, flattening any trees and buildings nearby. The humans and ponies were able to keep themselves up.

0:16.  
Req gripped her blade and charged in to the corrupt queen. Everyone else followed suit with their own tactics.  
Large crystal missiles appeared besides Chrysalis' head. with a growl, they were sent hurtling towards her and everyone else.  
Req swung her sword, striking the missiles away before they hit her. Celestia brought up a barrier that protected everyone from the rest.  
Spyro, Cynder, and Bahamut flew out of the barrier, coated themselves in fire; either red, blue, or black, and rammed themselves into the monster's chest. The monster staggered backwards but didn't lose it's footing. It swat the dragons out of the sky.  
Req jumped onto her right arm and ran up it. Dark Chrysalis took notice of this and tried to squash Req like a bug with her other hand. Thankfully for Req, speed was her specialty. She ducked and slid underneath it, stabbed her sword up into the hand, and hung on for dear life as the monster moved it's hand away.  
Gilda and Zaltan flew over the beast. Zel and Gourry jumped off their backs and down to the monster. They drew their swords and swung down onto her left shoulder. Dark Chrysalis roared in pain as energy shot out of her wound, sending the town rolling in mid-air to the town.

0:56.  
Orion fired it's port cannons at the monster's chest, each one of the 20 shot volley causing quite a explosion.  
Req flipped over Dark Chrysalis' hand, pulling her sword out in the process, landing on the other side, and continued to run up her hand.  
A orb of pure energy appeared in Dark Chrysalis' right hand. She tossed it down to the group. Using her Element, Twi stepped in front of it and summoned a barrier to stop it. The orb hit, struggling to break though it. Twi held her ground but it was too strong. Nobody but a glancing Trixie noticed but Twi's stomach briefly glowed. The barrier grew more powerful and sent the orb back to sender, hitting her in the head.  
Twi collapsed and panted. Halo ran over and nuzzled her. "Don't do anything like that again. I don't want to lose you two." he somberly said. Twi looked at him and smiled with a chuckle.

1:30.  
"This world shall be ours! Forever more!" Dark Chrysalis proclaimed as she summoned more crystal missiles.  
Bombs flung by the catapults struck against the monster, causing her to stagger again. The missiles fell harmlessly to the ground.  
"Nice timing." Celestia said to the engineers in charge of it.  
Dark Chrysalis rose up, opened her mouth, and fired her own beam attack. The attack hit the center, causing quite a explosion that destroyed only half of them.  
"No!" Celestia yelled out. Dark Chrysalis powered up another beam and sent it towards the princess. Light Chrysalis stood in the way and summoned her own barrier that blocked it. Celestia added her own power to the barrier, causing the beam to dissipate. "thanks." she told the good one.

Req dragged her blade behind her, leaving a long scaring wound as she ran up Dark Chrysalis' arm. The dark queen roared and tried swatting her off again.  
"Cardinal Rift!"  
A series of red colored beams wrapped around Dark Chrysalis' arm and pulled it into a abyss. The quick, yet painful, process left the monster without a right arm. Req looked back to see Jax give a two fingered salute as she ran on the ground.  
Req reached the monsters shoulder, jumped off it towards the head, spun her sword, and raised it above her head.

2:10.  
Dark Chrysalis grabbed her before she could reach her head, roared at her, and tossed her down to the ground. Req landed hard and skidded into a snow-covered lamp. Gilda and Zaltan, along with a few nameless Gryphon's, flew in front of her eyes, blocking her vision and forcing her to try and swat them down.

"Damn. Nothing we do can leave a scratch."  
A light bulb went off in Lina's head. "well, I can think of one thing." she said with a smirk.  
Req and Jax looked at each other. "That just may work." Jax said.  
"but we don't want to destroy the city." Req pointed out. She thought about it for a quick moment then thought up a plan that may just work. "Everyone!"

Dark Chrysalis fired a beam attack, causing the little gryphon party to break up, when the main cannons from Orion fired and hit her in the back. She turned to face the ship and snarled.  
"Hey Ugly!" Satoshi yelled out. "Your mother was a stink bug!"  
Dark Chrysalis growled furiously and roared, stretching her wings out. Orion quickly entered speed mode and shot into the air. Chrysalis gave pursuit, roaring and flying as loud as she could.

2:38.  
Orion and Dark Chrysalis flew as high as they were able before the monster grabbed the ship, pulled it close, and put the squeeze on it.

Back on the ground, Req, Lina, Jax, and the Elements of Harmony looked at each other and nodded. Req summoned her wings and flew up into the air. Lina used a spell to make her fly up.  
"What are you guys planning?" Shadow asked.  
The Elements circled around Jax as a glyph appeared beneath her. "something to save your world!" they closed their eyes and concentrated on the spell, which Jax began chanting.

"Darkness Beyond Twilight, Crimson beyond blood that flows. Buried in the stream of time is where your power grows…"

Lina reached her designated spot and began chanting the same spell from the beginning. Req reached her spot and did the same thing.

"I pledge myself to conquer all the foes who stand before the might gift bestowed in my unworthy hands…"

The glyphs beneath all 3 chatting humans glowed bright red as red lightning shot out around them and the orb that formed in their hands.

"let the fools who stand before us be destroyed by the power you and I possess…"

The spell's echo reach all the way to Dark Chrysalis' ears. She saw that spell in action earlier down at the plains. She let the ship go and flew back down to the ground.

3:12.  
Jax, Lina, and Req snapped their eyes open; Jax being the first to launch it.

"DRAGON SLAVE!"  
A intense but indescribable powerful beam of red light shot out of Jax's hands and up into the air towards the Dark Queen. A few seconds later, Lina fired hers, followed by Req a few seconds later.  
The Elements of Harmony added their own power into the attack via sparkles coming out of the pendents.

Dark Chrysalis shrieked as she made her way back to the ground, only to see the beam too little, too late. The Dragon Slave hit her, engulfing her bright light.  
"That was for Edge!" everyone yelled.

3:40.  
The Dragon Slave tore away at Dark Chrysalis, disintegrated the crystals that covered her. The queen yelled out in agony as the light engulfed her and destroyed her.

A massive and powerful explosion followed that, if done in the city, would've destroyed everything from there to Ponyville.

4:02. End Song.

Begin Song: watch?v=fiy9YB1coMw My Heart Will Go On - Titanic Theme by Celine Deon

Twi stood on the edge of a bench, looking up at the sky. Hard to believe she was fighting for the fate of the world 4 hours ago. During the battle, she felt something… weird in her stomach. Maybe all that being throwing about made Starlight restless. She knows she would. Halo walked up beside her and nuzzled her.  
"How's Fluttershy?" she asked.  
"terrible. She went into the gardens and won't come out." he sighed deeply. "guess she's taking Edge's death harder then anyone thought."  
"how would you feel if you lost the one you loved?" He did and shivered. Even thinking about losing Twilight and Starlight filled his heart with dread. Twi hugged him, glad to have him by her side. If only she could say the same for Fluttershy.

Speaking of the yellow Pegasus, she sat by herself in the middle of the war-torn Canterlot Gardens, sobbing her heart out under grey raining clouds she had moved their herself. She still didn't want to believe that Edge was gone. The one person who she loved with all her heart and soul was gone. She just… didn't want to believe it.

Body's of the dead lay out for everyone to pay their respects to those fallen in battle. Some had lost their best buddies or someone special, while some have lost entire families.  
Scoots stood in front of one and cried, not wanting to believe this. Dash walked though the bodies, noticed her, and walked over. "Squirt." she called out. Scoots heard her but didn't want to talk. "what's wrong? Are you okay?" Dash calmly asked. She didn't reply but instead kept crying. Curious what had her in such a defeated state, Dash walked over and looked at what she was crying at. What she saw made her heart sink.  
Among the dead was her half-brother Soarin'.  
A soulless Dash fell to her knees, not wanting to believe it. She lost her mother, she lost her brother, she lost her father. And she had no relatives. She was truly all alone in the world now. Scoots hugged Dash and held her tight, not wanting to be alone. Dash knew the feeling and hugged her back. Both of them cried in each others arms, not wanting to believe this.

Jax watched as Derpy cried over the badly-wounded Dinky. Dinky's friends were there with her, being stronger then Dinky's mother. Jax didn't want to confront her, not wanting to incur Derpy's wrath. She broke her promise to keep Dinky safe and lord knows she's going to pay the consequences, just… not now. Plus, hanging around dead bodies was never her thing. With a heavy heart, She walked off, leaving them alone. She needed some time for herself.

Celestia, Luna, Light Chrysalis, and Zaltan nodded, agreeing to the Changelings terms of surrender.  
"Very well, then. You and your Changelings are now honorary members of Equestria." Celestia proclaimed.  
Luna poked light Chrysalis in the side. "welcome to the family." she joked.  
Happy tears formed in Chrysalis's eyes as she looked to her people. "Thanks. And I swear, we'll do whatever we can to help repay for what we had done."  
Zaltan noticed something and chuckled. "I think some of your people are beating you to the punch." the other 3 looked to see a Stallion who was once a prisoner give some flowers to a female Changeling, who blushed at the gesture.

"Woo-hoo! This thing is Awesome!" Applebloom said as she hung off the Silver Dragon's tail. The dragon flipped her tail up, sending Applebloom up into the air, and caught her with her wing. "Can we keep it!?"  
Applejack wasn't so sure. They already had 2 dragons staying in the barn; having another one, and a bigger one at that, would be odd. "I…." Applebloom gave her puppy dog eyes. A.J. couldn't resist that. "Let me talk to Granny and Big Mac, hear what they have to say about it. But, as far as I am concerned, yes."  
Applebloom cheered, jumped down, and hugger her sister. "oh, thank you thank you thank you."  
"just don't make me regret it."

"where did they put Edge's necklace?" Friction asked as they walked though the funeral fields, each carrying a bushel of flowers.  
"un… over there." Leon said, pointing to a area between 2 Gryphons. The two walked over to the 'grave' of Edge and were preparing to put the flowers down when they noticed something unexpected.  
Edge's necklace was gone.

Jax walked though the Canterlot Gardens, not wanting to confront Derpy. She hopes Dinky will be okay. She grew attached to that little Unicorn. They've been though a lot together and she didn't want her to die.  
Her thoughts then turned to that giant monster Oscurita. What happened to that thing? All she knows is that Satoshi rammed Orion into it, breaking it's wing and making it fall. still, a giant his size could easily survive a fall from that height so this couldn't be the last time they saw him.  
She reached the spot where Fluttershy was, unaware that she had walked in that far, and saw her. She hid behind a tree and watched her cry.

Fluttershy sniffled as she wiped her eyes. She had to keep strong; for Edge's sake. So he didn't sacrifice his life so she could have her's for nothing. She got up and wiped away the last tears she had to give. She heard footsteps behind her, thinking it was one of her friends.  
"sorry to keep you waiting."  
Fluttershy's heart leaped back to life and repaired itself upon hearing that voice. It couldn't' be possible. It couldn't. she slowly turned around and saw that it could.  
Standing before her was a very much alive Mirror's Edge, wearing the necklace she had given him. "what? Were you suspecting someone else?"  
Fresh tears began to fall as Fluttershy happily looked to him. "You're Alive!" she ran over and hugged him, which he was suspecting. "I thought you were dead!"  
Edge looked at her with somber eyes and held her close. "so did I."

The Blast hit Edge and sent him over the edge, his body on green fire as he fell to the valley far below.  
"(so… this is how it ends.)" he closed his eyes and smiled. "(as long as Fluttershy's okay, I don't care if die…)"  
"you would sacrifice yourself for love?"  
Edge slowly opened his eyes to see the Black Knight over him. He wasn't falling anymore, since the knight stopped him with his magic. "you would gladly lay down your life to protect someone important to you?"  
Edge answered immediately, fully knowing the answer. "yes. I would."  
Beneath his helmet, the Knight pondered is words. He knew this creature's situation quite well. He summoned his sword and placed the tip over the Changeling, glowing a dark green.  
"Cure!"

Fluttershy cried into Edge's shoulder. She hit him in the other one, angry that he let her think he was dead. "I… didn't want you to leave. I didn't want to say good-bye." she cried.  
"why?"  
Fluttershy looked into his eyes with tear soaked eyes. "because I love you, Edge. From core of my soul, I love you. I'm sorry it took me so long to realize this and I'm sorry I broke your heart during Trixie's and Luna's rehearsal but… I just didn't know at the time." she continued to cry, causing a small river down his shoulder.  
Edge just smiled and held her head up. "I love you too, Fluttershy. And I promise, I will never leave you."  
Fluttershy chuckled, causing more tears to fall. Edge cleared them away. They deeply looked into each other's eyes and leaned close to each other.

Jax leaned her head on the tree and smiled, she put her back to it and looked up to the sky. At least someone got a happy ending. Not everyone was as lucky. She looked up to the sky, wondering where her happy ending was.

For the first time since they've known each other, for what seemed like an eternity, they did something that felt so right.  
Fluttershy and Mirror's Edge shared a long, passionate, and a very much belated kiss.

End Song.


	91. Glade

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 29

Glade

The Train from Feather Top rolled into Ponyville stationed and hissed to a halt. Young Derpy and eTu`nes were the first ones off, with Derpy dragging the drake down to the town.  
"I can't wait to show you all my favorite spots." Derpy happily said. "There's Sugar Rush, the local bakery, and the schoolhouse. And there's this wonderful pond outside of town where we can go to swim. And…"  
eTu`nes looked back to Derpy's family and friends, hoping they would get him out of this. They all shook their heads 'no'. this was his mess, he has to deal with it.  
The citizens of Ponyville watched in confusion as Derpy walked though town, dragging a dragon. "…and then we can…" eTu`nes was able to pull his arm free and shook it to get the blood flowing again.  
"that's great and all, Derpy, but can we get to your house soon?" he felt their eyes on him. "I don't think everyone here are taking to kind to me."  
Derpy looked around and sputtered in annoyance. "they never saw a dragon before. I just explained that on the ride home." she took his arm again, much to his surprise and fear. "Come on. I want to show you my favorite spot." Derpy dragged the unfortunate eTu`nes away, who hopped on one leg while being dragged.  
"I knew that Derpy pony was weird but being friends with a dragon?" a Earth Pony mare whispered to a Pegasus of the same sex.  
"I think it's great. It shows that two different species can become the best of friends." the Pegasus replied.

Derpy lead eTu`nes up a hill. He had given up and just let her drag him. There was no way he was going to talk his way out of this. Derpy reached the top of the hill and turned him around. eTu`nes gasped when he saw the most pleasant view of Ponyville.  
"Wow."  
Derpy sat down and got comfortable. "whenever I get… uncomfortable, I come up here and look out at the view. Makes me realize that there must be some worst off then me out there. But still…"  
eTu`nes sat down next to her and got comfy. "I know the feeling."  
Derpy took a long yawn and laid down in the grass, placing her head on his lap, much to his embarrassment. "un…. Derpy?"  
"did I make the right choice, coming back? I mean, I may have reconciled with Lyra and Octavia but…"  
"there were other bullies?"  
"Yeah. Berry and Vinyl and Bonbon and Colgate. In fact, everyone in school bullied me. Although, compared to the others, Vinyl and Bonbon are the nicer ones."  
"maybe you can reconcile with them like you did with the other two. Who knows? Maybe those two will be able to make the others nice to you."  
They heard laughter not far from them. They looked and saw those 4 walking up the hill, laughing up a storm. "speak of the devils, there they are." eTu`nes looked at them with a mean snarl.  
"well, look who it is." Colgate chuckled. "it's the klutz. Finally decided to reappear after a year, right klutz?" Derpy didn't dignify her with a response. She learned some good things from her time in Feather Top.  
"how about that? She's putting up a strong front." Berry chuckled. "how amusing." she looked at Derpy's face and noticed the eyes. "oh, sweet Celestia. Look at her eyes. They're all cross-eyed and weird." this was what Derpy was regretting with her returning; everyone reacting to her new eyes.  
"oh, brother. Not only is she a klutz but a freak as well?" Colgate laughed. "Oh, this just gets better and better. So many good things to rip her apart with."  
eTu`nes heard enough. He got up and pulled Colgate close. "Stop it!" he said in a threatening tone.  
"Who's this, your pet?" Colgate said in a scoffing matter.  
"I'm her friend. Now apologize for making her run away!"  
"why should I? it's the truth. She's a klutz and with those eyes, she's a freak."  
eTu`nes got really mad and threw Colgate down to the ground. "If anyone's a freak, you are!"  
"excuse me?" Colgate asked in angered surprise. Ever Derpy was surprised he was sticking up for her.  
"Derpy is trying to live her life as best she can but ponies like you are always putting her down because she's a klutz! And now, because of her eyes, you're gonna put her down even more? If you think that making someone feel bad is funny, then maybe you should experience it and see how bad it feels. Trust me. It's not pleasant."  
Vinyl and Bonbon looked at each other, knowing what he was saying is true. Berry also started to feel bad. Colgate, however, was mad that a dragon was being mean to her. Satisfied to have gotten that out of his system, eTu`nes turned and walked back to Derpy. He noticed Lyra and Octavia started up the hill towards them.  
"Come on, Derpy." he helped her up and angrily looked back. "we're out of here." the two walked off, leaving those 4 behind to talk amongst themselves.  
"who does that dragon think he is?" Colgate angrily said as she got up. "telling me what I can and can't do."  
"Colgate…" Vinyl said in monotone.  
"no no no. I want to see where it says that Derpy should be-"  
Suddenly, Lyra pushed Colgate to the ground. "will you shut up for a moment, you idiot!?" they were all surprised to hear that from Lyra. "we did something bad to Derpy. If we didn't bully her as badly as we did, she wouldn't have run away, she wouldn't have been attacked by a giant monster, and her family wouldn't have been put though such a rough time. It's our fault and we need to make up for it."

Derpy gave eTu`nes a quick kiss on the cheek as they walked back to her place, making him blush. "What was that for?"  
"standing up for me. Nobodies ever done that for me before. Well, there was my sister but we're related; we're supposed to look out for each other."  
That talk of family made him depressed inside. "Family… wish they looked out for me…"  
"oh." Derpy remembered that eTu`nes parents were the ones that beat him to a pulp, leaving him in the sorry state she found him in. "sorry for bringing that up."  
"it's okay. Shine and Rainbow were nice to me and I hope your family will be nice to me as well."  
"me too. I won't want you to leave. You're my best friend." she looked back to the hill and sighed. "you're my only friend."  
He wasn't so sure about that. She had all those friends from Feather Top like Dash, Lightning, and Shine.  
The two arrived at Derpy's house, which was much fancier then he remembered. "wow. In all that confusion, I forgot that you lived in quite a fancy house."  
"well, my family was one of the founders of Ponyville. We had quite a fortune when we inherited it." she walked up and opened the door. "Come on. I'll show you my room."

For the first time in 1 year and 6 months, Derpy walked into her room. It was exactly the same as it was when she left. Posters of famous bands and hot Stallions covered her walls. On her shelves were books, figurines, and a few assorted objects she had collected.  
eTu`nes walked in and grabbed a figurine of a Gryphon warrior. "it's like I… never left at all." Derpy gasped.  
"we left it this way in case you ever came back home." her mother May Grey said. She and Derpy's father Comet Skies stood at the entrance to her room.  
"We wanted to believe you were alive but, after a year, we started to give up hope." Comet said.  
Derpy hugged her parents with a smile. "I'm glad you didn't."  
eTu`nes glanced away and placed the figurine back on the shelf.  
D.D. pushed herself though her family and comically fell to the ground. "D.D." a irritated Derpy said, pissed that her sister ruined the moment.  
D.D. rubbed her stomach, which is where she hit the hardest. "Sorry, but there's someone at the door for you."  
"For me?" Derpy and eTu`nes looked at each other with curious expressions.  
The two returned to the front door and opened it wide to see the 6 bullies in front of the door. "hey, Derpy." Lyra cheerfully said. In her anger, Derpy slammed the door shut. "Hey. We just want to talk." Derpy looked to eTu`nes, who shrugged. Derpy opened the door again.  
"What do you want?" Derpy coldly asked.  
"nothing." Bonbon said. "we just wanted to see if you wanted to come play with us." all of them, including Colgate, nodded in agreement.  
Derpy was stunned to hear that from her. "Really?"  
"yeah. What your dragon friend said really hit us. Hard." Berry said.  
"and then Lyra and Octavia filled us in on what happened to you." Colgate said. She walked forward, scratching the back of her neck. "we un… we didn't realize that you were hurting so much. And with what you experienced, with that Leviathan thing… c-can you ever forgive us?" she offered her hand in friendship.  
Derpy looked down at the hoof. This was unexpected, even to the drake. They actually want to be friends with her? Either they really mean it or eTu`nes is foreboding enough to them to try and be friends or face his wrath. Either way, as long as they weren't bullying her anymore… Derpy cautiously reached out and took Colgate's hoof. In a sudden surprise act, Derpy pushed her to the ground.  
"you're forgiven." Derpy said with a chuckle. "and by the way, You're it." Derpy ran off with her new friends, laughing with them. Colgate got up and went after them. eTu`nes looked out and smiled. He's glad that Derpy made peace with them. If only he could do that with his own kind. He turned to go back in when…  
"Hey, Drake boy. Wanna play?" Vinyl asked. All the friends waited to hear his answer.  
"you… actually want me to play with you all?" a stunned eTu`nes asked.  
"of course. More ponies, or in your case, dragon playing, the more fun it is." Octavia said. "so?"  
eTu`nes already had his answer.

Derpy and eTu`nes walked into Derpy's room, laughing up a storm.  
"Did you see the look on Berry's face when she pulled her face out of the mud?" Derpy laughed.  
"Did I?" eTu`nes fell onto Derpy's bed and laughed. "I was the one who took a picture. I had to hide the camera fast enough so she didn't get suspicious."  
Derpy took a few deep breaths, calming down from the intense laughter. "I never thought I'd ever see them be nice to me. Guess you really made a difference."  
eTu`nes smiled and patted her on the back. He jumped off, grunting on impact. "well, I'm getting tired."  
Derpy yawned and licked her lips. "yeah. Me too." she looked back to her bed and smiled. "this will be the first time in a year since I laid in my own bed. I spent so much time sleeping on the ground or in a queen sized bed." she climbed under the sheets and sighed with content. "just like I remember it."  
eTu`nes looked around but didn't see any other beds. "where do I sleep?"  
"I talked to mom and dad. You have the guest room just across the hall. You can do with it however you want."  
"oh." he looked across the hall and saw the door. "well, thanks Derpy. I…" the sound of Derpy snoring filled the room. eTu`nes chuckled with a sigh. He pulled the blanket over the sleeping foal and kissed her on the forehead. "welcome home, Derpy." he walked out and slowly closed the door behind him.  
He opened the door to his new room and went directly to the bed. Dirt-tired, he fell onto it and instantly fell asleep, but not before a smile wormed it's way in. for the first time ever, he had a family.

18 years later…

"Come on. This is taking forever. Why is she taking so long?" a anxious Armor asked.  
"She'll come when she comes." Cadence said, laying in a bed.  
Armor, Cadence, and Twilight sat in a hospital room assigned to the expectant mother, who was about to give birth. Well, one of these days. What's surprising is that she was in labor for 5 days and is still holding strong. Say what you will about her, Cadence can take pain well.  
"are you even sure it's a she?" Twilight asked.  
"Well, that's what it feels like." Cadence said. A contraction hit, causing her to hold her stomach in pain. When it passed, she panted. "and that's something I wish I couldn't feel."  
Twi gulped out of fear. She's gonna be in that situation in 5 months with Starlight. "um… just to clarify, how bad does it hurt?"  
Cadence for a comfortable spot and laid there. "a LOT!" trust me. You want a epidural."  
Twi got nervous beyond content. "that's good to know." she nervously said with a hint of fear.  
Cadence sensed her sister-in-laws fear and chuckled. "trust me, Twi. The payoff will be worth all the pain." Twilight wasn't so sure. She was hit with quite a number of painful objects over the years but, by the looks of Cadence's face when a contraction hits, labor pain is going to be bad.  
Speaking of labor pains, Cadence got hit with another one, a much more painful one then last time.

4 days have passed since the end of the Winter War. During the final battle, Jax was able to successfully cast the 'separate' part of her Personality Shift spell. What that part of the spell does is that it turned the Changeling Queen Chrysalis into two halves; the good Light half that is currently ruling the Changelings, and the evil Dark half, which they were able to destroy with a Triple Dragon Slave cast by Requiem, Jax, and Lina and powered up by the Elements of Harmony.  
In the aftermath, the Ponies had taken in the Changelings as if they were friends to begin with. Some of them are already starting relationships. The most famous one is Fluttershy and Mirror's Edge. Thanks to Edge's 'death', it gave the group the push necessary to beat Dark Chrysalis but save their world. But, something that Dark Chrysalis said is still ringing in the heroes ears.  
"This world doesn't belong to you! It belongs to me and His Eminence! Soon, my brothers and sisters will rise and take this planet back for our glorious father. And then, this pathetic rock will experience true darkness beyond compare!"  
Who, or what, was his Eminence? It couldn't have been Oscurita. He appeared the same time as the humans 7 months ago. And Dark Chrysalis said it was her father, though Light Chrysalis doesn't remember a thing about a Eminence. Either Dark Chrysalis was insane, or she knew something her Light counterpart didn't know about. And what about Brothers and Sisters? Was there more then one out there? Was it a cult? Either way, it gave everyone something new to worry about.  
And as for the halves, these were all notes Jax put down for her spell. She used both variations once and it'll take multiple uses in order to get all the side-effects down. But for what she has now for the 'split into good and evil' part of the spell, The Pure Good half is one to talk, open up to peace, and cares for her people. The Pure Evil half goes by it's name; evil though and though. Dark Chrysalis was practically giggling like a schoolgirl when she was harming everyone. She practically had a orgasm when she 'killed' Edge. If Jax has to divide someone into two halves again, she's gonna have to be careful to avoid another Chrysalis Incident and hope the shlup wasn't a ultra-powerful force of destruction to begin with.  
and like every war, not everyone got out alive. More then 150 Ponies and Gryphons were killed during the Battle of Canterlot, Dash's half-brother Soarin' included, leaving Dash the last member of her family and Scootaloo without a home. Instead of jumping, like she did when Shadow left, Dash instead resorted to drinking her troubles away.

Dash slammed a empty cider mug onto a bar counter within the castle kitchen and called for another. "Another Cider. And make it a double!" she drunkenly called out.  
"don't you think you had enough?" the barkeep asked.  
"I'll decide when I had enough. Now hit me with another."  
The Barkeep shrugged and took it. He wasn't going to argue.  
Canterlot Castle was the first thing rebuilt after the war and is currently serving as a refugee camp until the buildings around it were rebuilt. With help from their new Changeling allies and the Otherworldly Heroes, they were able to rebuild it a lot faster then if it was by themselves by working nonstop. And ever since it was rebuilt, Dash has spent every day in a makeshift bar, getting drunk to avoid feeling sad for losing Soarin'.  
"oh, brother. Not again." Shadow sighed as he spotted Dash and walked over. "Dash. You gotta stop drinking."  
"I'll stop when I feel like it." Dash replied in a slur. She went to drink again. Shadow rolled his eyes and pulled the mug out of Dash's hands. Foam from the mug still lingered on Dash's hooves. She licked it off, falling off her stool in the meantime.  
"oy, vey." Shadow sat down next to Dash. "Listen, D. you can't drink your troubles away. Soarin' is dead. You have to accept that."  
"I am in my own way."  
"by getting drunk?" Dash nodded once. The nod back made her fall again. Shadow grumbled as he looked to the camera. "Dash. Think about this for a second. How would Scootaloo think if her idol, and probably the only family she has left, was a fat stinking drunk. And what about Eris? Would she really like her mother to be a drunkard?"  
Dash's drunken mind didn't really hear all that and, therefore, couldn't process it. Also, Dash fell asleep. "good grief." Shadow sighed. He huffed Dash onto his back. "keep this up, we're gonna need to stage a intervention." he muttered as he left, a unconscious Dash on his back.

Remember when I said Fluttershy and Edge are the most famous Changeling/Pony couple? Well, that's not entirely true. They were well known, but because they were the first Pony/Changeling in Equestrian history, and they didn't have big ol' Wonderbolt status. The story of their romance is well known, though. Divided by a horrendous war, only to be reunited by a mad queen and her tyrannical ways. There's already talks that Steven Coltberg is going to turn it into a movie. The new couple didn't care, though. They were just happy to be in each other's arms. Speaking of the couple…

Fluttershy and Edge slept at on the edge of a lake, holding each other close. This was a romance that seems too perfect to be true; almost like it was a dream. Well, if it was a dream, they don't want to wake up.  
Edge woke up to see his new marefriend fast asleep on his chest. He was so lucky to have someone like Fluttershy. He remembers when they were just the best of friends. Now, their love is well known.  
Fluttershy woke up, yawned, and looked at Edge. "morning." she sweetly said.  
Edge looked up to the sky to find the sun. "more like good afternoon."  
"afternoon?" Fluttershy rubbed her eyes. "we slept for 15 hours?"  
"well, we did have quite a… wild night." Edge said with a wicked snicker.  
"wild? You practically torn me in half." Edge sat back with a snicker. Fluttershy playfully hit him. "where'd you learn that move?"  
"un…" Edge thought back. "this old copy of Mares Gone Wild." Fluttershy playfully raised a eyebrow. "What? This was long before us."  
Fluttershy playfully chuckled, closed her eyes, and kissed him on the lips. Edge closed his eyes and kissed back. When they broke the kiss, they looked at each other such love-struck eyes, a romance hater would gag to death.  
"I love you, Mirror's Edge."  
"I love you too, Fluttershy."  
The two kissed again only to have their moment ruined when Zilver came running towards them. Fluttershy covered up their indecency. "Zilver!"  
"you better have a good reason for coming here." Edge angrily said.  
Zilver panted as he looked away. He didn't want to see them together, but he had big info.

The hospital was the next building reconstructed after the battle. A whole lot of wounded were admitted into the place, including the laboring Cadence… and a heavily wounded Dinky.  
Derpy sadly looked down at her daughter, who was hooked up to a whole bunch of machines. Dinky was still alive, barely, after Chrysalis basically beat her to a pulp. Not even the humans cure spells could heal her, making it a "Dinky…" Derpy said with a scratch in her throat. Why would Jax let her get beat up this bad, to the point of near death. It just isn't fair. She fell to her knees and fell to her bed. She was only 7. She doesn't deserve this.  
Outside, Jax walked to a help counter with some flowers. "Excuse me. Can you tell me where Dinky Whooves is?"  
A nurse looked and found her chart. "un, room… 22." she looked down the hall to her right. "down there, 5 door on the right."  
"thanks." Jax walked down to her room, going over what she was going to say to Derpy. She was going to apologize until her throat was sore and her guilt went away.  
Easier said then done.  
Jax walked in and, sure enough, there was Derpy, sobbing into Dinky's bed. "un… hey, Derpy." Jax said with a scratch. Derpy angrily looked up from Dinky's bed when she heard her voice. "I… I want to say I'm sorry an-"  
"Go. Away." Derpy angrily said, not even looking to her.  
Jax shook her head 'no'. "no." Derpy angrily got up, walked over, and just stared at her.  
Jax fell backwards into the wall from a mean right cross from Derpy. She hit a desk, causing it to fall with her.  
"How could you let her be like this!?" Derpy cried with tears in her eyes. "Why couldn't you protect her!?"  
Jax didn't want to look at Derpy and glanced away. "I… I'm so so sorry. I didn't know she was like that until Chrysalis showed her to us. I'm sorry."  
"I'm sorry? I'm sorry!? My Daughter is in a coma she may never come out of all because you couldn't protect her!" tears began to fall and a audience began to form. "She's the only good thing left in my life! She's…" Derpy stuttered for a moment. "She's the only thing I have left of her father." Jax didn't know that part. Now she felt even worse. Derpy fell to her knees and kept crying. "she's the only light in my life now."  
Jax got up from her fall, noticed the audience, and closed the door. "Derpy…"  
"Just… just leave. You've done enough."  
Jax's guilt hit a all-time low. Any lower and she'd have to kill herself to avoid it. But… seeing Derpy like this… it was just too much. "Derpy… again, I'm sorry."  
Suddenly, the door burst open and a panting Pinkie stood there. "Pinkie?" both of them somberly said. "what's going on?"  
"it's Cadence. She's having her baby."

Cadence pushed down to get the baby out of her. Nobody told her how much pain there was going to be. Only her, the doctors, and Armor stayed in the room with her. she stopped to catch her breath. "nobody… told me… how much… this was going… to hurt…"  
"if they did, the entire pony race would go extinct." the doctor said.  
Armor kissed her on the forehead while holding her hoof. "you're doing fine. The baby is almost here." Cadence smiled with a pant. When the next contraction hit, she pushed down again.

The humans and ponies waited out in the nearest waiting room. The wait was killing them. Twi explained what she saw and heard to Rarity and Lyra, who aren't exactly thrilled for when they go though the same thing in 10 months.  
"it's really that bad?" Lyra asked.  
"From what I heard, yeah." Twi feverishly said, not wanting to believe it herself. "and even though she has a epidural, it hurts like nothing she ever felt."  
"oh, great." Rarity sarcastically said. "something great to look forward to. And I'm having one that's half dragon so the scales are going to be murder on my insides."  
"if it has scales." Lyra added.  
"well…" Octavia sat down with them. "it does hurt but… seeing that new pony in your hooves, knowing that you crafted another living being… there's no other feeling like it in the world."  
Well, that gave the 3 pregnant mares something positive about childbirth, though not much. "hope Trixie and Luna are fans of pain." Req muttered.  
"beg pardon?" Rarity asked.  
"oh. They didn't tell even Celestia this but, back in Feather Top, when we were constructing all those Airships, they went to a doctor and, though some egg switching mumbo-jumbo and artificial insemination, Luna is now pregnant with Trixie's baby and Trixie is pregnant with Luna's baby."  
The entire room looked at her with confused expressions. "How in Tartarus did you find that out if they kept it a secret?" Spike asked.  
Req touched her pointer finger to her nose. "I have my sources."  
Shadow arrived with the CMC and cracked his back. "where's Dash?" Gilda asked.  
"passed out drunk. Again." Shadow explained as he sat down. "guess she's taking this Soarin' thing pretty hard."  
"well, how would you feel if you lost your long-lost brother, and the member of your family that would make you the last one to carry on the line?" Hiccup asked. Shadow hated to admit it but he had a point.  
Speaking of the wedded couple mentioned earlier, they, along with Celestia and Chrysalis, walked into the room. Pinkie couldn't help but yell out 'Congratulations!' to Trixie and Luna. Somehow, they weren't surprised. "Req told you, didn't she?" they both asked, not really caring.  
"like a bag of marbles." Req said as she used a knife to carve a apple.  
"but why did you want to keep it a secret?" Fluttershy asked.  
"well… we just wanted to. With the war, the battle, and the aftermath, saying that we were pregnant didn't seem like a good idea." Luna said.  
"Ditto." Trixie said. Cadence's painful scream reached from her room to them. "although, now I think I'm starting to regret it."  
Riku sat back in his seat and brought his drink to his mouth. "well… sometimes the best things in life are worth any hardship. So, when you're going though all that pain for another life, then it has to be worth it. Otherwise, nature wouldn't made it painless and easy to get it over with, then maybe having a child would seem like a bother. Right?"  
The girls of both species never thought about it like that. Did any girl ever think about it like that? Jax and Derpy slowly arrived, both of them still down by what happened to Dinky, when Armor slowly came out of Cadence's room with such a dumb expression.  
"it… it's a boy."  
Everyone got wide smiles. Some of them cheered, some of them clapped, both his biological sister and sister-in-laws ran over and hugged him. Even Jax and Derpy felt happy, despite what happened to Dinky.

Cadence held her newborn son in her hooves with such a big and loving look. He was born at 15 lbs, 5 ounces with skin color like his father but the coloration of his mother. Same held true for the mane; same design as the father but the same color as the mother. She heard the door opened and looked up.  
"I wanna see the baby!" Pinkie exclaimed, trying to get though.  
"once at a time, Pinkie." Amelia grunted, trying to hold her back with Spyro's and Ash's help. "they both went though a traumatic…" Pinkie was able to overpower them and run in, making all 3 of them fall to the floor. "…experience."  
"aw. He's so adorable." Pinkie said in a whine.  
"Give her some room, Pinkie. She just had it." Req said, pushing her away.  
"but he is sooohohoho cute!" Sora exclaimed like the party pony. "can I hold him?"  
Cadence nodded and slowly handed the baby to Sora. She gently took it and instantly went into mother mode. "Hey there, cutie. Choochy, choochy coo. Coochy coochy coo."  
Armor walked back to his wife and kissed her on the forehead. "you did good, dear. You did good." she said to him.  
"me? You're the one who did all the work. I just supplied the tools." Cadence weakly chuckled at that and kissed him.  
Sora glanced over to Jax and got a idea to turn that frown upside down. "here Jax. You're next."  
"What!?" before she could protest, Sora passed the baby to her. "un… hey there. I'm the reason you're alive." everyone rolled their eyes and groaned. They knew she was going to bring saving the world up when the tyke was born.  
"did you think of a name yet?" Lina asked.  
Cadence and Armor looked at each other and smiled. "we sure did. His name is Glade." Armor said.  
All the girls went aw at the name. "Glade. That's a nice name."  
"that's not the full name." Cadence said. "his real name is Glade Yggdrasill."  
Yggdrasill? After Jax and Sora? The sisters looked at each other, then to Cadence. "why that name?" they both asked.  
"well, as Jax said, I own her for keeping me, and Glade, alive. If it wasn't for her help when we were prisoners, I think we would've lived to see today. Or for anyone else to see today if it wasn't for that spell you pulled."  
Jax and Sora felt honored and they showed that with a tearful smile. they can only imagine what it would be like when they had children of their own. "hey there, Glade. You're named after us."  
As if he timed it, Glade opened his eyes, revealing them to be the same as his mom, and looked up at Jax. "oh. He's looking at me. He opened his eyes and he's looking at me."  
And then, as if timed again, Nurse Redheart came in. "All right. Time to go. Momma and baby need to rest." everyone groaned in sadness. They didn't want to leave; barely any of them got to hold the baby. "you'll get your chance later. Right now, they need to rest."  
"okay." Jax slowly handed the baby back to Cadence then went to leave with the others. At the door, she looked back at the new family, adding new guilt to almost breaking up another. There had to be some way to save Dinky. There just had to be.


	92. Alone

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 30

Alone

Something is off with this picture.  
Maybe it's the stuff cluttered all over the room. Maybe it's the rustling bed sheets. Or maybe, it's due to the fact we jumped forward 10 years and eTu`nes and Derpy are now teenagers.  
The now 17 eTu`nes snored up a storm, sleeping in a very precarious position. The 16 year old Derpy came in, then scoffed when she saw eTu`nes still fast asleep. "not again." she sighed. She exited the room for a moment, only to return with a bucket of water. She evilly snickered as she flew over him. "Hehehe. This'll get him up." she slowly tipped the bucket when she was magically ripped away by Colgate. "my mom let you in, didn't she?"  
"yep. And did you forget what happened last time you pulled this stunt?" Derpy did think back and looked at her scorched cutie mark. "that wasn't exactly pretty for both sides."  
"I'm surprised he can breath fire. I never saw him breath fire in the time I knew him. He was able to fire a beam out of his mouth but fire?"  
"and I'm surprised you two aren't even whispering." a irritated eTu`nes said. He got up and looked at them like he just got out of a possession. The two mares nervously chuckled. They quickly bolted for the exit to avoid a pillow thrown by the drake.

10 years have passed since Derpy returned home to Ponyville. What she thought was going to be a nightmare turned out to be the best decision since meeting eTu`nes. She had her family back, she had honest to goodness friends. And she had her very first friend to thank for all this. And she doesn't know how she'll repay him.  
At first, her new friends were hanging out with her out of fear from eTu`nes but, as time passed, they grew to like the little grey mare and became her friends because they wanted to, not because they felt like they needed to. That turned out to be the best decision they ever made as Derpy and eTu`nes turned out to be the most energetic members they had, showing them some great places, teaching them some wonderful tricks they learned in Feather Top, to just being all around fun. It made them feel guilty for bullying her but they'll make up for it somehow.  
Over the years, they added a few new members to their group; Roseluck, SeaSwirl, Raindrops, and, the first stallion of their group, Time Turner. It also took the entire town quite awhile to get used to having eTu`nes, a Dragon, living in town. A full year, in fact, which were the most awkward moments of eTu`nes life.  
These next few weeks are going to be the most hectic of their lives with the Hearts and Hooves dance fast approaching.

"Trying to find dates is going to be murder." Lyra worriedly said as they all walked to school. Not long after they returned, Derpy asked her teacher if eTu`nes can come to school, which she did.  
"calm down, Lyra. It's not like it's going to be the end of the world if you don't find one." Bonbon said. "I'm sure you'll find someone special."  
Lyra whined as she looked down. "you and me both, Bonnie."  
eTu`nes yawned, almost dropping to the ground. Derpy was able to keep him up. "sorry. I just couldn't get to sleep last night. I had this… horrible nightmare."  
"nightmare?" SeaSwirl repeated. "what about?"  
eTu`nes tried to remember it but couldn't quite get it. It was a dream, after all, and those are always hard to remember. "I can't… quite remember. I do remember that is was Point-of-view and that I was standing over a destroyed Ponyville. And you all were dead."  
"Dead?" they all exclaimed in unison.  
"that's why it's called a nightmare." Time Turner said. "but… why that?"  
"wish I knew."  
Derpy patted him on the back. "it was just a dream. Those things hardly ever happen."  
"hardly?"  
"it's when you hear a strange voice that you have to be concerned." Raindrops said as she flew over. "That show Last Symphonia taught me that."  
"that was a TV show." Octavia said. "Those never have any relevance in real life."  
Vinyl rolled her eyes. "you clearly haven't been to a Con."  
The school bell rang, making them nervous. "Oh crap. We're late!" Roseluck shrieked in fear.  
"if we're late again, Ms. Lee will tan our hides." Berry gulped.  
"book it!" they all did, running for the school as fast as they could.

"…the average Quarry Eel can eat just about anything, from rocks in the quarry to, well, us." their teacher, Ms. Lee, went on. Everyone in the class was bored out of the sockets and wanted school to end. eTu`nes, however, was making notes. Not on the eels, no no no, but on his friends and who they might like to go to the dance with. He had seem them acting different whenever someone else enters the room or the group and he learned that that usually means they have a crush on someone.  
He noticed this with Lyra & Bonbon, Colgate & Barry, Vinyl & Octavia, SeaSwirl & Roseluck, and Raindrops & Time Turner. Since each one of them was too stubborn to make a move, he was going to have to give them a little push. And yet, he noticed that there was no one for Derpy. Imagining her going to the dance all alone is filling him with dread. He's gonna have to find her a date. Hopefully one of her friends has a cousin or there's a single stallion in town. If not, he can always take her himself. Of course, having a dragon take a pony to a dance focused on love is a bit…. Off. That's gonna have to be a last resort. For now, focus on the others.

8 years later…

The newly born Glade Yggdrasill slept in a baby bed at the hospital. The females of the groups looked at him with motherly eyes.  
"oh, he's just so cute." Twi cooed. She looked down at her preg stomach and smiled. "I hope Starlight looks that cute when she comes."  
"Same with ours." Trixie, Luna, Rarity, and Lyra said in unison, knowing the same feeling Twi's feeling.  
"and Glade's not the only cute one." Amelia sighed, gesturing to the other babies in there. "babies are always cute, aren't they?"  
"yeah." a surprising soft-hearted Gilda said. "I've yet to see a ugly one."  
"there are no ugly ones. I've checked." Fluttershy said. "they are, and always will be, cute."  
The sound of someone falling and grumbling caught their attention. They didn't move as they already knew who it is. "hey, Dash." they all listlessly said.  
Dash walked over to them, suffering from a HORRIBLE hangover. "my head feels like it's about to split open." she groaned.  
"are you surprised?" Req tonelessly asked. "you're drinking till your liver dies." Dash slumped up against the window to see what they were looking at. "oh, don't tell me I've been out for 5 months and Twi had her baby?"  
Twi gave her a glare. "if it was my baby, you think I would still be walking around?"  
Dash paused for a moment. "Rarity's?"  
The pregnant mare's face-hoofed. "it's Cadence's, Dash." Sora grumbled. "She finally gave birth to such the cutest wittle baby."  
Dash looked in and saw dozens of babies. How was she to know who's was the princess'? besides, she was to hungover to care. She fell back into a chair and held her head.  
"she's ruining the moment." Cynder muttered, pinching the bridge between her eyes. "Dash, we know that you're feeling down with Soarin' dying and all but you can't try to drink it away."  
Applejack walked over and rubbed Dash's back. "the dragon lady's right, Sugarcube. You have to move on and not drink yourself to death." Dash angrily glanced at A.J. before she got up and walked away. A.J. snorted and crossed her front legs in front of her chest. "why is she acting like this?"  
"don't you remember what happened when your parents died, A.J.?" Pinkie asked, not wanting to bring it up.  
A.J. sadly glanced to the ground, remembering that painful day. So what Dash is doing is pretty logical, from a grief stand point. But, she doesn't need to drink herself into a coma.  
Suddenly, a guard approached them, carrying a letter. "Ms. Twilight Sparkle?"  
Twi curiously looked at him. "yeah?"  
The guard handed her the letter, bowed his head, and walked off. Curious, Twi opened it and looked. "What's it say?" Req asked.  
"Princess Celestia wants to see me in the throne room. Right now."  
"sounds serious." Lina said.  
Twi put the letter away. "that's what it's sounding like."

Jax looked though the royal library, trying to find any mention of time travel spells or special healing spells; anything that can help Dinky out of her predicament. There has to be something to heal Dinky, but she can't find it. What is she missing? She threw the book she was currently reading to the ground and sighed. "what am I missing?" she hit her fist on the bookcase, causing a book to fall onto her head. "ow." she picked it up and looked at it. "sickness' and ailments from the unknown." well, if anything, this had what would make Dinky better, or at least give her closure. She opened it up and read though it. Seems odd that Dinky would be suffering from a exotic disease. But, then again, she was hanging around that Oscurita fella. Who knows what sickness' that dragon has.  
Celestia watched from behind a corner and smiled as the glow faded from her horn. It took a devastating war but Jax had finally softened up to pony kind. That, or maybe she was feeling guilty for what happened and working around the clock to help the filly will take her guilt away. Either way, Jax was doing something other then hating ponies and that, in Celestia's eyes, is good enough. Now, she had something else to take care of.  
Too bad she can't say why Dinky is truly suffering.

The train from Feather Top rolled in, carrying more supplies and workers into Canterlot. Among them were more Canterlot/Ponyville/Maredrid natives returning home. Among them was Dash's adopted Draconequus daughter Eris.  
In her usual cheerfulness, Eris ran out, much to Roseluck's dismay. "not again." she sighed. She and Raindrops walked off with the rest of the natives. Eris heard crying to her right. She looked to see Scootaloo crying by herself, far away from anyone's path. Wondering why she's crying, she ran over.  
Scootaloo wiped her eyes for the 10th time that hour and continued to cry. She lost two families in just a few years. Why does life hate her so much? Without any warning, Eris jumped onto her back and laughed. Scoots almost immediately pushed off, much to her surprise.  
"I'm… not in the mood, Eris. Okay? I just lost someone important to me." Eris really got curious and nudged Scoot's shoulder. Scoot's knew she wouldn't leave until she said something. "me and Rainbow… we lost Soarin'. he died during the battle and… we're taking it hard." more tears fell down Scoot's face. "… I lost two families… and I'm just 11. Why is the universe treating me like a punching bag?"  
Eris didn't know what to say. And if she did, her vocabulary was a bit limited. Instead, even though Mommy Dash specifically told her not to, she used her power to summon up a dandelion. She walked in front of Scoots and offered it to her. Scoots tearfully looked up and saw the flower. She took it and slowly smiled. "t-thanks, Eris. I… I just don't know what to do." Eris didn't either. She just hugged Scoots, hoping for the best for her. Maybe Dash could think of something.

Speaking of Dash, the hungover Pegasus walked to the bar and slammed her head into the bar. BIG mistake. It caused a LOT of pain to rack her brain.  
"large cider, please." she moaned.  
She heard the sound of a mug hit the bar. She looked up and saw that it was, instead, a hoof, and that hoof belonged to Spitfire. "Spitfire? Since when are you a barmaid?"  
"and since when are you a hopeless drunk?" she asked. Dash moaned and spun her stool away from her. "Dash?"  
"I don't want to talk about it."  
Spitfire flew over the bar and in front of her. "oh, we're gonna talk about it whether you want to or not." Dash turned the stool away again and Spitfire flew in front of her again. "Look…" Dash turned it again. "I know your sad that Soarin' is dead. I am too but you don't see me drinking my pain away."  
"you don't understand."  
"Yes, I do. I was like you, in love with someone but too chicken to tell them anything. And now, I was too late. I loved Soarin', I still do, and my heart hurts, but dwelling on it or drinking your problems away isn't the answer. You have to move on."  
Dash sighed again. "again, you don't understand! Soarin' was my last relative. I lost my mother a few months ago. I have no uncles or aunts or grandparents or cousins. Even my daughter isn't related. I'm all alone, Spitfire. My family is dead. They left me alone!" Dash broke down into tears. "I'm all alone!"  
Spitfire patted her on the back and nuzzled her a bit. "you're not alone. You have Eris and Shadow and even Scootaloo."  
Scootaloo. Dash forgot all about Scootaloo. She must be going though a hard time right now. Soarin' was like a brother to her and she lost two families. Dash has to do something to help her, but she has to help herself first. "Spitfire…"

"can you… look after Scootaloo for awhile?"  
"why?"  
Dash got off her stool and tried to clear her head. "I have something I need to do."

Twilight walked into the throne room and gazed at the stain-glass murals. Two new ones have been added since she last saw them; one featuring the True Destruction of Nightmare Moon at the hands of the humans and the ponies turning into human, then back again. The second featured the Winter War and Chrysalis being split into her good and evil halves by Jax and Dark Chrysalis being destroyed by a Element of Harmony powered Triple Dragon Slave cast by Req, Jax, and Lina. Fluttershy and Edge were at the bottom, holding each other close.  
Twi looked up at both murals and smiled. Both events changed the world forever. One got rid of a powerful threat for good while another showed a truce between two unseemly allies forged by two peoples love for each other. She has yet to thank those two.  
She heard the doors close behind her. She looked to see Celestia walk in. "you wanted to see me, Princess?"  
"yes, Twilight. I wanted to speak to you on some matters that deal with you."  
"with me?"  
"yes." Celestia walked pass and summoned up a photo album. "do you remember when we first met?"  
"yeah. It was during Magic Kindergarten. I tried to make Spike magically hatch from his egg, only to have him grow out of control. After you pulled him back to a baby, you took me as your student. I was so happy, I nearly burst."  
Celestia giggled as she looked at the corresponding pictures. "yes. I remember. But, you should know, I had another reason for taking you under as my student." Twilight cocked her head in confusion. Celestia summoned up another book with a odd design. "you see, you had such magical prowess within you, I wanted to make sure you were ready. And seeing you grow in power confirmed it. And when you gained such great friends and became the Element of Harmony, it was made certain."  
"what was made certain?"  
Celestia hovered the book over to her student. She looked at it but couldn't make sense of what was written in it. "Twilight, I was grooming you to become a Princess."  
Twi's eyes went wide. Did she really just say that? "a… a princess?"  
"yes. Nightmare Moon was the test of your new friendship and your now power. Discord was your test of friendship. Chrysalis, though she and her Changelings weren't planned, was a test of being able to coop with changes. and you passed them all. You are ready to become a princess like me, Luna, and Cadence."  
A princess? Her? It couldn't be true but here was Celestia, telling her she is ready to become one. She would have accepted this immediately if she was asked while still living in Canterlot. Now, however… with all that's happening.  
"thank you, Princess Celestia, but… I'm afraid I have to decline." Celestia was surprised to hear this from Twilight. "if you have asked me that before I met my friends, I wouldn't have accepted right then and there. But my friends, they need me and I need them. And I couldn't leave Halo like this. We just got engaged and I don't want to say good-bye to him or any of them."  
Celestia, though surprised at first, smiled. Guess the Element of Loyalty is rubbing off on her. "I understand, Twilight. Leaving your friends and family behind would be too much for one to ask." Twi was thankful that she understood. "although, with recent events, I have another princess-to-be in mind."  
"what?"  
"when your human friends came, a number of elements happened to be revealed to me some other candidates for being a ruler of Equestria."  
"like who?"  
"well, Cadence's newborn son Glade Yggdrasill for one but he was already born a Alicorn and her mother is the ruler of the Crystal Empire. Another would be Rainbow Dash's adopted daughter Eris."  
"Eris? But she's a Draconequus like Discord."  
"I know but her love for her friends and family over exceeds that boundary. Having you all as her family made her better then Discord. And if it wasn't for her power when you first met her, the other humans wouldn't have arrived and the Winter War would have gone quite differently."  
Twi knew that was true.  
"and there's also that Changeling Edge."  
"Edge?"  
"his self-sacrifice to save the one he loves is worthy of a being a prince; a ruler. If Chrysalis ever wants to retire, Edge would be a good candidate." Celestia looked at Twi's belly. "there's also someone else who would be good being a prince or princess."  
Twi looked down at her belly and got the same idea Celestia was getting. "Starlight? Why Starlight?"  
"during the battle with Dark Chrysalis, Trixie made mention that when you brought up a barrier to protect your friends, you started to have trouble. She noticed your stomach glowed for a moment and afterwards, your barrier got stronger."  
Once that idea crossed Twi's mind, she couldn't help but think it as well. "you think Starlight gave me that extra power?"  
"it must've. Something tells me Starlight is going to be as powerful as his or her mother."  
"yeah. Starlight's going to be a Unicorn." Twi happily said. "wait, you want Starlight to become a princess?"  
"well, I'm gonna have to see how she will be; if she'll be as powerful as her mother or as wise as her friends or as kind as Fluttershy. There's a number of factors to take in but, if she wants to, yes."  
Twi breathlessly chuckled as she looked down at her belly. Starlight wasn't even born yet and already he's qualified to be a prince or princess. Hope she lives up to Celestia's expectations. And her mothers. She just wants Starlight to come in happy and healthy. The royalty stuff can wait till much later.

Halo waited outside of the throne room, tapping his feet on the hard floor. The doors creaked open. He looked up to see a stunned but happy Twilight walk out and towards the exit. Halo ran up to catch her.  
"So? What did Celestia want?"  
"huh? Oh, she just wanted me to ask her to help decipher some old ancient writings that even she couldn't translate."  
"oh. Did they say anything?"  
Twi chuckled. "it was a ancient recipe for hot chocolate."  
Halo laughed. "oh, that is something 'significant.'" he sarcastically said.  
"yeah. It was." she said, growing a bit distant. She didn't want to tell Halo that she almost became a Alicorn, or that Starlight is a prime candidate to become one. There was so much going on right now, she didn't need to add more confusion to it. For now, this was a secret between Celestia, Twilight, and Starlight.


	93. From Bad to Worse

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 31

From Bad to Worse

Large dragonic wings flapped, keeping it's owner afloat above a river with a waterfall. eTu`nes drew a map, leading from Ponyville to here.  
"this looks like the best spot." he muttered, X-ing out other spots he had found. "perfect distance, no monsters; other then me, real romantic." he folded up the map and put it in a knapsack. He flew down, landing on the river's edge. He grabbed the longest stick he could find and flew out over it. He stuck it in as deep as he could. "perfect depth."  
He landed back on shore, pulled out a paper with a X, and hammed it into a tree. "there. Now I know where to find the spot." he tossed the rock he used into the river and took off again. "everyone is going to like this." he said as he flew back home.

Speaking of everyone else, they were busy trying to find dates for the dance, and were BOMBING! They asked out ever stallion they could find, only to find that they had dates. Even the hunk Big Mac had a date, much to their distress.

Bonbon looked though a catalog in her own room when she heard a knock at the door. "Come in."  
Lyra came in, carrying a large basket on her back. "hey, Bonnie."  
Bonbon groaned at the name. "I told you, the name is Bonbon. I don't like that nickname."  
Lyra rolled her eyes. "yeah, right. Next you'll be telling me your Cutie Mark is 3 butterflies instead of those hard candies."  
Bonbon sputtered. "Butterflies? Really? Like that 'Shy girl who lives out in that shack? I'm not that weird."  
Lyra reached into her basket and pulled out a pop can. "right. She does live up to her name, though. I tried to talk to her once; squeaked liked a rat and locked herself in her house." she took notice of the catalog and took a look. "a candy catalog?"  
"yeah. I'm planning on opening up a candy shop when we graduate."  
Lyra looked at the camera with a raised eyebrow. "why?"  
"why?" Bonbon replied. "Why? Because I want to, that's why."  
"Well, I also want to play a lyre…" she took a drink of her soda and burped. "but you don't see me going overboard on a flawed idea."  
A vein appeared in Bonbon's head. Overboard? Flawed? Oh, that was it. "get out." Bonbon angrily said.  
Lyra took another sip and wiped her mouth. "What?"  
Bonbon got up and pushed her out. "I said get out!" she slammed the door on a confused Lyra.  
"did I say something wrong?" Bonbon's door opened and Lyra's basket was tossed into her face. "yep."

Vinyl curiously looked at a cello laying on it's side in the school band room.  
"Who in their right mind would keep playing cellos?" she asked herself. Octavia walked by the band room, seemingly not noticing Vinyl. A few seconds later, she backed up and looked inside. "it's such a waste of effort." waste of effort? Why is she saying that?  
Vinyl walked over and lightly touched the cello. It fell over, making a distorted noise when it hit. The sound was so bad, that Octavia covered her ears. Vinyl picked it up and looked at it. "nobody likes classical anymore." she let it go and let it fall again, not even trying to catch it. It hit a step, causing it to crack and surprisingly break into multiple pieces.  
"uh-oh."  
"MY CELLO!" Octavia yelled as she ran in. she pushed Vinyl aside and just collapsed.  
Vinyl felt guilty but doesn't understand why Octavia is freaking out over a cello. "Tavi. It's just a Cello. You can just get another."  
Tavi looked at Vinyl with angry eyes. "just a cello?" Vinyl nervously and rapidly nodded. "This Cello was given to me by my uncle, who died the same day he gave it to me." Vinyl's heart sank when she heard that. Tears began to form in Tavi's eyes. "it's the last thing I have to remember him by."  
Octavia went to try and fix it as a very guilty Vinyl watched. "I… I'm so sorry, Octy…" she distantly said.  
Octavia ignored her and tried to put it together. "it's okay. It's okay. And this part… I can fix this… I can fix this… I can fix this…" she wiped her eyes. "Stupid tears are blocking my view."

Berry and Colgate, unaware that the other was in the same market, reached for the last copy of Daring Do and the Sapphire Stone.  
"Berry?"  
"Colgate?"  
They both grabbed it and tried to take it. "un… this is mine." Colgate said.  
"As if. I saw it first." Berry tried to take it but Colgate had a tight grip.  
"but I grabbed it first."  
The two played tug-o-war at the book, inevitably ripping it in half. Both were angry at the other for ripping it in half. "Look at what you done!" they both exclaimed. "me!? This is your fault!"  
The librarian heard this and was peeved off at the sight of the torn book. "I don't care whose fault it was; someone is going to have to pay for this."  
Both Colgate and Berry angrily snarled at each other, then looked away in angry fashion. "well, it's not going to be for me."

Roseluck sat by herself, reading a romance novel, when SeaSwirl sat down at the same bench, completely unaware that Rose was there. She reached into her saddle bags and pulled out a granola bar. She took a bite out of it, getting Rose's attention.  
"Swirl?" Rose put down her book. "When did you get here?"  
Swirl blushed feverishly and tried to hide it by looking though her bags again. "I, un… I just sat down. I didn't realize you were here or else I'd have… it's nothing. Never mind." she noticed the book. "what is that?"  
Rose grabbed her book and opened it again. "a old romance novel. It's about these two star-crossed lovers whose families were at war with each other. Ends with them both dying."  
The blush disappeared and was replaced with a 'WTF' expression. "wow. That's… quite the story." Swirl looked at a watch then put it away. "well, I gotta get going. I only had enough time for a quick break." Swirl pushed off and landed in a puddle of water, which washed all over Rose and her book.. Swirl winced at it. "oh, geez. Rose. I'm so sorry." Rose just closed her book and walked off without saying a word. "oh, man…" Swirl said in worry.

Time Turner tinkered with a clock at the back of a clock shop. He had inherited it from his aunt, who was a clock maker herself. He heard the door open and ignored it.  
"Turner? You in here?" Raindrops called out.  
"back here, Rain." he called out.  
Rain walked though the door and saw him. "there you are. You weren't at the park today so I figured you might be hungry." she walked in and put down a basket of food.  
"thanks." he stopped what he was doing, looked though it, and pulled out a dandelion sandwich.  
Rain looked though the back of his shop and whistled. "wow. You're… really into clocks."  
Turner took a big bite out of the sandwich. "not really. I just fix them, make them… that would sound like being into it, wouldn't it."  
Rain giggled at that. "so… what's new with you?"  
"nothing much. Cousin's coming to visit from Fillydelphia. Other then that, nothing."  
"oh." Rain tapped a cuckoo clock on the clock face. It reacted by turning on and going, well, cuckoo. Rain yelped and fell back into a table, sending a wrench flying out into the store. She and Turner ran to the door and saw the wrench hit a shelf, causing clocks to fall from that and break on the floor. A clock hand from that hit a rope holding up another shelf, causing that to fall as well. A large clock hit a rack, causing it to tip and fall, causing a domino reaction that made the other racks fall as well.  
In the end, all the clocks in the shop were broken and busted. Rain but her hoof in fear, fearful of what Turner is going to do. "Turner, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean for this to happen."  
"Leave…" he coldly said. Rain didn't argue or anything. She made a big booboo and maybe leaving Turner alone for awhile is the best thing. She left without saying a word.

"everyone is going to love this."  
By the light of a lantern, eTu`nes read a little 'romance' checklist he made, showing the names of his friends and who he considers to be their significant other based on what he saw between them. His and Derpy's names were on there, but with a Question Mark next to them. They have no one to call their special somebody so he's gonna have to work on the both of them after everyone else. For now, he's gonna have to work down the list. And since the dance is just 2 weeks away, he's gonna have to work fast. He began to record his little findings in his diary;  
"let's see… Lyra and Bonbon look like a good match. Those two look like they belong together; hell, I don't see them with anyone else. Bonbon is able to put up with Lyra's odd mannerisms and even finds them funny.  
"Octavia and Vinyl. There's what looks like a good couple, if the term 'opposites attract' is true. They both like music, they have music terms in their names, but their tastes. Wow. Vinyl likes dubstep and Octavia likes classical. Hate to see what it would be if they ever get together and have a kid. The child's gonna be torn.  
"but those two… I saw Bonbon by a lyre and Octavia a pair of purple sunglasses. They may not need my help to move on to the next level of their relationships but I'll keep an eye on them.  
"Berry and Colgate, on the other hand, are going to need a WHOLE lot of help. They're both alpha dogs… eh… yeah, alpha dogs. I can see them competing for dominance in their relations. Better hope this is one where they can get along.  
"now for the last 4; Raindrops, SeaSwirl, Roseluck, and Time Turner. Whenever Roseluck and SeaSwirl are alone, they always seem too nervous to be near each other and their hooves get sweaty. Last I checked, that's the sign of a crush. Same holds true for Time Turner and Raindrops. Same thing as with Roseluck and SeaSwirl.  
"But, these 4 are too nervous or too stubborn to make the first move. I think the same holds true for everyone else. As Derpy would say, I'm gonna have to work my charm.  
"Speaking of Derpy, she hasn't shown any feelings for anyone, meaning she's gonna have to go to the dance alone. Nobody wants to be alone at a dance based around love. I think Time Turner said he has a cousin who lives in Trottingham but if he refuses to come or is too late, I'm gonna have to take her myself.  
"and, about that… I've been feeling more weird around Derpy lately. I've been getting what some of the others are feeling by getting nervous, sweaty hands… and I've been dreaming about her lately too, in very seductive and sensual poses. I don't want this to be true; it would be very weird for everyone; ourselves included, but…  
"I think I'm in love with Derpy."

8 Years Later…

You'd figure, with all the rebuilding and all, that nobody would be back doing their original jobs. Well, in Manni Peddie's case, you'd be wrong. Manni's H.Q. has been temporarily located to a tower at Canterlot Castle. What does she do? Well…  
"you want to adopt Scootaloo?" she asked, sitting behind a desk she moved to make the place resemble a office.  
"Yeah." Dash said with great intent. She was focused on adopting Scoots. She needs a family and Dash is all she has now.  
"right." Manni looked at the papers then set them down. "you know you're not the only one looking to adopt a orphaned child, right? There's plenty of other adults looking to adopt war-orphaned children."  
"I know but… I don't want Scoots to be alone right now." she sadly looked to the floor with her eyes watering.  
Manni sighed. That always gets her. Plus… "well… since you are one of the heroes that ended the war, I guess I can move you up." Dash's heart filled with hope. "but I'm not making any promises that you will be able adopt her. I'm gonna have to look at your background; your history, your medical records, everything."  
"I know. I know. I just don't want Scootaloo to be alone any longer." Dash got up to leave. "please, do whatever it takes." she walked out, leaving Manni to her work.

"Woo-Hoo! This thing is awesome!" Applebloom cheered, swinging off the tail of her new pet Silver Dragon.  
"just be careful, Applebloom. I don't want you to get hurt." Applejack said as a sister should.  
"Trust me sis." the dragon tossed Applebloom up into the air and caught her in his wings. Applebloom laughed as she slid down. "there's no way Helios will harm me."  
A.J. never heard that name before. "Helios?"  
"yeah. Ash said it was a… greek god of the sun or something like it."  
"Greek? Sounds made up."  
"That's what I said." Applebloom petted the Silver Dragon on his chin. "but it fits him." the Silver Dragon purred as his new owner petted him in his sweet spot. "and he likes it. And he likes me, too."  
"oh, let her keep it, A.J." Hiccup said. "it's it one thing I learned, it's that Dragons can be trustworthy and loyal…" Toothless cooed behind him and nuzzled up to his hand. "…if you let them."  
A.J. looked up from Toothless to the Silver Dragon. Well, it looks trustworthy. But it is a unknown species. Until someone who's heard about it tells her otherwise, she's gonna be keeping an eye on Helios.  
Helios cooed up next to Applebloom and nuzzled her on the head. Applebloom laughed when she felt something weird on her flank. She looked and saw that a Cutie Mark had appeared; this one in the shape of a Silver Dragon's head.  
Applebloom happily gasped and bounced with glee. "YES! I found my Cutie Mark!" she cheered.  
"Really?" Applejack happily said. She walked over and Applebloom showed it to her. "what does it mean?"  
"Think it means I'm a veterinarian or something, like Fluttershy. But why is it Helios's head?"  
Applejack quickly came up with a good reason. "well… you are going to take care of him, aren't you?"  
"however I can." that's when Applebloom got it. "OH! Now I get ya."

"so how long till you're able to leave the hospital?" Twilight asked, visiting her sister-in-law who was still on bed-rest with Req.  
"least till tomorrow. I'll be able to leave then." Cadence gave a sighing chuckle. "I'm a Alicorn and I'm taking a long time to heal."  
"yeah." Twi patted her hooves on her lap for a moment. "Cadence?"  
"yeah?"  
"What's it like… being immortal?"  
Cadence raised a eyebrow in confusion. "immortal? What makes you think I'm immortal?"  
"Because… you're a Alicorn. And Alicorn's are immortal, aren't they?" Req asked.  
"oh. Oh, no. no, I'm not immortal." Cadence said with a certain flair.  
Now both Req and Twi got confused. How can a Alicorn not be immortal? "but… Celestia and Luna are and…"  
Cadence shook her head 'no'. "they told me they placed into immortality by Starswirl the Bearded."  
"Why?" Req asked.  
"that part, they didn't tell me. It's either a threat he foresaw or something that would require their attention. I don't know, I'm just guessing."  
"So… Alicorns aren't immortal. Just Celestia and Luna thanks to a spell."  
"yeah."  
Twi and Req looked at each other. That was news to them. But why would Starswirl place that spell on them in the first place? That is a question that's going to bug them.

Satoshi grunted as he pulled out a little device from Orion's intricacies. "there. That's it." he grunted. He closed a hatch and jumped down from the side of the ship to the ground. Shadow saw him jump down with the device and got curious. He walked over to try to get a better look.  
"what is that?" the stallion asked.  
Satoshi held up the little device. "a little gift for you and everyone else."  
"A gift? What gift?"  
Satoshi snickered. "you'll find out in a couple hours. Just tell everyone to come to the throne room in at 3." he walked off, leaving Shadow confused.  
"why?" Satoshi called out.  
"just come and you'll see."

Scootaloo's eyes lit up as her smile went wide. "You really mean it?" she asked with a gasp.  
"really really squirt." Dash said with a smile. "if everything works out, you're gonna be my new daughter."  
Scoots had no idea what to say to that. Rainbow Dash, her mother? That was just too cool. Scootaloo laughed as she hugged her potential new mother.  
The two heard someone approach them. They thought it was one of their friends when they looked. Turns out it was just Manni. "oh, hey Manni. You brought the papers?" Dash asked. Manni just took a breath as she stared with angry eyes. "un… Manni?"  
"I'm afraid that your request has been denied."  
"What?" Dash gasped. "Why?"  
Manni chuckled. "where do I begin? For starters, you are selfish, you are stubborn, you are always putting yourself in danger. And, to top it off, you're a heavy drinker!"  
"but that's because I…"  
"I'm not done yet. You're rude. You never look out for others. And when the time comes, you never help anyone but your own ego!"  
"Hey!" Scoots exclaimed. "that's not true."  
Manni ignored her. "you already have a daughter. Eris, right?" Dash only replied with a nervous nod, fearful about what she's going to say next. "Social Services will be by later today to take her away."  
That put Dash over the deep end. She got up and snarled at Manni. "You are not taking Eris away from me!"  
"See? This is what I'm talking about. You're only looking out for yourself."  
"I'm looking out for my daughter, you bitch."  
Manni gasped at the language. "my word. Such language. This is what I'm trying to keep Eris and Scootaloo away from."  
"Like hell, you are." Scoots said. "Dash is who I want to be with."  
"it doesn't matter." Manni said in her cold tone. "you'll be in a better home."  
"I'm going to be in a better home with Rainbow Dash. You can't take me away from her. She needs me and I need her."  
Manni turned to leave. "you should see the social services ponies around 5." she walked off, feeling smug with herself.  
Scoot snarled. "I swear, she's gotta be related to Diamond Tiara."  
Dash got a mix of anger and despair. "there's no way I'm going to let her take You or Eris away!"  
"but what are you going to do? She's got an entire service with her and you're just one mare."  
Scoots had a point. Fighting to keep them with her by herself would be tough. Luckily, she knew someone who could be a royal help.


	94. He's Baaaack

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 32

He's Baaaack

"Come on! It's this way!" eTu`nes called out as he lead his friends up the mountain to the spot he had found a few days earlier.  
Except for a excited Derpy, nobody was feeling great about being on a mountain for a couple nights. Granted, they were all surprised and excited when they heard that eTu`nes had planned a camping trip all by himself. But that went away when they learned that the ponies they had… problems a few days ago are going as well. When they found that out, nobody was keen on going.  
eTu`nes flew by a tree with a paper marked with a X on it. This was the spot. "come on. Just a few feet away." he flew on ahead. Not being able to keep her excitement in anymore, Derpy flew to catch up.  
After a few minutes, the rest finally caught up and what they saw astonished them.  
It was a large and perfect blue river with a small but tranquil waterfall just a few yards away. Needless to say, it was the most beautiful river they saw. "Wow…!" they all gasped.  
Derpy looked over to a smug eTu`nes. "Do I know how to impress or do I know how to impress?" he asked.  
"you know how to impress."

The first day and night there wasn't the best the dragon could've hoped for. Everyone kept their distance, not wanting to talk to anyone. He heard about all their fiascos and was hoping this camping trip would repair their friendships, as well as help make them fall for each other. Better said then done with a weekend time limit. When he woke up the second day, he was just about to give up. Until…

Derpy worked on a little flower necklace when she noticed Lyra walk by, heading towards Bonbon, who was bathing under the waterfall.  
"hey, Bonnie." she softly said.  
Bonbon shrieked and covered herself until she saw that it was Lyra. If it was 4 days ago, she would've kicked her ass. Now… "oh. Lyra. What are you doing here?"  
"listen. I shouldn't have said your idea was stupid and flawed. truthfully, I think it's a good idea. I wasn't thinking clearly that day; I had one too many soda's and you know how I am with soda." Bonbon shrugged in agreement. "anyway…" Lyra used her magic to pull out a bag of coins and hovered it over to her. "…here's my contribution to the place."  
Bonbon took it with a smile. "but… why?"  
Lyra felt flustered and scratched the back of her neck. "well… I like you, Bonnie." Bonbon smiled with a chuckle. Lyra was so flustered, it was cute. Sexy, even. "I might even go as far as to say I L-…" Bonbon cut her off by kissing her on the lips. Derpy gasped in surprise and envy. Bonbon broke the kiss and smiled. Lyra, who was dumbstruck, shook her head from the shock. "…love you." Bonbon smiled and pulled Lyra under the waterfall and kissed her again. "Does this mean we're marefriends?" Lyra asked for confirmation.  
Bonbon chuckled and brushed her wet mane aside. "I'd say we are."  
Derpy's mouth hung open as those two kissed again. Who knew they were Filly-Foolers? She shook her head and headed to another part of the site.

Octavia sat alone as she looked out at the vista. She doesn't hate Vinyl for breaking her cello; she just wishes that she had the decency to ask before she touched it first.  
Derpy arrived at that sight but quickly went behind a tree when she saw the somber Octavia. "(guess now is a bad time to talk.)" she went to walk off when she noticed Vinyl walking towards her with a large box hovering behind her.  
"Tavi?"  
Octavia turned around to see Vinyl standing there with a glowing horn. "Vinyl? What do you want?"  
Vinyl somberly looked away for a moment. "listen. I'm sorry I broke your cello. I had no idea it was your uncles."  
Octavia looked away for a moment. "I know you didn't mean to break it, Vinyl. I just wish you bothered to ask me before you touched it."  
"I know." Vinyl looked behind her for a moment. "so… that's why I went ahead and got you this." she used her magic to pull the large box in front of her. It opened to reveal a cello right inside.  
Octavia gasped when she saw it. She pulled it out and looked at it. "you fixed it?"  
"no. I bought you a new one. I know it won't have any sentimental value like your uncle's, but… I just want you to know that I am so sorry and if you don't want to see me again, I'll understand."  
"What?" Octavia gently set the cello down. "what makes you think that?"  
"Because I broke something that was very important to you. Normally, friends who do that wouldn't be considered friends anymore."  
Octavia sighed and chuckled at Vinyl's assumption. "Vinyl… I don't want us to be friends anymore." that was what she was afraid of. Vinyl sadly turned to leave when… "I want us to be more then friends."  
"?" Vinyl looked to see Octavia offering her a box. "here. You said you had trouble reading and that you needed some cool shades, so…"  
curious, Vinyl took it with her magic and ripped it open. She gasped when she saw that it was a pair of purple sunglasses. "Tavi… I… I don't know what to say." Vinyl took them out and put them on. "with these, DJ-Pon3 is officially born. I'm gonna blow the roof off of that party."  
Tavi smiled. "I'm glad." she slowly walked over and nuzzled up to her. "and remember when I said I want us to be more then friends?"  
Vinyl snickered, grabbed Octavia, and kissed her full on the lips. "like that?"  
Tavi stammered for a bit. "y-yeah. That's what I meant."  
Derpy gagged as the two started to make out. "(what's with all this romance?)"

Derpy flew to the other side of the river to get away from all the lovey-dovey on the other side. Yeah, that didn't work well.  
Berry read a book underneath a tree when another one dropped onto her lap. "wha…?"  
"you wanted to read that, right?" Colgate asked. "Daring Do and the Sapphire Stone?"  
"Colgate…" Berry chuckled. "I already read it."  
"WHAT!? All the trouble I went though to get it for you? Why would you reach for it when I was?"  
Berry shut her up by placing a hoof on Colgate's lips, much to her surprise. "I reached for it as a excuse to talk to you." she softly said.  
Colgate started to blush. "r-really?"  
"yeah. I never had the courage to tell you this, Col, but… I think you're the sexiest mare alive."  
Wait? Was Berry in love with her? Was she a Filly-Fooler? Why didn't she tell her in the first place? Would've saved her a lot of time. "funny, Berry. I was doing the same thing."  
The two lovingly looked at each other in their eyes before kissing.  
Derpy silently gagged and flew off.

"(good grief! There's a WHOLE lot of romance on this hill.)" she silently groaned as she flew to the head of the river. She touched down when she should've been looking.  
Roseluck took a nap when SeaSwirl walked over, a book on her back. "Rose?" Rose grudgingly woke up and looked at her with tired eyes. "Sorry for waking you but I have something to give you."  
"What?" Rose asked with a mix of anger and weariness. Swirl reached back and pulled the book into view. It was a copy of the same one she had inadvertadly got wet the last time they were together. "what?" Rose gasped as she took it.  
"I felt bad for ruining your book so I got you a new copy."  
Rose couldn't believe it. "wow. And it's a Mint Condition." she opened the book. On the first page was a autograph. "This must've cost a fortune."  
"a few… hundred bits, but nothing's too expensive for you." Too expensive? Now Rose was curious. Swirl nervously scratched her neck. "um, Rose… I never had the courage to tell you this, but… I like you. A lot! Like, a Lot Lot!" Rose was stunned at first but eventually smiled. She was in love with her and was nervous to show it. Well, she had the perfect remedy for that. "so… I was thinking… if you want… if you c-" Rose interrupted her with a kiss. Swirl blinked in surprise at first but eventually succumbed.  
Derpy silently gagged before flying off.

"(I think eTu`nes planned this. Why else would all this romance be happening? And why wouldn't he bring one for me?)" she sighed as she touched down at camp. She knew that Berry smuggled up some alcohol. She looked though her bags and found a bottle on scotch. "(that'll do.)" She pulled it out as she heard coins jingling. "(oh, no. there's only two left.)"  
She peered from behind a tree to see Raindrops give Time Turner a bag of coins.  
"here. I know it's not much but it's all I could scourge up."  
Time Turner, in his confusion, picked up the bag. "um… why?"  
"Because I wrecked your shop. And I know that won't be enough to pay for everything but… all I know is that I'm going to sleep better at night for this."  
Turner looked at Rain's generous contribution and smiled. "Rain… you should know that the place was insured when my aunt was in control of it. It was all pained for."  
Rain face-hoofed. "just great. If I had known that, I wouldn't have lost sleep." Rain fell down and sighed. "and I wouldn't have ran. I would've tried to do something right then."  
"why didn't you?"  
Rain closed her eyes and sighed again. "because… I was worried that I had lost any chance of going out with you. I don't know about you, but I like you, Turner. And I'm afraid that this…" Turner shut her up by kissing her. "… would've blown my chances." she finished with a whisper.  
Derpy hit her head on a tree. The first straight couple she saw, and yet. She had nothing.  
"I need to get away." she said. She unfurled her wings and flew over the waterfall with the bottle.

eTu`nes returned to the campsite with some firewood when he saw the couples now all together around the fire. "Un… did I miss something?" he asked, trying to hide the fact this was his idea.  
"yeah." Lyra said with a smile. "we reconciled with each other and… maybe moved everything to the next level."  
"huh." eTu`nes tossed the firewood down. "guess my plan worked."  
"Plan?" Berry said in confusion. "this was your idea?" oops.  
eTu`nes got himself busted on accident. "eep. Un… un… I mean… I mean…" he gave up and sighed. "yes."  
Vinyl pulled him down and kissed him on the cheek. "thank you. We own you a lot." eTu`nes blushed and chuckled. He went to pick up the firewood when he noticed they were short one grey mare. "where's Derpy?"  
"I think she flew up over the waterfall." Time Turner said.  
"I'll get her." eTu`nes said as he took off.

When eTu`nes reached the top of the waterfall, he was caught off guard by how peaceful the place was. He never really got a chance to explore so this was a surprise. But what he saw next set his heart aflutter.  
Derpy sat there with a white flower braid in her hair, a lone white flower off to the side of her hair, and a white flower hanging off her neck like a necklace. A butterfly flew down and landed on Derpy's nose, causing her to giggle.  
The dragon was completely smitten by the sight. "(she looks… so beautiful…)" he shook his head and regained himself. "(that's it. I have to tell her how I feel. Even if she does reject me.)" he readied himself and walked over.  
The butterfly flew away from Derpy and off into the air, much to Derpy's dismay. "Derpy…?" she looked to see her best friend approach her.  
"Hey, eTu`nes." she said with a slight and not noticeable slur. "what are you doing here?"  
"I was looking for you. You weren't at the campground so I came looking."  
"oh. Sorry, but everyone was getting all love-dovey. I couldn't take it anymore. ick."  
eTu`nes nervously chuckled. "yeah. Yeah. Ick." he tapped his fingers on his legs as he paused. "listen, Derpy… there's something I have to tell you. Something that I've been holding in for a long time." she looked at him with curious eyes. He took a deep breath and sighed. "ever since we met in the Everfree Forest, I've been thankful that you saved me. I'm also thankful that you took me into your home, never left my side. I'm eternally grateful for that."  
"of course, eTu`nes. You were the first friend I had ever. I would never abandon you."  
"right. I know. But… there's something else I have to tell you." he couldn't believe he was doing this. "ever since Everfree, my feelings for you have been… steadily growing. And now, their bursting at the seems. I can't stop thinking about you, I have trouble breathing, I get nervous whenever I'm around you." Derpy realized where he was going and had tears forming in her eyes. So that's what this camping trip was all about. With a deep breath, he said the 4 words he never thought he would say.  
"Derpy… I love you."  
ETu`nes paused, waiting for a response from her. When nothing but silence came, he couldn't help but feel nervous. He slowly turned around to have a hormonal Derpy jump at him, causing them both to fall to the ground. She kissed him full on the lips, much to his surprise. He didn't fight it but just let it happen. Those two would go at it all night, with little to no sign of stopping.  
Little did both of them know that what those two do that night will effect both their lives, even more so for Derpy.

8 years later…

In the Royal Canterlot Gardens, the statue of a certain serpent dragon cracked from the base to it's head. A evil chuckle seeped out as the statue cracked again.

A deep shiver went though Celestia's soul. "he's… coming back…" she gasped.  
Luna suddenly appeared beside her with a fearful look. "You sensed it too, didn't you sister?"  
Celestia nodded. "indeed. His seal is weakening."  
"it must've been the chaos from the Winter War that weakened the seal. There would be no other explanation." Celestia wasn't so sure. Ever since they arrived, the humans have been giving off some strange chaotic energy. Maybe they were counter-acting the seal spell without knowing it. Either way, it spells bad news. "what do you want us to do?" Luna somberly asked.  
Celestia thought for a moment. "nothing for now. We should have at least a week before it fully cracks. Plenty enough time for the Elements to recast their spell."  
Luna wasn't so sure. She knew her sister was planning something but didn't pursue it. "if you want, sister." she turned and walked for the exit.  
Celestia waited until she was a good distance away before looking back at her pregnant sister with somber eyes. "I'm sorry, Luna, but this is something I have to do myself. when they defeated him last, I hoped that the Elements would bring my beloved back. When that didn't work, I made sure I was ready for when he returned. I'm going to get him back by myself."  
Luna reached the doors when they burst open. Rainbow Dash ran in and towards the princess. "Celestia!" she yelled out. "I need your help!" the two princess's looked at each other from across the room. What would have Rainbow Dash in this state?

A pair of eyes slowly and painfully opened. Their owner saw that she was in a hospital room. Sleeping on her bed was Jax, who was snoring up a storm, and Derpy, on the other side but more of a light sleeper.  
"mom…"  
Dinky rubbed her eyes and tried to get up before a shooting pain in her back made her wince. "that hurt…" she softly said.  
That whisper made the other two girls wake up. They both smiled wide when they saw she was all right. "DINKY!" they both exclaimed, hugging her.  
Dinky's eyebrow lowered in confusion as she looked at them both. "Mom, I can understand, but Jax? I thought you hated us."  
Jax lightly chuckled. "it's a long story. I'm just glad you're okay."  
Dinky rubbed her head. "how long was I out?"  
"a week." Derpy tearfully said. "We were afraid you were gonna be in a coma for the rest of your days. Thankfully, Jax was able to find a spell to save you."  
"a spell?"  
Jax pulled out the book. "Chrysalis infected you with a virus when she… beat you." Dinky remembered; every painful detail. "put you in something similar to a fever coma. Thankfully, there was a counter spell for that."  
"oh. Well, thanks Jax. And Mom, please don't be mad at Jax. She didn't know I was being beaten until it was too late. If she did, she would've saved me."  
Derpy sniffled. "I know. I was mad at her for not saving you, but she cured you, so… she is more then forgiven." Derpy hugged Jax. "thank you for saving her."  
"un… no prob." Jax nervously said. She may be more friendly to them, but she wasn't too keen with them hugging her now. She slightly pushed Derpy away.  
The door opened and the doctor walked in, carrying some X-Rays. "good. You're awake. That's great. It effects her as well."  
"What?" all 3 of them said.  
"well, when Jacqueline…"  
"Jax…!" she angrily sighed.  
"eh… Jax cast the healing spell, it should've cured her of all her deceases, but…"  
Derpy got worried. "but… what?"  
The doctor put one of the X-Rays on a screen and turned it on. "I'm not sure how but…" he pointed to a few abnormalities. "she has Dragon Wings."  
"Dragon Wings!" Dinky and Jax exclaimed. They looked at each other with stunned looks. "how is that possible?" Dinky asked.  
"Wait." Jax said. "Oscurita. Somehow, he must've given you a decease that is making you grow wings."  
Dinky looked at her back. That would explain the pain when she got up. "Wings. Huh." Dinky smiled wide. "That technically makes me a Pegasus."  
"that technically makes you a Alicorn." Jax happily exclaimed.  
"YEAH!" they both high-fived and laughed.  
Derpy, however, sat there with a blank expression. "Dragon Wings?" she softly whimpered. And they look just like his.  
"Mom? You okay?" Dinky asked, snapping Derpy out of her trance.  
"un… yeah. Just surprised to hear my daughter is growing wings."  
"you and me both, mom." she went back to laughing with Jax, thinking of some good tricks to play for when she gets them. Derpy, however, went back to thinking. That was the final nail in the coffin.

"ERIS!" Scootaloo yelled out, trying to find her former future sister. "ERIS!" she walked though the Canterlot Gardens, trying to find that girl. "Where could she be?" she rounded a corner and saw her standing in front of a statue. "oh, there you are." she ran over to her, getting her attention. "What are you doing here?" Eris pointed up at the statue of the Spirit of Disharmony. "that? That's Discord. Not a friendly guy. Now come on. We have to find Dash."  
Scoots started off when… "Discord… the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony…" Eris said in a clear tone. Scoot screeched to a halt and looked back. Did she really just say that? "the so-called Devil of Equestrian Mythology. The Scion of Suffering. The… Killer of Cosmos and Erys." small but dark streams of darkness seeped out of the statue and into Eris, both her and Scootaloo not noticing.  
"Eris?" Scoots whispered. "are you okay?"  
A series of hoof-steps walked over to the children's location, both unaware of who was approaching.

"… please. You have to see why you can't let Manni take Eris and Scootaloo away from me!" Dash pleaded.  
Celestia and Luna looked at each other with eyes filled with lament. "we know what you've been though, Rainbow Dash." Celestia started. "But…" but. The word Dash didn't want to hear. "concerns with Child Services is one of very few things; 3, actually, that we avoid."  
All life fled from Dash's eyes. "no… no… you're lying. You gave me Eris!"  
"as a guardian." Luna pointed out. "to teach her our ways; like Twilight with Spike. We didn't expect you to think of yourself as her mother."  
This can't be happening. This can't be happening. Her daughter was going to be taken away from her. She can't let this happen.  
"DDDDDAAAAASSSSSHHHHH!"  
Scoots screamed reached the throne room, getting their attention. Dash ran to the window as fast as she could and looked out to see some ponies trying to take Scootaloo and Eris. "NO!" Dash crashed though the window, breaking it. She flew as fast as she could. Luna and Celestia looked at each other. Maybe they should do something about this.

Scootaloo struggled to get free from a large Pegasus ponies' iron grip as another tried to pull Eris off the ground.  
"think about what your doing." Manni said as she watched. "I'm trying to take you away from a bad influence and put you in a better home."  
Scootaloo was able to get her mouth free. "how stupid are you? Dash isn't a bad influence!"  
"nonsense. A problem drinker like her, a good mother? As if."  
"HEY!" Dash came from out of nowhere and slammed into Manni, sending her into the hedge maze. "GET AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTERS!"  
Manni got up and wiped blood from her mouth. "and look. She's violent too. You're practically begging me to put them in better homes."  
Great. She was Frank Burns stubborn. "THEY ALREADY HAVE A HOME! WITH ME! WHAT IS IT GOING TO TAKE YOU TO SEE THAT!?"  
The Pegasus trying to take Eris, meanwhile, was still having trouble trying to pull her away. "Let go! We're gonna take you to a better home."  
"NO! I wanna live with Rainbow Dash." Eris pleaded.  
"she's a bad influence. You're better off."  
"No!"  
"Come on."  
Her eyes glowed white. "I SAID NO!" a shockwave shot out from beneath her, sending the Pegasi and Manni to the ground and leaving Dash and Scoots alone. Both friendly Pegasi looked at her with stunned looks as Eris looked at her own hands. "did I… do that…?"  
She heard a cracking behind her, which made her wince.

Begin Song: watch?v=EbcnWWpqFrM The Key of Darkness - Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep OST

The cracks at the base of the statue worked up it, breaking longer and deeper into it. "uh-oh." all 3 of them said.  
Manni groaned as she got up and noticed the statue cracking. "what in the world…?"

Celestia and Luna watched in horror as their worst fears were being realized. "how could it have broke that fast?" Luna gasped.  
Celestia looked at the baby. "it must've been Eris. She may have released him."

The stature cracked further. This time, darkness shot out of it and into the air, causing a large dark cloud to appear over it. It got the attention of everyone in town.  
"What's that?" Lloyd asked in worry, pulling up some logs.  
Fox looked and came to the same conclusion everyone else got. "trouble."

The statue exploded outward, sending shards flying everywhere in the garden. Dash quickly covered Scoots as Eris covered herself, being too far away for Dash to get to herself.  
"2 and 1000 years can give you such a crick in the neck." a all-too familiar voice said, sending shivers down Dash's spine.  
"it can't be…" she slowly looked up and saw the familiar Draconequus standing where the statue stood. "Discord…"  
Discord heard his name, looked over at Dash, and smirked. "My my. Rainbow Dash. The fabled Element of Harmony and recent step-mom. How quant."  
"DISCORD!" a blast of sun magic blasted him in the side. Celestia landed with a scary amount of force and blasted him again.  
Discord was able to bring up a shield shaped like a umbrella and stopped it. "my my. Much more violent this time, aren't you Celestia?" the princess snarled at him. "is that any way to greet to a old friend?"  
"Friend? Bah. Friends don't betray you and leave you to rot. As far as I'm concerned, you should go back to your prison."  
"oh, tsk tsk tsk." he lifted himself off the ground and sat back on a invisible chair.  
"How Sad, Celestia. You used to be so noble. Now you're a violent queen."  
The princess scoffed. "you haven't even begun to see me violent. Now, I'll only ask this once. Bring back my beloved! Bring back Cosmos and Erys!"  
Discord pretended to forget those two. "Cosmos and Erys… Cosmos and Erys… I don't think I ever heard those names before!"  
That sent anger down Celestia's spine. Her horn glowed a bright yellow. "You Bastard! I'll…"  
The Spirit waved his hand at her, 'sweeping' her away. "Calm calm, Celestia. You'll get your husband and your daughter back…" Discord rose up into the air only as a badass villain would. "…as soon as I have had my fun causing chaos!"  
Discord laughed into the air as he normally would, causing lightning to fall around him. One such bolt fell and hit Celestia right on the horn, knocking her out cold.  
Discord continued to laugh, eager to bring some fresh chaos to the world.

The return of the Scion of Chaos continues in the last side-story, Discordian Troubles.

End Song.


	95. Return of Chaos

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Discordian Troubles

Chapter 1

Return of Chaos

Scootaloo struggled to get free from a large Pegasus ponies' iron grip as another tried to pull Eris off the ground.  
"think about what your doing." Manni said as she watched. "I'm trying to take you away from a bad influence and put you in a better home."  
Scootaloo was able to get her mouth free. "how stupid are you? Dash isn't a bad influence!"  
"nonsense. A problem drinker like her, a good mother? As if."  
"HEY!" Dash came from out of nowhere and slammed into Manni, sending her into the hedge maze. "GET AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTERS!"  
Manni got up and wiped blood from her mouth. "and look. She's violent too. You're practically begging me to put them in better homes."  
Great. She was Frank Burns stubborn. "THEY ALREADY HAVE A HOME! WITH ME! WHAT IS IT GOING TO TAKE YOU TO SEE THAT!?"  
The Pegasus trying to take Eris, meanwhile, was still having trouble trying to pull her away. "Let go! We're gonna take you to a better home."  
"NO! I wanna live with Rainbow Dash." Eris pleaded.  
"she's a bad influence. You're better off."  
"No!"  
"Come on."  
Her eyes glowed white. "I SAID NO!" a shockwave shot out from beneath her, sending the Pegasi and Manni to the ground and leaving Dash and Scoots alone. Both friendly Pegasi looked at her with stunned looks as Eris looked at her own hands. "did I… do that…?"  
She heard a cracking behind her, which made her wince.

Begin Song: watch?v=EbcnWWpqFrM The Key of Darkness - Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep OST

The cracks at the base of the statue worked up it, breaking longer and deeper into it. "uh-oh." all 3 of them said.  
Manni groaned as she got up and noticed the statue cracking. "what in the world…?"

Celestia and Luna watched in horror as their worst fears were being realized. "how could it have broke that fast?" Luna gasped.  
Celestia looked at the baby. "it must've been Eris. She may have released him."

The stature cracked further. This time, darkness shot out of it and into the air, causing a large dark cloud to appear over it. It got the attention of everyone in town.  
"What's that?" Lloyd asked in worry, pulling up some logs.  
Fox looked and came to the same conclusion everyone else got. "trouble."

The statue exploded outward, sending shards flying everywhere in the garden. Dash quickly covered Scoots as Eris covered herself, being too far away for Dash to get to herself.  
"2 and 1000 years can give you such a crick in the neck." a all-too familiar voice said, sending shivers down Dash's spine.  
"it can't be…" she slowly looked up and saw the familiar Draconequus standing where the statue stood. "Discord…"  
Discord heard his name, looked over at Dash, and smirked. "My my. Rainbow Dash. The fabled Element of Harmony and recent step-mom. How quant."  
"DISCORD!" a blast of sun magic blasted him in the side. Celestia landed with a scary amount of force and blasted him again.  
Discord was able to bring up a shield shaped like a umbrella and stopped it. "my my. Much more violent this time, aren't you Celestia?" the princess snarled at him. "is that any way to greet to a old friend?"  
"Friend? Bah. Friends don't betray you and leave you to rot. As far as I'm concerned, you should go back to your prison."  
"oh, tsk tsk tsk." he lifted himself off the ground and sat back on a invisible chair.  
"How Sad, Celestia. You used to be so noble. Now you're a violent queen."  
The princess scoffed. "you haven't even begun to see me violent. Now, I'll only ask this once. Bring back my beloved! Bring back Cosmos and Erys!"  
Discord pretended to forget those two. "Cosmos and Erys… Cosmos and Erys… I don't think I ever heard those names before!"  
That sent anger down Celestia's spine. Her horn glowed a bright yellow. "You Bastard! I'll…"  
The Spirit waved his hand at her, 'sweeping' her away. "Calm calm, Celestia. You'll get your husband and your daughter back…" Discord rose up into the air only as a badass villain would. "…as soon as I have had my fun causing chaos!"  
Discord laughed into the air as he normally would, causing lightning to fall around him. One such bolt fell and hit Celestia right on the horn, knocking her out cold.  
Discord continued to laugh, eager to bring some fresh chaos to the world.

End Song.

watch?v=4By8YHOnILo

Discord continued to laugh into the air, glad to be free from his stone prison yet again. "Oh, this is SOOOOO much better then being cramped into rock. I can actually scratch this itch on my nose." Discord did just that.  
Dash slowly backed up, pushing Scoots' back with her. She wasn't going to let the filly be a part of whatever Discord had planned, or have her be distorted.  
Discord snapped his fingers, summoning up a list and a faux pair of grandpa glasses. "let's see… what Chaos shall I reek today?" Eris looked at the unconscious Celestia, who wasn't more then a few feet away, and tried to silently crawl over to her. "oh, turn Fillydelphia into a playground for electric eels. That's something I always wanted to try. Oh, and turn Canterlot into a dung pile. Oh, that will send Celestia, or at least her nose, packing." he chortled at a oldie but goodie. "maybe I can make Berry sneeze and blow the whole town over again. That was a classic."  
Eris was able to reach Celestia and tried to wake her up. "Celestia… Celestia… wake up…"  
Discord sensed the baby trying to wake her up and snapped his fingers, making her reappear before her, wrapped in magical rope. He was admittedly stunned by how she looked. "huh. And I though all our kind were extinct." he muttered. Eris struggled to get free, but Discord was much much stronger then her. "hmm… pretty young. And likely not in touch with her powers."  
"Hey!" Dash exclaimed, getting the spirit's attention. She got up and snarled at Discord. "Keep your filthy paws off my daughter!"  
"Daughter!?" Discord replied in surprised. She looked from Dash, to Eris, then back to Dash. "You look nothing alike and she's my kind, not a ridiculous mamy-pamy pony."  
"Ridiculous?" a magic blast hit Discord in the side, forcing him to let go of Eris. She fell to the ground and quickly ran to Dash, who quickly hugged her and got in front to protect her. All of them looked to see a very familiar lavender unicorn standing a few feet away with a glowing horn. "the only thing ridiculous is you." Twilight said without fear.  
Discord just chuckled and hovered back as if he was laying on a couch. "well, well. Twilight Sparkle. It sure has been awhile. Oh, and your with child. That's gonna be twice the fun." Luna and Trixie ran up beside her and also got ready to do battle with him. "Oh. Luna. Princess La Luz De La Luna. It sure has been awhile. Did you happen to enjoy that little gift I left behind… Nightmare Moon?" Luna angrily snorted at Discord as her horn glowed bright. Trixie stepped in front of her and blasted the spirit. The blast just bounced off him, not even making a tickle. Discord looked at her, wondering if she was serious.  
Trixie looked up at her horn and groaned. "I really need to work on my magic." she muttered.  
"and un… *cough* who are you?" Discord asked with a 'who is she' look.  
Trixie was hoping he would ask that. "you don't know who I am? I… am the Great and Powerful Trixie! Duchess Trixie Lulamoon! Wife to Princess La Luz De La Luna! And you're gonna get it." Discord wasn't afraid. It fact, he didn't have any clue how to react. She was completely BORING. "I may not have met you but I heard a lot about you."  
Discord yawned at all this. "at least I'm well known."  
"and soon, a distant memory." Req said as she and the rest of the gang ran up. The humans pulled out what weapons they had and pointed it at the spirit.  
Discord was surprised to see her kind here. "A Human? On Equestria? I thought Jeria banished your kind 100,000 years ago." banished? that world was bounced around them all, wondering what he meant by that. Discord shrugged. "well, no skin off my back." he snapped his fingers, wrapping everyone in a individual cobra. The snakes laid on the squeeze. "it's so nice to see you all again, but Chaos doesn't happen all by itself." he walked on thin air, strutting his stuff.  
"DISCORD!" Twilight yelled. "don't do this! You know what happened last time."  
Discord chuckled. "indeed I do." Discord reappeared in front of Twilight and ran a finger down her face. "And unlike last time, I'm not going to play fair."  
"Play fair?" Pinkie exclaimed. "you turned us all into our opposites."  
Discord playfully sighed at that good memory. "ah… good times." with a snap, he disappeared in a flash of white. The snakes disappeared as well. Everyone fell to the ground and landed without a hitch.  
"Who was that?" Cynder asked.  
"D-discord…" Celestia groaned as she struggled to get up.  
"Princess!" Twilight exclaimed as she ran over. Luna did the same thing and both helped her up.  
"Who?" Fox asked for confirmation.  
"Discord." Eris said. "The Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony."  
Everyone looked at her with weird expressions. "how does she know that?" Ash asked. How did she know that? She wasn't told about him yet she knows his full name. how is that possible?"

Discord reappeared on top of a mountain in the badlands. He yawned and summoned up a lounge chair. "It is so good to be out of that statue again. One of these days, I'm gonna have to show Celestia how that feels. But first…" he snapped his fingers, making a theater-sized screen appear in front of him. He summoned a bucket of popcorn and got comfy. "I missed out 1002 years. I gotta catch up." the screen began to play images and videos of the past 1000 years into small segments that would whittle this down to 3-4 hours.  
his thoughts turned to that kid from before; Eris, he believes her name was. "Eris… and here I thought I was the last one." he came up with a good plan for her. "I think I need a new Scion of Chaos."

"Discord is a Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony that ruled Equestria long before me and my sister came into power." Celestia explained. She and everyone else gathered in the throne room so she and Luna could explain their history with Discord. She was still weak from the bolt and it showed. "he was eventually defeated after a long war that lasted 20 years and encased in stone… with some heavy casualties inflicted."  
Satoshi took notes, knowing that some people would have questions after this and, since he was a Brainiac, they would normally come to him.  
"Casualties?" Lina asked.  
"many ponies were turned into stone or sent to a void Discord called home." Luna said, taking over for her weakened sister. "we still haven't found a way to bring them all back. He…" this part affected Luna more then most. "…created Nightmare Moon and infected me with her. It took her 2 years for my jealousy to get the better of me, but… well…" Trixie comforted her wife by nuzzling up next to her.  
"there's more." Celestia weakly said. "among those taken were… my husband; the Alicorn of the Stars, Cosmos. And… my daughter… Erys."  
"Eris?" everyone exclaimed. They all looked to the Draconequus baby. Some even pointed to her for confirmation from the princess.  
Celestia shook her head 'no'. "she may have the same eyes but that is far from my Erys. My Erys is a Alicorn like me and her name is spelled with a Y, not a I."  
Dash looked between the princess and her Eris. "that's why you tried to kill her." she whispered to herself.  
"When you defeated him last time…" She said to the Mane 6. "…I was hoping it would release everyone he had sent away."  
"it didn't." Rarity concluded. They beat him but they didn't see any new ponies. Well, except for that weirdo Screwball.  
Celestia nodded. "but now, we have a chance to rescue them again."  
"no need to convince us." Fox said, twirling his staff. "where do we go to find this… Dis fella?" all the other off-worlders nodded and murmured in agreement.  
"DISCORD!" Luna corrected. "and, as we are sensitive to chaos, we sense that he appeared in the Badlands, far to the south."  
"the Badlands…" Marble muttered. "I visited there once."  
"you did?" Edge asked.  
"once; with my friends from Manehatten. It lies right across the mountains surrounding the city. There was nothing but endless red sand and large mesas. Guess that's why Dragon's call it home."  
"Dragons?" Bahamut and Spike asked.  
"it's where they come from. I bet if we ask them, they'll tell us where Discord is."  
Celestia considered that plan and went with it. "very well then. You all shall go to the Badlands and stop Discord before he can send the world into eternal chaos. And hopefully bring all he sent away back."  
The ponies bowed to her. "Yes, Princess." they all said in unison.  
The off-worlders looked at each other and nodded. "we'll d our best." they all said. They all walked out to go deal with the new threat. Trixie gave Luna a quick kiss on the cheek before going to join them.  
"But be careful; Discord is more powerful Nightmare Moon and Dark Chrysalis combined." Celestia called out.  
"we figured that." Aura called out. The moment Trixie ran though the door, they closed shut.  
Luna watched in worry as her wife left but returned her focus to her sister, who collapsed. "sister." she ran over and comforted her. "don't worry. They'll defeat Discord and we'll get everyone back."  
She knows that, but she feels that something is… wrong. Very wrong. Like something bad is quickly coming. She looked out the window at the very distant mountains. "Cosmos… Erys… are you still alive?"


	96. Abduction

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Discordian Troubles

Chapter 2

Abduction

The screen played the last battle with Dark Chrysalis, ending with her destruction at the hands of the Element of Harmony powered Triple-Dragon Slave. The little 'movie' ended with the birth of Cadence's and Armor's son, Glade Yggdrasill, and Eris accidentally releasing Discord.  
"my my my. I had no clue that the world had gotten so violent." Discord joked, covered in candy wrappers. He unwrapped another and tossed a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup inside. "When I was in charge, there wasn't that much violence. Mostly because I was the one doing it." he snapped his fingers and sent the screen away.  
He snapped them again and reappeared inside Orion's hold. He walked around like he owned the place. "and humans are back on Equestria. I thought Jeria made it so that they would never return, thanks to what Za did."  
He snapped his fingers, causing every disc, cartridge, tape, and reel to hover in front of him. He summoned up his screen again and quickly played each one, memorizing each one and getting a few wicked ideas. Some, he tossed away. A giant 200-foot tall lizard with spines that can breath radioactive blue fire like a heat beam? No thanks.  
Once he got them all down, he disappeared, letting them all fall to the floor.

Satoshi heard something fall and clatter inside Orion. He wondered what it was, for a moment, as he swung on a rope over to the back and oiled up the rudder.

A couple hours earlier, he was looking at a map of the world supplied by Armor.  
"the badlands lie, just over the mountains of Manehatten." he explained, showing the pilot the map. "the quickest way to get there, avoiding all the mountains between us and there, is to head to Maredrid, follow the train tracks to the Equestria/Gryphon Kingdom border, then follow the river south. Once you reach the ocean, continue to follow the Equestrian coastline. You should reach Manehatten that way."  
Quite a detour. Can't he just fly over the mountains. "can't I just fly over the mountains?"  
"you could, but they are pretty high. Some even reach higher then the Tower in Feather Top. And you saw how big that was."  
oh, he remembers. That thing reached a thousand feet tall. Godzilla from the battle for the city was barely 1/3 it's size. Plus, he didn't want Orion to go Star-Mode now. He wanted to see the country-side, not pass it by. Also, if they go in half-prepared; without directions and all that, they could overshoot him by miles and doom the world. Slow and steady wins this race.

Pinkie excitedly jumped up and down. "I can't wait to go to Manehatten! I can't believe I haven't been there before! We'll get to see Diamond again! And I can finally meet your old friends and family! This is gonna be so much fun!" Marble sat and slightly smiled, not really excited to be heading back. "Pinkie noticed this and stopped. "you okay, Marble?"  
Marble sighed. "no." Pinkie sat down next to him, wondering what was wrong. "when I left for Ponyville, I… didn't leave on the best of terms with… I guess you could call them 'friends'. they… they hated me and I hated them."  
Pinkie nodded, taking it all into it and remembering that Marble was a complete Emo when he came to town. "well, you know what I would do?" Marble looked at her. She took her hooves and made his mouth wide. "Smile. Just turn that frown upside-down and they're bound to forgive you. Plus, you have Diamond there. She's bound to help."  
Marble still wasn't sure. It wasn't only his 'friends' that hated him.

"so, what can we expect from Despair?" Hiccup asked as he and Applejack walked to the ship.  
"Discord." A.J. corrected. "and quite a number of things really."  
"how so?"  
A.J. thought of a good way to describe him. "um… okay. Picture the worst enemy you ever thought and times him by 1000. That's how bad he is."  
Hiccup whistled. "and he can manipulate just about anything, right?" A.J. nodded. "well, we're gonna have our work cut out for us."  
A.J. chuckled. "you have no idea."

Eris laughed as a red robin hovered down and landed on her finger. Dash watched her, keeping a upbeat look but feeling nothing but dread inside. She doesn't want to leave her alone, not with Discord loose and with Manni trying to take her and Scoots. She doesn't want to leave both of them all alone.  
"Dash?" Shadow walked up next to her. "are you okay?"  
Dash took a deep shaking breath. "no. no, I'm not okay. I… don't want to leave Eris and Scootaloo, now with all that's happening to them."  
Shadow looked to Eris for a moment before sitting down next to his torn marefriend. "well… we could always take them with us."  
"What?" Dash gasped.  
"well, Discord will be after her, no matter where she is. And Manni won't come after them if they're on a moving ship."  
She wasn't so sure. taking them or leaving them are both equally dangerous but she doesn't want to lose them either. "I don't know, Shadow. I-"

A sudden flash of white light hit them and sent them screaming back into a building. A snap of the fingers and the building they hit exploded. That sudden blast caught everyone's attention.  
"what was that?" Pinkie asked.  
"Trouble. What else?" Bahamut said. He and Gilda flew on ahead to check things out.

Shadow and Dash woke up to see them covered in foam. "what? You thought I resorted to killing?" Discord asked with a chuckle. "you crazy. I'm not like Celestia."  
Dash tried to run out but the foam was as tough as glue. "Discord! What do you want?!"  
"What makes you think I want something?" Discord said. He hung upside-down on a invisible pole. "why couldn't I just want to say hello? It has been far too long, Element of Disloyalty. We should catch up. Play 'abandon my friends' or go out on a adventure to find and dump some new ones."  
"Shut up!" Dash yelled.  
The sudden tone in her voice caught him off guard. "well… maybe I do want something." he looked to the stunned girl looking at him with fearful eyes. "a little Scion."  
Dash gasped in fear when he said that. She tried to get loose again but the foam was tighter then a hot tire. "I won't let you touch Eris! You hear me!?"  
Discord yawned and flashed on over to her. "I hear you. I just don't want to listen to you." he snapped his fingers. A invisible rope wrapped around Eris and lifted her up next to him. "I'm gonna need a little heir to the chaos throne and little Eris here fit's the bill."  
"NO!" Dash yelled out.  
Bahamut and Gilda rammed into Discord from behind, forcing him to let Eris go. Discord quickly straightened himself and looked back at the Gryphon and Dragon. "mm… Bahamut and Gilda, correct?"  
"Guess we don't have to introduce ourselves." Gilda said in a snarky tone. Bahamut flew over to the stuck couple and breathed fire on the foam until it melted away.  
Dash quickly flew out and got between Discord and Eris. "I'm not letting you take her!"  
Discord laughed at the foolish display. "I'm afraid you got no choice in the matter." he snapped his fingers.  
They waited for something to happen but, after a few moments, nothing did. "I think you're losing your touch." Bahamut joked.  
Discord chuckled yet again. "wait for it."

Begin Song: watch?v=JS7XVMNNZI8 One Who Gets In Our Way - Xenoblade Chronicles OST

Suddenly, the ground began to shake, gaining magnitude as something underground moved towards them. A crack tore though the ground towards them. "oh, that can't be good." Shadow gulped.  
A large crack appeared beneath them. Discord disappeared, leaving everyone to worry.  
The ground exploded out from beneath them, sending them off in different directions as a large stone monster rose from the dirt.  
Dash landed on her back, landing badly on her wing, breaking it. She and the others looked up to see a 50-foot Stone Golem right over them. "oh, come on!" Bahamut exclaimed in anger. The Golem turned to him and raised it's fist. "un… hehe. She said it." he pointed to Gilda, who quickly bonked him on the head.  
The Golem raised it's fist and punched down on the two. The Gryphon and Dragon were able to get up and get away in time before the fist hit. When it rose, the tree it did hit was flattened like a pancake. "that… would've been messy." Bahamut gulped. The Golem raised it's fist at them. It fired from it's hand like a rocket, hitting them and sending them right into the castle with the stone fist.  
"Gilda!" Dash yelled out. The Golem's shadow cast over her. She looked up in fear and gasped to see it right over her. It raised it's right arm, the fist it just launched returning to it, and thrust it down at her. She quickly unfurled her wings, then gasped in pain, remembering that one of them was broken. She quickly ran as fast as she could, dodging the attack.  
She ran underneath it's legs and away from it. The Golem turned around and aimed it's fist at her. It prepared to fire it when a blast caught it in the side.  
"up bup bup." Lina joked, smoke rising from her hand. "now… attacking our friends. That's a felony." Aura and Riku ran by her, blades drawn. "Trying to kill them… you're gonna have to pay for that."  
Riku jumped into the air and encased his Keyblade in shadow. He landed on the Golem's left hand and jumped up. He flipped backwards and fell towards it's head. "Helm Break!" he hit the top of it's head over and over and over and over and over again. Usually, that would be a insta kill. Against this thing, all it did was crack it. Which was good enough for him. He jumped off and summoned a dark fireball into his free hand. "Dark Firaga!" the fireball shot out and hit the monster in the crack, causing it to split open.  
Aura fell from right behind Riku, spun his lance, and thrust it right into the monsters head. Clearly they both forgot that Stone Golems, at least ones of Tales of Vesperia variety, don't have brains. The attacks didn't faze it one bit. It grabbed Aura and sent him rolling right into some of the group, hitting them like a bowling ball to pins.  
Jax tossed one of her chakrams up into the holes Aura and Riku made. The Golem watched it go in, then down to her. She snickered as she snapped her own fingers. "Tidal Wave."  
Before long, water came bursting out of every part of the Golems body; every opening, every crack, every hole. Every single one, drowning it from the inside.  
The Golem's body collapsed and fell forwards, it's head towards them.

End Song.

The ring floated out along with the rest of the water, stopping just before Jax. She picked it up and spun it around her finger.  
"piece of-"

Begin Song: watch?v=b4kPrmPJD1w Golem Fight - Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike OST

The Golem's stone fist rammed into her from behind, sending her right into a tree, knocking her out cold.  
Water sloshed out of it's body as the Golem once again rose. Seems drowning it didn't exactly work.  
"OH, Come on!" Zilver exclaimed. "what does it take to kill one of these things!?" Fox just shrugged. This was his first time facing a Golem. the Golem roared and tried to turn him and Fox into pancakes.  
Req flew over the fist, wrapped it in a Bind spell, and pulled it away, making it hit a already destroyed building instead.  
The little battle got the attention of everyone in Ponyville, including one Manni.  
"Freeze Arrow!" Amelia and Zelgadis exclaimed, sending frozen arrows at it's feet. The arrows hit and froze it's feet over, keeping it in place. It struggled to get them loose but the ice, combined with the natural snow that was already there, made it unbreakable. "It worked?" they both said.  
It wouldn't hold long, just long enough for Gourry and Emil to make their move. They looked at each other and nodded. They grabbed their swords and ran towards it.  
Ash pulled out his pistols and fired at the Golem's head, keeping it distracted. They did it's job, forcing the monster to cover it's eyes.  
Gourry and Emil ran up it's back. The constant pitter-patter got it's attention and it tried to brush them off. They cut though the hand with ease, reached the head, and jumped off it into the air.  
A couple of magic whips, courtesy of the unicorns in the team, wrapped around it's legs, keeping it at bay.  
Emil and Gourry, alone with Req, raised their swords high and fell to the Golem. with a quick yell, they slashed down at the monster.

End Song.

The Trio skidded down it's arm, jumped off, and landed in cool poses. Req snapped her fingers… and the Golem fell apart into 3 pieces.  
Eris ran over to Dash, who grabbed her and hugged her close.  
Those who fought panted as they looked at their handiwork. "well… that was easy…" Gourry panted.  
"Yeah…" Req agreed. "but why would he sent something like that after us?"  
To everyone's surprise, Discord's voice echoed though the air. "simple. To wear you down."

Begin Song: watch?v=EbcnWWpqFrM Key of Darkness - Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep OST.

A solid blue barrier emanated from the Golem's disintegrating body, sending everyone back out of the little battlefield. The only one not affected was Eris and, by extension, Dash.  
Discord suddenly appeared from behind and grabbed Dash by the mane. "odd. I'd figure that the barrier would've effected you too."  
Scootaloo and the CMC arrived to see Dash in her situation. "Dash!" she tried to run to her but ran into the barrier.  
"no matter." Discord threw her aside like he was throwing a rat. She landed on the ground and was knocked out.  
"Mommy!" Eris yelled out.  
"Mommy?" Discord said in confusion. She looked from her to Dash and back again. "hmm… hmhmhmhmhmhm. How ironic." Eris fearfully looked up at Discord and slowly backed away. "now where do you think you're going?" he snapped his fingers, summoning a cotton candy cloud which she backed into. The cloud lifted her up to eye level with the Spirit of Chaos. She struggled to get loose but you know how Cotton Candy is, especially if it's Discords cotton candy. "he have a lot of chaos to wreak." he sinisterly said. He raised a finger and touched Eris' forehead with it. Eris went limp as her eyes lost all color.  
"we have a lot of chaos to wreak…" she repeated in a dead monotone.

"Heave Ho!"  
The humans rammed a tree into the barrier again and again and again. It wasn't even leaving a dent in it. Req tried to cut it open but her sword couldn't cut it. Discord is really something else if he's able to produce a barrier she can't cut though. She noticed of Discord doing something to Eris and tried to cut though it again.

Dash regained consciousness and saw Discord doing something to Eris. "Stop it!" she yelled out.  
Her mother's yell made the color in Eris' eyes return. She struggled to get loose again, irritating Discord. "Grr. You don't know when to give up." he angrily said to Dash. "guess I'm gonna have to do this in a undisclosed location."  
He walked off, tossing Eris to the ground. With a snap of his fingers, she was picked up by a unseen force.  
"NO!" Dash struggled to get up but Discord really messed her up good.  
Eris struggled to get loose from this but, like before, it was tough. She saw her mom trying to get up. "MOM!" she yelled out.

Req was able to cut a tiny sliver into the barrier. She stuck her sword in and pulled down.

Dash was able to weakly get up. Despite her body saying no, she ran after Discord and Eris. "LET HER GO!" she tearfully cried.  
Discord walked off the cliff and onto thin air, Eris still in tow. "MOMMY!" Eris called out.  
Discord snapped his fingers. "on, do shut up." he covered Eris' mouth with solid maple syrup, making her mute. "ugh. I hate it when they call out."  
Dash's chest hurt as she reached the edge of the cliff, unable to do anything. "ERIS!"  
"MOMMY!"  
Eris and Discord disappeared in flashes of light.  
"NNNOOO!" Her heart now completely broken, Dash collapsed and let a flood of tears come falling. "no… no… don't take her away… don't take… my Eris away…" she tearfully cried. "this… can't be happening…"  
she gagged and held her mouth as blood almost vomited out.

The barrier disappeared of it's own free will. Req staggered on one leg before falling over.

Dash fell over to the side, blood dripping out and tears still falling. Her insides felt like they were on fire and that's not from the heartbreak.

"DASH!" her pony friends yelled out as they ran over.

"Er….. Is….." she was able to mutter before falling unconscious.

If you're thinking that I'm turning Discord into a 'no-holds barred' bad guy, they you're right. He's out for revenge and he's gonna get it anyway he can.  
A number of horrible things happened today…  
…and they are only going to get worse.

*author's notes*  
As you saw from a earlier scene, Discord made himself well-known with everything in the humans possession. So… let the bad guy suggestions come flooding forth. I'll consider them all. I won't use them all; I already have two myself ready to go, but I will consider them all.


	97. It's Worse

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Discordian Troubles

Chapter 3

It's Worse

Discord reappeared on top of a mesa with Eris. She dropped down and tried to run back to Canterlot but Discord snapped his fingers, trapping her inside a bird cage.  
"Mommy!" she called out, hoping Dash would hear her.  
The cage hovered up to Discord's face. "Save it, you little twerp! Your 'mother' is not coming." Eris didn't believe him and tried to break out. Discord grabbed her face and made sure she looked into his eyes. "Your 'mother' never truly loved you."  
Eris didn't believe that. Dash loved her more then anyone around.  
"your mother only loved you because she was afraid of you."  
"no…" Eris's eyes turned soulless and began turning all sorts of different colors. "no, that's not true…"  
"your mother took you in because she was ordered to. She raised you because she was afraid of what would happen if you turned against her." Eris stopped fighting back and let her eyes continue to change. "She never truly cared about you. She only used you for herself. Rainbow Dash is a big fat liar who never truly cared about you."  
Eris gave up and, though Discord's manipulation, accepted it as truth. "Mommy…" she said in monotone. "…is a big fat liar… who never truly cared… about me…"  
Discord smiled evilly. his little spell took better then he expected. "Yes. Rainbow Dash never cared."  
"Rainbow Dash… never cared…"  
"she deserves to pay for kidnapping you."  
"She deserves… to pay… for kidnapping… me…"  
Discord lifted up a finger and placed it on her forehead. A quick flash of light followed, blinding out the camera.

"ERIS!" Dash yelled, bolting up from her bed. Pain racked her body, forcing her to fall back. Her yell woke Shadow up from a nap he took at the foot of her bed.  
"Dash! Are you okay?"  
Dash tried to get up but pain shot though her again. She fell back "what happened? Where's Eris? Did they get Eris back? Is she okay?"  
"calm down." Shadow patted her on the forehead, calming her down. "calm down." Dash looked at him, still worried about Eris. "Eris is… she's gone, Dash. Discord took her 7 hours ago. They haven't been seen since."  
7 hours. Lord knows what Discord did to her. Dash's mind ran scenario after scenario of what Discord would've happened to Eris. Her heart sank low when she reached the last one. "I have to save her." Dash tried to get up again but pain shot though her yet again. Shadow comforted her as the doctor, who just overheard it, walked in.  
"I'm afraid you're not going anywhere." he said. Dash looked at him with somber eyes. "in fact, in a few months, you won't be able to go anywhere."  
"wa-" she sat up with Shadow's help. "what are you talking about?"  
The doc used his magic to pull up a chart. "well… I'm afraid you have Ponius Medurus." both Dash and Shadow raised a eyebrow in confusion. That sounds made up. "I know it sounds made up; the pony who named it wasn't… all there when he discovered it. We just call it Pony Decease."  
"Pony Decease?"  
"it's a rare decease that attacks the body from the inside, slowly and painfully shutting down all organs until the host… well, dies." Dash's heart sank even further. She can't be sick. Not with Eris gone.  
Shadow can't believe it either. He doesn't want Dash to die. They were just going out. "is there any cure?"  
The doctor shook his head 'no'. "I'm afraid not. It's incurable and..." the doctor's voice droned out as a stunned Dash just sat there. she couldn't believe it. These past 6 months have been a nightmare. First her mom days, then her brother dies, then some stern social worked wants to take Eris and Scoots away, then Eris gets taken away by a vengeful spirit. Now, to top it off, she has a incurable decease that's going to kill her. When did her life become the universe's punching bag? "…usually, it's genetic. Was there anyone in your family who contracted it?"  
She didn't know anyone else in her family. She just found out she had a brother with Soarin' and… "my mom…" she distantly said. "that's what killed her. My mom had it and she didn't tell me."  
"I see." the doctor walked to the door. "I wish I could do more to help." he knew what her next question was. "you have 2 weeks, at best. The virus progressed quite a ways. It progresses quickly though physical activity." he walked out, leaving both them behind.  
Dash broke down and cried as hard as she could. Shadow grabbed her and comforted her. She couldn't believe that she was going out like this. Why was this happening to her?

"you think Rainbow Dash is going to be okay?" Fluttershy asked Marble as they walked to the ship.  
"I sure hope so." Marble replied, looking back at the hospital. "She's gone though so much these past few months; all of it bad. You'd think that just once she'd have some good things happen in these past few months. Even I didn't have this many horrible things happen to me."  
Fluttershy looked to the hospital and got a sad look. Why is Dash suffering this much? Who decided she was to be a magnet for heartbreak?  
(unfortunately, that's me. She was just chosen out of the blue. Hell, all of this stuff comes out of the blue.)

Cadence stretched as she was finally able to leave the hospital. Armor walked out with Glade in a stroller being pushed by him. "Finally. I'm able to leave. Can't wait to lose all this baby weight." she groaned as she stretched. She looked back to Glade and smiled. She walked over and kissed him on the forehead. "This is your first time out in the world."  
"it took 11 months, 2 invasions, a amazing wedding, and one GREAT night…" Armor joked. Cadence playfully shoved him when he said that 'great night' part. "but in all seriousness, we did make a cute baby. Though he's not nearly as cute as his mother."  
"Aw. Armor." she cuddled up next to him and he hugged back. "hmhm. You know you're not gonna be touching me for a long while, right?" Armor looked at the camera with a confused and defeated look. "I just went though a whole lot of pain. You're gonna on embargo for a LONG while; least till Glade is 4."  
"Aw, man." Suddenly, a pony ran by them as fast as she could and up towards the mountain. Something about her felt familiar to both of them.  
"Dash!" Shadow ran out but realized it was pointless and stopped not 20 feet away from them. "Dash…" he sighed and kicked a rock into a trash can.  
"Shadow?" Cadence walked over to him. He noticed her and sighed. "What's wrong?"  
"It… it's Dash. She's feeling heartbroken on losing Eris to Discord."  
"I don't blame her." Cadence said in a mean monotone, remembering what Chrysalis did to her back at her own wedding.  
"but… that's not the half of it."

"Dash… just found out she has a incurable decease. She's gonna die in 2 weeks." Cadence gasped in sadness at that. Armor felt bad. Even Glade, who was only a week old, cried at the story.  
"are you sure it's incurable?" Armor asked.  
"unless your wife or any other Alicorn can cure… what did he call it, Pony Decease? No." Shadow sighed as he sat down. "when did her life start turning into a soap opera? When did it start to fall apart?"  
Armor and Cadence looked at each other, not sure what to say. They weren't even with Dash when it started to turn into a Lifetime movie.

Celestia looked out of the window of her room to the sky and sighed. So much chaos and heartbreak has happened in these past 2 days. But, one big thought on her mind is Eris. Why would Discord abduct her? She didn't have use over her powers; Dash made sure of that. Unless, of course, that was all for naught and Discord got rid of whatever Dash had in place.  
A loud commotion from the courtyard got her attention. Orion and it's crew were down there, along with the pony natives and one unexpected story.

"SHE'S DYING!?" everyone exclaimed, having just heard Shadow explain what happened. Scoots took the news the hardest.  
"unfortunately, yeah." Shadow lamentably said. "it's incurable and it's going to kill her in 2 weeks."  
"well, why not have the princess' cure it?" Fluttershy asked.  
"It's incurable, 'Shy." Lina said with a groaning sigh. "If it's still called that, I don't think the princess' can cure it."  
"well, we're from off-world so we may have a spell that can cure it." Req suggested. "of course, I can't make any guarantees."  
Scoots didn't want to believe this. She sadly looked up at the mountain.

A long serpentine figure watched the mountain top from high in the air. It snickered and disappeared in a flash of light.

In a corner of the top of the mountain, far enough so anybody hiking won't find her, Dash curled in a corner and cried. She lost her daughter, she's gonna lose another, she's gonna die. Why is her life turning out like this?  
"Dash!"  
Scootaloo's voice echoed though the mountain, grabbing her attention. "Dash!" Dash got up and wiped her eyes. "I-in here." she tearfully said.  
Scootaloo poked her head down from above the corner and found her. "there you are." Scoots jumped down and hugged her. Immediately, she started crying. "Why? Why didn't you tell me you were dying?"  
Dash gasped in fear. Shadow must've told her… must've told everyone. "I… I didn't know until now. But… I think it's what killed my mom. The doc said it was genetic."  
"Dash… we could help you.. The princess' could try to heal you. Req and the others could've tried their spells on you. You could've tried anything to deal with this instead of coming up here." she tearfully looked up at her. "do I mean nothing to you, Dash? We're all we have for each other. We both lost our parents and our brother. We need to help each other."  
Dash looked away, not wanting to look Scoot's directly. She knew, in her heart, she was right but… after all that's happened, she's wondering if she should listen to it.  
"I knew you were a irresponsible parent but this is a new low." they both looked to see Manni walk up to them. Naturally, she arrived having not heard anything. "taking a Pegasus incapable of flight up onto the top of a tall mountain where one wrong move can kill her. Tsk tsk tsk. That's low."  
"Go away, Manni. I had enough happen to me today."  
"hmm… I saw. Just think, if you were a better parent, then your child wouldn't have been kidnapped."  
"SHUT UP!" Scootaloo yelled. "it's your fault Discord is out in the first place! If you didn't try to take us, then he wouldn't have been released!"  
Manni, like before, ignored her. She's so stubborn, she doesn't listen to children. You'd think she would, since she works in child services. "come now, child. I'll take you to a better family."  
"are you deaf or something?" Dash asked, walking over. "She said no! now, if your THICK skull can absorb that, go away and leave us alone!"  
"no. you're a irresponsible parent and your children must be taken to a much better family." Good grief, she's worse then Frank Burns from M*A*S*H. and he's as evil as they come. Dash picked up a rock and tossed it to her. It hit Manni in the head. She held where it hit and snarled. "You did not just do that."  
"So? Like you said, I'm a 'irresponsible parent'." Dash turned back to Scoots, leaving Manni to get angry. "bitch." that broke whatever seal Manni had on her anger as she attacked Dash, pinning her into the ground. "Get off me!" Dash kicked her off, making Manni brush right by Scoots. Scoots backed up, slipping a hoof over the side. She flapped her wings to regain her balance; and she would've too, if she wasn't pulled at her tail by a hand.  
The filly screamed as she fell over the side and towards the city. "SCOOTALOO!" Dash ran and jumped over the side after her. Manni ran to the edge and watched them fall. "oh, no…" she gasped. She ran down the mountain the way she ran up.

"Help!" Scoots yelled as she fell. Oh, she so wishes she could fly right now. Dash fell after her and tried to flap her wings when she felt pain in her left one. She forgot that that one was broken.  
"Scoots!" Dash called out. She reached out and was able to grab her. They looked to the ground, which was quickly getting closer. "never imagined we'd go out like this." she said. Scoots chuckled softly then began to laugh. "not something to be laughing about."  
"I was just thinking back to a few months ago. You jumped to kill yourself and I jumped after you to snap you out of it. It was thanks to that we met Eris."  
Dash had forgotten all about her suicide attempt. If she didn't try to kill herself, she would never have found Eris. And it was after that when… Wait. That's it. Her life started spiraling out of control when she jumped to kill herself. And now, she jumped to save Scootaloo. Maybe now, her life might flow normally now. For at least 15 seconds. They held each other close and waited for the end.  
Suddenly, they felt a pull and stopped falling. They slowly opened their eyes to see themselves in a magic cage cast by Armor. He slowly set them on the ground. Both Pegasi took a breath of relief before falling back.  
Shadow suddenly ran up and hugged Dash. Dash blushed in embarrassment for a moment before he let go and smiled at her.  
"What happened?" Armor asked. Sora and Luna ran up. "we saw you fall. what did you two do up there?"  
Celestia arrived just as the bitch Manni herself arrived. "ask her!" both Scoots and Dash angrily looked Manni. "she suddenly attacked us on top of the mountain while trying to take Scootaloo. Again."  
Celestia angrily looked at the social worker. "is this true?"  
Manni gulped. Celestia was talking to her and she's angry. "un… well… being the irresponsible mother that she is by letter her climb all the way up there, I tried to convince Dash to let Scootaloo go so I could take her into custody. That didn't go over well."  
"good grief, she's worse then Frank from MASH." Sora sighed, tapping her forehead.  
"and instead, you put her in danger by knocking her off the mountain." Celestia continued.  
"I didn't knock her off the mountain. She was pulled off."  
"now that's a lie." Dash angrily said.  
"actually… she's right." Scootaloo said, not wanting to take the bitch's side on this one. "Something did pull at my tail."  
"Well, who…" Shadow stopped and looked up. those there looked up at the mountain to see a serpentine figure disappear. "Discord?"  
"it can't be." Celestia said. "he would never resort to killing."  
"he's out for revenge." Armor said. "And we saw that he's not holding back not long ago."  
Celestia didn't want to agree with him but the evidence shows that Discord isn't pulling any punches now. But, she had more immediate concerns to deal with. "that still leaves the fact that you attacked Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo on top of the mountain, knowing full well what would happen."  
"I was just doing my job."  
"your job?" Dash angrily repeated. "if you were doing your job, you would listen to Scoots. She doesn't want to go with you! She wants to stay with me… even if it is going to be for 2 weeks."  
That's when Celestia came up with a good idea. "you know… I heard that there is a adoption agency down in Manehatten. You could ask them to give you full custody of Scootaloo." Scoots happily took a deep breath and Dash smiled. Why didn't anyone tell her sooner?  
"you can't do that." Manni exclaimed.  
"can and did." Luna said, handing Dash a scroll. "just give this to whoever's in charge and let them take care of the rest."  
Dash happily took it. Maybe when she gets Eris back, they'll be able to do the same for her. Manni snarled and angrily walked off.  
"just what is her problem?" Sora asked.  
"who knows?" Dash sighed. "maybe she's just really in love with her job." she looked at the scroll and snickered. She hugged Scootaloo and spun her around. Things are finally looking up for her.  
Celestia was happy for her but couldn't help but think about that figure they saw for a split-second. It could've been Discord, but he's not one to kill. He likes to have fun at others expense as long as he could. Something was terribly wrong. She felt it in her gut.


	98. Scion of Chaos

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Discordian Troubles

Chapter 4

Scion of Chaos

Discord took a step back and took a look at his finished work. "this'll put them down emotionally." he snapped his fingers and summoned up a lit cigar. He took it and took a puff. "now… you remember what you need to do?"  
"yes…"  
"good. Now go. And remember…" he kicked the cage down over the side of the mesa and snickered. "have fun."  
"you don't need to tell me twice." the person he talked to disappeared in a flash of white light.  
With a evil snicker, Discord summoned up a couch and got comfy. "this is going to be good." he took another puff and exhaled a heart-shaped smoke. With a snort out of his nose, he shot a smoke sword though it, cutting it in half.

"you said the Badlands, right?" Satoshi asked Celestia, who was staying behind with the other Alicorn's, as well as Armor and Chrysalis.  
"indeed." Celestia replied. "And like Marble said, you may need to stop at Manehatten to get a guide though it. A dragon native to that area would be a good place to start."  
"gotcha."  
Satoshi got behind the wheel and got to work getting the ship ready to fly. During that time, Celestia turned her attention to Dash, who had Scoots in a choke-hold. Finally having a good opportunity to adopt Scootaloo gave Dash a much needed boost of confidence. She's going to live these last 2 weeks of her life to the fullest. "Rainbow Dash?" she and Scoots looked to the princess. "I'm… sorry for not being able to cure your decease."  
"I know, princess. But I think I have a idea on how to get rid of it."  
"how?" Jax asked.  
"Discord."  
"Discord?" the ponies asked with confusion.  
"yep yep. He has power over chaos and he uses it for bad. Who says he can't use it for good and get rid of this?"  
Twilight and Celestia looked at each other with not so confident expressions. "are you sure? Why would he help?"  
Dash was hoping she would ask that and pulled out a little script. "I prepared a little play I'm going to put on for him. In short, what will happen without me to mess with. Who else will fall for his tricks of disloyalty?"  
Spike was going to comment on that, saying it was a crummy plan, until he actually took it into effect. "you know… that's not a bad idea. Yeah, he enjoyed messing with you. Don't think he'll want you to expire before he had his fill."  
Dash pointed to A.J. with open arms. "told you. Told you. Plus, I have Eris. She can probably get rid of it."  
"one can hope." Cynder sighed.

Begin Song: watch?v=W-ITtmkDoD8 Dola and the Pirates - Castle in the Sky Soundtrack.

0:00.  
Satoshi flipped a switch, causing the blades to lightly spin. "Okay. If we're all ready, then lets…"  
"Wait!" Applebloom yelled as she and the rest of the CMC, complete with knapsacks, ran up to the ship. They quickly ran up the ramp before Satoshi pulled it back. "We're coming too!"  
"Fat chance!" Applejack exclaimed. "we're heading into dangerous territory! There's no way we're bringing you along!"  
"you're taking Scootaloo." Sweetie Belle pointed out.  
"as far as Manehatten." Rarity added. "we're stopping there for a few days to find a guide though the Badlands!"  
"And so Dash can adopt Scootaloo." Pipsqueak and Feather Weight said.  
"Come on. What's the worst that could happen?" a fully healed Dinky asked.  
Their sisters looked at each other and sighed in defeat. "Fine." Derpy said. "But only as far as Manehatten. Deal?"  
"Deal!" the 5 said in excitement.  
"you know, this is a good opportunity for me to introduce you to your cousin Babs Seed. She lives in Manehatten." A.J. added.  
"And so does Diamond!" Pinkie exclaimed in her usual way, bouncing up and down.

0:30.  
"All right!" Satoshi exclaimed, cracking his fingers. "Let's take to the sky!" he grabbed and pulled a lever.

The propellers on Orion's masts started up, gradually gaining enough speed and thrust to lift the modified Man-O-War off the ground.

Satoshi grabbed the thrust lever and smiled. He hasn't done this in a long while, not since they crash-landed on Equestria. He took a deep breath and confidently looked to the sky.  
"Next Stop: Manehatten!"

The ship lifted off the ground, kicking up a lot of snow and wind.

The ponies leaving waved back to those who weren't, who also waved back.  
Celestia felt uneasy. Mostly because she's still trying to figure out who would try to kill Scootaloo. Discord couldn't be the culprit. Killing isn't his usual M.O. is there someone else who they're dealing with? someone worse?

Orion took to the air and flew off into the sky  
Everyone in Canterlot, Cloudsdale, and Ponyville watched as the ship sailed across the sky.

1:08.  
The ship burst though the clouds and up high into the air. It leveled and sailed along the clouds like a actual ship on the water.

"Wow…!" Scootaloo exclaimed as she and her friends looked out at the sky's expanse. "this is so cool. Is this what you see all the time, Dash?"  
"every day." she said as she joined her.  
A flock of birds flew by. One squawked in surprise to see something that massive up there.

1:25.  
"This ship is incredible!" Shadow gasped. "it must've taken you forever to build."  
"Not really." Satoshi said. "just a lot of help from my friends and a already wrecked Man-O-War ship. A little spit, grit, and elbow grease and we turned a wreck into this baby." Satoshi chuckled as he leaned forward. "ironically, almost every world we visit has us crash-landing. Of course…" Satoshi looked to the camera. "those are only the worlds based off of shows and games and such." Shadow looked in the same direction Satoshi did, trying to see what he was looking at.

Aura climbed on down to the second deck, which houses the ships cannons, and made sure they were in place. "how do they make ammo by themselves?" he tried to open one up and look inside, only to be met with a screen of Satoshi saying over and over, "nuh-uh-uh. Nuh-uh-uh."  
"Dammit, Satoshi. I'm just curious." he tried to open it again, only to have a rocking barrel grab his attention.

A roar came from below. The Silver Dragon Helios flew up from the clouds and alongside them.  
"Helios! Sorry. Forgot to ask you to come." Applebloom said with a slight nervous chuckle. The dragon landed, causing a outlash from the pilot.  
"No! No!" Satoshi exclaimed. "I'm not letting him on my ship. I just had the thing repainted. And I don't want the ship to stink of dragon dung." Bahamut, Spike, Cynder, and Spyro gave him mean glares.  
"Satoshi…"  
The pilot groaned as he lowered his head in defeat. "Fine. But he's your responsibility. You clean up after him."

"is anyone here a good cook?" Gourry asked, picking his teeth. "cause I'm starving."  
"Me too." Lina groaned.  
"oh, no. we're putting you on diets!" Req said with the authority of a mother.  
"What!?" they both exclaimed in surprise and fear.  
"you heard me! We're cutting back on what you eat!" Gourry and Lina looked at each other like their grandmother had died and wailed just the same. "cry all you want; you're still not going to get anything extra for dinner."

A unidentified pony hit the deck, quickly becoming recognized by Dash. "Manni!?"  
"well… I didn't expect that." she said in a dignified manner as she got up.  
"What are you doing here?" Dash angrily exclaimed. "I thought Celestia told you to back off."  
"And I take the safety of children seriously. In fact, I could take all this kids away just for being here."  
"Is she being serious?" a angry Derpy muttered to Halo.  
"I sure hope not."  
"but… thankfully for you… I'm just here to observe and take notes." Manni said, pulling out a pen and paper.  
"take notes?"  
"To prove that Dash is the worst parent around."  
Dash groaned and hit her head on the railing. She's never going to give up. "good luck, cause with this…" she held up the scroll from Celestia. "… it won't matter either way what you think." Manni growled inside her mouth. Scootaloo and Dash high-hoofed, each one snickering.

2:13. End Song.

"there it is." Shadow said, looking over the edge of the ship. What he said caught Dash's attention. She walked over and looked down with him. "Maredrid."

The ship lowered though the clouds, giving everyone a glimpse of what was once the city of Maredrid. Nothing was left of the coastal city but a crater and the few houses on the outskirts that survived.

"it's… nothing but a hole in the ground." Shadow said with a falter in his voice. His hometown, reduced to a memory. Dash nuzzled up next to him to help him feel better. "I'm okay, Dash. I just can't believe it."

The ship flew low, flying inside the crater's rim.

"when the Winter War ended, they counted up anyone missing from all the attacks. My… mom was listed among them. She wasn't able to board the train in time."  
"Shadow… I'm so sorry…" Dash said, knowing full well what he went though. She looked down into the crater and thought for a second. "Satoshi. Think we can land for a moment?"  
"Land? Why?"  
"so we can pay our respects to those from Maredrid who didn't evacuate in time." Shadow looked at her with a confused but thankful and sincere expression.  
"if you want. You're the one on the time limit." Satoshi turned the wheel.

Orion descended from the air and touched down near the center of the crater.

The ponies stood in silence as they paid their respects to those fallen during the Winter War. Shadow placed a single tulip in the center, in respect to his mother. The humans, not being native to this world, felt uncomfortable; some more then others.  
Before long, the ponies finished. Shadow took longer then them but they didn't argue.  
Shadow took a deep breath and regained himself. "Okay. Let's go." he turned and left for the ship. The humans were already on their way back when he turned. He shouldn't be surprised by that. Dash rested her head on his shoulder, much to his pleasure and comfort.  
When no one was looking, a single hand reached down and grabbed the tulip. She had her back to the gang so they wouldn't react so big when she said this…  
"what a wasted sentiment."  
That sudden voice and what she said caught everyone by surprise. They looked back to see a Draconequus holding the tulip. The humans quickly drew their weapons as the ponies got into battle poses. "Discord!" Twilight snarled.  
Req took a gander at the figure and… something told her it wasn't Discord. Maybe it was the fact that it was the white hair, or maybe because the voice was female.  
"Put the flower down!" Shadow angrily said. The Draconequus ignored him and peeled away a petal.  
"Hey!" Dash exclaimed, getting it's full attention. "he said put it down!"  
The Draconequus chuckled with a smirk. "as you wish…" she turned around, showing herself to everyone. Everyone gasped when they saw who it was. Dash's heart broke and fell when she saw who it was.

Begin Song: watch?v=EbcnWWpqFrM Key of Darkness - Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep OST

"Mother." Eris said as she finished turning around. She crushed the tulip and tossed it aside.  
"Eris?" the CMC asked in unison.  
The more mature Eris, late teens if you will, looked at her former friends and chuckled. "well… my former best friends." she snapped her fingers, summoned up giant fishes that fell right on top of them.  
"…Eris…" a stunned Dash gasped. "what… what did Discord do to you?"  
Eris hovered up into the air and got comfy. "oh, nothing much. Except open my eyes to the truth."  
"t-truth?"  
"Yes. That you killed my parents and took me for your own."  
"What?" Scootaloo exclaimed. "That's crazy! Dash never did that. I should know; I was there."  
Eris scoffed at Scootaloo's 'lies'. "Papa Discord told me you might try something like that, 'Sis'. he told me that you would lie in order to get your way. We both think that could be your 'special talent.' lord knows falling to your death via mountain isn't."  
"Falling to death…" Scoots pieced it together. "you were the one who pulled me off."  
"Bingo. Tell her what she won." Eris joked as meanly as she could. "Papa Discord wouldn't condone it but I'm my own girl. Papa Discord has no hold over me."  
Papa… Discord? Did they hear that right? "Eris… whatever Discord did to you, we can fix it." Req said.  
"but I don't want it fixed. I like it like this. I find the powers of chaos to be quite soothing. And plus, it's good that I balance out Papa Discord." she snapped her fingers and summoned a Dark Nut straight from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. "if he's the fun side of Chaos, then I'm the Destructive side."  
She got comfy and snapped her fingers again with a scary grin. "It's time for some Chaos."

End Song.

Picture of said Darknut: . /_cb20091012221318/zelda/images/c/c6/Darknut_(Twilight_Princess).png

Begin Song: watch?v=Z2Sdk8OtwUI Boss Fight 2 - Kid Icarus Uprising OST

The Dark Nut's eyes glowed red. It reached back and pulled a sword out of a scabbard.

"where did…" Satoshi looked from it to the ship. He then face-palmed. "Agh. Discord. He must've snuck on board and copied everything we have."  
"Which means we can probably expect more like him?" Lloyd asked as he drew his blades.  
"worse."

The Dark Nut yelled and charged at them. It pointed it's sword and thrust forward at them. Emil jumped to the side and slashed his sword at it. It just bounced off the armor, making him wiggle a bit. "w-w-w-what kind o-of a-a-armor is t-t-that?"  
"indestructible armor." Aura said. The Dark Nut charged at him and swung it's sword down. Aura blocked it between the prongs of his lance and, with some clever workings, was able to rip it away.  
The knight hit Aura in the face with it's shield, ran over, and picked up it's massive blade.  
"Electric Graze!" Lina and Jax yelled. Tiny bolts of lightning, each the size of needles, shot out of their hands, hitting the armor, electrocuting the knight from the inside. It won't kill it but it will buy them time.  
"Go for the back of the armor!" Ash yelled out. "in the games, their weak point is always the back."  
Riku and Fox looked at each other and nodded. They readied their weapons and charged at it. The Dark Nut was able to gain some motor skills too little, too late. Fox jumped over it's head, positioned his staff just under the helmet, and pulled it off as he jumped over. Riku slashed up at the back of the armor, breaking the rope that held it together.  
The knights armor fell apart, exposing it's true self. Spyro, Cynder, and Bahamut flew together and spun around in a triple-helix, each covered in fire of a different color. They slammed into the knight and went though it. The fire engulfed the knight, killing it as it silently fell.

End Song.

"Yeah!" Sora and Zel high-fived.  
"shortest fight we ever had." Req said, having kept a tally on their fights.  
Dash didn't feel like cheering. She turned to talk to Eris again, only to find that she had disappeared. "Eris…" she depressingly said. She held her heart as soft tears fell. "Discord's telling you lies, Eris. I always loved you."


	99. Night on the Orion

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Discordian Troubles

Chapter 5

Night on the Orion

Discord sat in a beach chair at a coastal city. With some manipulation, he made it so that nobody knew he was there. Until it was too late, that is.  
"oh, what fun Chaos can I do here in Cololulu?" he said with glee. He snapped his fingers and summoned a checklist. "hmm… I can put Pineapples under chairs… turn the local Manta Rays into social gentlemen… oh, I know. I can make the palm trees grow as high as the atmosphere with ponies already on them. OH, I can be so geniusy."  
"that's not even a real word." Eris said, appearing over Discord and hanging upside down.  
"I'm the spirit of chaos and disorder. I can turn that into a word if I want."  
Eris rolled her eyes. She grabbed the invisible pole she was hanging on and swung off, landing in a professional stance. "10 points."  
"so how did everything go?" Discord asked, referring to Eris' little 'reunion' with everyone back in Maredrid.  
"Fine. Fine." Eris grabbed a pineapple and bit off the thorns and ate them. "Rainbow Dash was shocked to her core so I think I did all right. Surprised everyone well when I summoned that knight from that… euh…. Zelda game. Boy, they are going to be surprised when they see what else we have in stock for them."  
"Don't I." Discord snapped his fingers, summoning a checklist of what beasties and baddies they are going to use. He crossed off Eris' Dark Nut. He wasn't that powerful to begin with but it must've done some good if it shocked everyone.  
"Get this. They're going to the Badlands to rescue me and take you out."  
Discord laughed at the notion. "oh, now that is hilarious. And here you are, bad as me."  
Eris pretended to blush. "thank you, Papa Discord."  
"oh, they are going to be in for a rude awakening when they don't find us there." Discord laughed. Eris turned to leave to spread more chaos. "wait wait wait, Eris dear. What good changes do you see for Cololulu?"  
Eris thought for a moment then snickered evilly.

A eagle screeched as it flew down to the flying Orion. The bulking ship droned on though the night sky, making it's way to Manehatten, which was just 8 hours away.

In the ship's kitchen, Req and Sora were hard at work making dinner. Since half of the people on board were vegetarians, they had to keep them in mine. Luckily, all the carnivores are able to put up with a all vegetarian dinner, if it was that.

Satoshi lead the ponies though the ship, giving them a tour of the vessel. He didn't give a tour to their other world friends because they already got the tour on their respective worlds.  
"…and this is Req's and Aura's room." he said, showing the ponies their room. It was super-duper fancy; fit for a goddess, though Req really didn't want it. She wasn't into fancy rooms and all that. Hell, she lived in a attic back home in Teria by her own choice.  
Sora and Jax, being sisters, shared a room they put together to be FOR girls and girls only. The mere sight of it made Rarity faint out of jealousy.  
Ash's and Satoshi's room isn't… as nice as the other rooms. It is typical where it's like most boys rooms; Meeeeeesy.  
Bahamut's room, which is the smallest out of them, wasn't as messy but it was… eh… draconic in nature. He also has a small corner dedicated to his girlfriend Sapphyre. Cynder and Spyro shouldn't be surprised; when they first met, he was so lovestruck, his heart was trying to burst out of his chest.

The Captain's Cabin, which is located where captain cabins usually are, was nothing fancy. It just looked like what you would expect from cabins on ships like a Man-O-War. It has a desk for the captain, a large table for papers and maps, and a few knickknacks that the gang had collected over the years, most prominent are the group shots from each world they visited. First was the group shot from their home world Earth, with the Archangels Gabriëlle, Uriel, and Krouze, the former captain of the Orion Captain Bauer, the mercenary from Andromeda Merrifield, and Aura's sister Jessica and her newborn son Adolf.  
After that, the pictures descended from what world they've visited. From Star Fox to Tales of Symphonia then Kingdom Hearts, then How To Train Your Dragon, Legend of Spyro, and The Slayers. Each one had a group shot of them with their new friends from that world. Only one missing is this world.  
Between the desk and the table is a staircase that leads to the other rooms mentioned before down on deck 3. At the end of that surprisingly large hallway is another staircase, leading down to the cargo hold.

"wow." Pipsqueak gasped. "This ship is surprisingly big!"  
"Yep." Satoshi said with a smile. "it's one of those things that's bigger on the inside then it is on the outside. Surely there must be some here on Equestria."  
"there is." Spike said. "and please don't call me Surly."  
Aura and Ash groaned at his comment. It made them hurt inside that he ripped on Airplane! It wasn't even that good to begin with.  
"Dinners Ready!" Sora called out.  
As if they haven't ate in forever, Lina and Gourry ran over everyone and up to the kitchen, much to everyone's surprise. Amelia and Zelgadis sighed in embarrassment. "They have bottomless pits for stomachs."

Eris and Discord laughed as they looked down on the flooded Cololulu. The entire city was underwater, with it's residents up on rooftops, waiting to it to recede.  
"oh, that is a good one." Discord laughed. He wiped away a tear and sighed with content.  
Eris, however, didn't get her fill. She snapped her fingers with a wicked sneer. Even Discord is wondering what she's up too.  
A large fin slowly emerged from the water, heading for the city. The residents spotted it and shook in fear. A MASSIVE shark burst out of the sea and chomped down on the city, swallowing it and it's residents whole.  
Eris laughed with glee at the sight and clapped like a little girl. "Oh, now that was funny."  
Discord, however, was completely surprised and horrified by what he saw. Even he's not that sadistic to find something like this funny. Eris snickered before disappearing. "This… could be a problem…" he muttered before disappearing as well.

Lina's and Gourry's eyes gleamed as they looked at the spread of meat and veggies before them. "Let's dig in!" the fillies exclaimed with Forks and Knifes in han… hoof.  
Req gulped out of fear. She knew those two had a BIG appetite "just remember that there's…" Lina and Gourry dove right in and took most of the food for themselves and gorged themselves. The Fillies dug into their food. "other… people… here…" Req sighed and lowered her head in defeat. Aura patted her on the back.  
Before the pigs could get at the rest of the food, everyone took what they could and also began to eat.  
"Oh, my god. I forgot how good you two can cook. You're basically goddess' of the kitchen." Ash said with a full mouth. Sora and Requiem smiled at the compliment.  
"Really?" Spike asked. He looked at his corn on the cob and took a bite. The explosion of tastes hit him, making him pound his palm into the table in the captains cabin. "oh, lordie lordie. This is good stuff." he said in a 'Urkel-Esq.' tone. "there's good, then there's great." it didn't take long for the ponies to agree. This stuff was better then what they have back home.  
Jax took a big gulp when she remembered something. "hey. Weren't we in the middle of a marathon before we crash-landed?"  
"oh, that's right." Satoshi put down his cutlery and ran as fast as he could downstairs to the cargo bay.  
"where's he going?" Trixie asked, looking down the stairs with Gilda from the table.  
"To get what we were watching before we were forced to crash-land on Equestria." Bahamut said before taking a drink.  
Satoshi quickly returned with a box collection of a old 90's show. Edge was able to catch a glimpse of the title and found it confusing. "Power Rangers Zordon Era complete collection?"  
"what?" Req asked with a shrug. Satoshi walked over to a DVD player, opened it, put the last disc in, and closed it up. "it's a good show…" she grabbed her cup. "if you can get past the campiness." Twilight and Halo raised their eyebrows with discontent. "hey, we don't complain about what you watch."  
Satoshi pulled down a screen and grabbed a remote before sitting back on his chair. "we were on episode…. 'Line in the Sand' of In Space, right?"  
"I think so." Aura said before he slurped in a alfredo noodle. Satoshi pressed play on the remote…

Begin Intro: watch?v=B8RmUkInp_A

…and the intro to Power Rangers: In Space began playing.  
"you do this every night?" Pinkie asked.  
"yep. We have a crapton of movies and shows down there." Ash said. "we aren't even 1/3 though them all."  
Marble and Applebloom whistled. How big of a collection do they have?

A hour passed and the table was cleared of empty plates. Everyone stayed there, however, as Countdown to Destruction Part 1 ended. Plus, they could barely move with such full bellies.  
"that wasn't the last episode, was it?" Scootaloo asked.  
"nope. 1 more then this season is over." Req said. "After this, we should put in a new movie, Satoshi." Req said as she pressed the play button.  
"Yep." he took a sip though a straw of his milkshake. "think we have a copy of Transfomers G1."  
The episode began to play and everyone shut up. Shadow began to comfy up to Dash, only to find she wasn't there. He spotted the door closing.

Dash walked out onto the deck and looked around. The whole thing sure looked different at night. Helios was asleep at the bow of the ship, acting as the guard dog. Dash chuckled warmly and walked to the nearest railing.  
Most of the ship's mast propellers were off, except for 3 and the 2 large ones in the back, Giving the least amount of sound to break moments.  
Dash reached the railing and looked over the side. The ground was so far below and she was so high up. Higher then any Pegasi had flow.  
"Couldn't stay?" Shadow asked as he walked out to join her.  
Dash looked back and nodded. "yeah."  
He walked up to her and got close. "what's up?"  
"Well… I keep wondering why Eris would attack us and say that I lied to her. She didn't even have a family when I found her. Well, no family that I'm aware of. But… how could she claim I never loved her? I loved her as any mother would."  
Shadow had thought about that since they ran into her and already had the answer. "well… what do Teenagers do? They rebel. They become rambunctious and a teensy bit destructive. Although, I was surprised that Discord was able to speed up her growth. I didn't know he could do that."  
"I didn't know he could take a sweet and innocent girl and turn her into a sadistic monster." Dash took a deep breath and continued to look down at the ground below. She reached into her hair and pulled out a flower she had hidden away.  
"what is that? A white rose?" Shadow asked, taking notice.  
"yeah. She gave this to me the first day we met. It was my mom's favorite."  
"oh, that's right. You found out your mom died that same day."  
Dash nodded. "and I vowed that I would look after Eris the same way my mom showed me." Dash scoffed. "and look at how well that's turning out."

Begin Song: watch?v=rY07_dX3F88 Romantic Flight - How To Train Your Dragon soundtrack

"Hey hey hey." he gently pulled her over. "this is Discord's fault. Not yours. And from what I saw when we reunited back in Maredrid, you were already a good mother. I'm sure whatever foal we have together, or Scootaloo when you adopt her, will be raised by the nicest mother in Equestria."  
Dash scoffed at that. "yeah, right. No, that title belongs to Derpy." Shadow softly chuckled and Dash nuzzled up next to him. "plus, how can we have a foal if I only have 2 weeks to live?"  
"then you better hope we get Eris back soon."  
"yeah." Dash sighed. "I hope."  
From behind Helios, Manni heard the whole thing. She slinked down back behind the dragon and pondered what she was doing. Is she doing the right thing for Scootaloo, her-

The door to the cabin opened and everyone flooded out. "What do you want us to see that's so important, Satoshi?" a annoyed Zilver asked.  
"you'll see." he said as he climbed up steps to the controls.  
"What's going on?" Dash asked.  
"Satoshi's got something he wants to show us. Won't tell us what, though." Derpy said. She noticed that those two were out by themselves before they all arrived. "what were you two doing out here, anyway?"  
"just having a talk, Derpy." Dash said. "no need to get all romantic."

Satoshi got the controls, flipped a switch, and turned the wheel to the left while pulling back on the left lever.

The ship slightly turned to the left and flew up into the clouds.  
It passed though a thick layer, causing everyone to cover their eyes from all that moisture.  
It slowly flew out of the top, allowing clouds to part by it.  
"Okay. You can look now." Satoshi said with slight glee. Everyone lowered their hands or hooves or whatever and looked at what could only be describe as something from a dream.

The ship sailed along the clouds to a endless display of stars and colors. The moon shone down on them, illuminating their way.

"WOW!" everyone exclaimed in awe.  
"this is… so romantic." Rarity said as the stars lighted up her eyes. The display lighted up every females eyes. The males in relationships took advantage of the situation and snuggled up to their special someone.  
This display made the single people in the group wish they had boyfriends or girlfriends.  
Satoshi sighed. "Times like this make me wish I had a boyfriend." (oh. Forgot to mention. Satoshi's gay.)

A Aurora Borealis appeared, adding more oohs and romantic feelings to the already mesmerized crowd.  
"Luna would've loved this." Trixie sighed.  
"Colette, too." Lloyd added.  
Dash looked up with wide eyes and hope in her heart. Hopefully, she'll be able to get Eris back. And if all falls to shit, she can always have Jax use Personality Shift on her and Discord and destroy the evil halves before they wake up. But, she hopes that would be a last resort. She yawned and rested her head on Shadow's shoulder. He didn't mind. He welcomed it, in fact. He had something he wanted to ask her.  
"Dash?"  
"hmm?"  
"I know that, given the situation, this probably isn't the best time to ask but, seeing as you might have only 2 weeks to live anyway…" he leaned into her ear and whispered. "…will you marry me?"  
A stunned Dash went wide-eyed for a moment. They watered and she wiped them away. She looked to him and softly replied 'yes' and softly nuzzled him.

The Orion flew on though the sky, slowly but surely making it's way to Manehatten.  
A lot is going to happen in that mountain border town. A great many things; most for the better.

End Song.


	100. Arrival at the Big Apple

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Discordian Troubles

Chapter 6

Arrival at the Big Apple

The sun shone down on the Orion, with only 4 out of it's 12 mast propellers working. The others weren't on because Satoshi made them to be 'beds' for the fliers of the group. Everyone else slept on the deck or in the cargo hold.

"So, how long till Manehatten?" Aura asked as he, Satoshi, and Marble sat on the railing.  
Marble looked over the side and spotted a few landmarks from his childhood. "not far. I recognize the land. We can't be less then 5 minutes out."  
"So any minute now." Satoshi concluded. He headed up to the controls.  
A very tired Applebloom walked out of the cabin and out onto the deck. "it was cramped down there." she yawned with a groan. "I could barely get any leg room."  
"it wasn't that better out of the deck, Applebloom." A.J. groaned. "Manehatten has better hotels then back home, though, and sleeping in the beds will be worth sleeping on hard floors."  
"you been to Manehatten before?" Marble asked, having not known this.  
"several times. I have cousins who run their own apple farm out here." A.J. returned her attention to her sis. "So this is a good time for you to meet your cousin Babs Seed."  
"Babs Seed?" Applebloom asked in confusion.  
"yeah. She's around your age. Stubborn as you and your friends too. And she's a prime candidate for you to induct into the Cutie Mark Crusaders." she said with a wink.  
"a blank flank?" Applebloom looked back at hers and at her dragon-head Cutie Mark and got a somber feeling. "that's cool, but…"  
"But what?"  
well… Scootaloo, Pipsqueak, and Dinky are the only ones without Cutie Marks now. And once they get theirs… we're gonna have to break up."  
Applejack and Marble looked at each other for a moment and were about to comment when Satoshi interrupted. "hey." he grabbed and pressed the button on a airhorn, creating a loud and obnoxious horn trying to wake the sleeping fliers up and off the propellers. It didn't work. "Guys!"  
"I got this." Bahamut said as he tossed a pebble up and down. He threw it as hard as he could and hit the highest one, Cynder, in the head, waking her up. The pebble fell down and hit every other flier in the head, waking them up. They all grumbled in anger and looked down. Satoshi pointed to Bahamut and stepped away. "didn't see that coming." the dragon said nervously as he chuckled in the same way. He yelled as he zoomed into the cabin with every Pegasi, Gryphon, Changeling and Dragon pursuing him.  
Those on deck looked to the cabin as the fliers beat the crap out of Bahamut. "Ow! OW! Hey! Wow, don't touch me there! Ouch! *whining* I WANT MY MOMMYheheY!"  
Satoshi rolled his eyes with a groan. He always had to ham it on.

The rest of the propellers turned on and spun as they normally do. The ship slightly turned to the right and headed down though the clouds.

The door to a house on a apple farm opened wide and a filly the age of the CMC walked on out.  
"where are you going, Babs?" her mother asked.  
"Just out for a walk, ma. Don't worry about it." Babs replied. she took a few steps when a shadow flew over the land. Both girls looked up and were surprised by what they saw.

Orion flew down out of the clouds and headed for the city of Manehatten. Buildings 5 stories tall littered the sky line with smaller buildings surrounding them. The mere sight of the ship made the inhabitants gasp in astonishment at it's massive size.

"we're supposed to find a guide here?" Emil said with slight fear, looking at the sheer size of the city. "this place is massive. It's bigger then Meltokio and Palmacosta combined." those not native to Symphonia looked at each other with confused looks.  
"well, we can always ask the mayor for help." Req suggested.  
"how about we find a place to land first." Gilda yawned.  
"that…" Halo started as he looked down. "…could be a problem. I don't see what would count as a landing pad."  
Satoshi snickered yet again. "you forget that this was once a real ship." he looked over the side and spotted a big enough river down there. He pressed a few buttons and turned the wheel.

The propellers in the back of the ship stopped spinning. The fan blades folded into the shaft and retracted into the ship. The propellers on the masts slowly stopped one row at a time, from the bottom to the top.  
The ship descended from the sky. It skimmed along the waters surface for a few feet before breaking the surface and slowly making it's way it.  
Everyone on the ship reacted to the sudden change from airborne to waterborne got to them.  
Orion slowed to a halt on the left side of the river. It halted not that far from the shoreline and lowered it's anchor.

The ship creaked as it swayed back and forth on the water. The ramp extended from the ship and down onto land.  
"you thought of everything for this ship, didn't you Satoshi?" Twilight asked as they all descended from the ship.  
"yep." he said with a smile. "so… where do we go from here?"  
"well…" Sora pulled out notes that their pilot had taken. "… we have to find a native to the Badlands who can guide us though it. Not sure why we can't just fly until we find Discord."  
"you clearly never been." Marble sighed. "there's a red fog that covers the sky all the time." he thought back to what movie the humans had that had a good example. "it's like Mars."  
"Oh!" the Earth humans exclaimed.  
"okay. We need a Badlands native; dragon, right?" Sora asked. Trixie nodded, remembering that Dragons originated from the Badlands. "that's the main quest. Was there any other side quests we need to do?" she asked like a RPG menu.  
"I'm gonna go take Applebloom and introduce her to her cousin Babs." A.J. said. "they're gonna need to stay when we head in into the Badlands."  
Pinkie grabbed Marble and spun him around. "I'm gonna go meet Marble's friends and family. I only met Diamond so I can't wait to meet everyone else!" she gleamed. Marble wasn't so enthusiastic and pulled out his sunglasses.  
"And I…" Dash pulled a happy Scootaloo onto her back. "… am gonna adopt this squirt."  
"I was hoping to go meet Babs." Scoots said, hoping that it wouldn't hurt Dash's feelings.  
"Go ahead." Dash pulled out the scroll she was given by Celestia. "this is all that's needed."  
"thanks." Scoots gave Dash a quick kiss on the cheek then jumped down to join her friends." Manni softly growled inside her mouth. There's no way she's going to let this happen.  
Req took her turn. "then how about this? Let's all split up and go do what we want or need to do then meet back at Orion at nightfall." everyone murmured among themselves and agreed. "Great. Besides, I think me, Gilda, and Trixie will be enough for to get a guide."  
"okay." everyone said before splitting up.

Eris slowly walked though the frozen over Crystal Empire. She felt happy covering the place in a blizzard.  
"yeeeeeah." she stretched and put her hands behind her head. "I am good." she walked by a shocked but frozen Crystal Pony and knocked on it. "nobody was expecting this." she chuckled evilly.  
She walked towards the crystal palace, about to take a seat at it's throne, when she spotted something… off about it. Someone walked out of the palace with a glowing horn.  
She softly snuck up to it and spotted a Black Unicorn leave the place with a shard of a crystal. "this will work." he sinisterly said before disappearing in a flash of dark smoke.  
Eris emerged from hiding and was, as I'm sure every reader is, confused. "who… was that…?" She muttered. "there was something off with him. Like he… has no heart." she shivered at the mere thought of him. "hope I don't have to deal with him." she said before disappearing in a flash of light.

Applejack led the fillies and colts to the Manehatten Apple farm. They were happy to finally meet a Blank Flank like them. Well, like Scoots, Pip, and Dinky. They were so happy, they felt like singing. And A.J. heard a rock balled begin playing from somewhere and tried to find it's origin.

All:  
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah.  
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah.  
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah. Yeah.

Sweetie Belle:  
oh, I can't wait to meet our new friend.  
To see what antics that she'll bring.

Scootaloo:  
I wonder if she'll be a farmer or a taster of treats.  
Oh, I can't wait to meet our new friend from the far east.

Applebloom:  
one can only wonder what a girl like Babs will bring.  
For we Cutie Mark Crusaders are always anxious to meet new friends.

Dinky:  
all I hope for is that she is nice and ready for a loon.  
I hope that she's a whole lot better then Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.

All:  
Babs Seed, Babs Seed.  
I hope she'll be a good friend.  
Babs Seed, Babs Seed.  
Hope she's better then that stupid Spoon or Tiar.

The music stopped before Pip and Feather Weight could get a word. The fillies laughed; even A.J. chuckled at that.  
"I hope she is better then Tiara or Spoon." Applebloom hoped. "we don't need another bully."  
"She's pretty nice." A.J. said. "but, due to her being bullied for her Blank Flank, she's a little bit shy so don't be surprised if she's… distant."  
"we know the feeling so we know what to expect." they all said.

Dash walked into the adoption agency in Manehatten. Shadow stayed outside, mostly to keep Manni from coming in. why was she so obsessed with keep Scootaloo from Rainbow Dash? That's something everyone is trying to figure out.  
She walked up to the counter and stood there. The receptionist took notice of her. "Can I help you?" she asked in a snooty accent.  
"yeah. Um, I want to speak to whoever's in charge. I'm looking to adopt someone."  
"First door on the right." she said, pointing down a hallway while blowing some bubblegum.  
Dash thanked her and headed down it. She reached door and knocked on it. "un… hello?"  
"Come in." a voice replied. Dash opened the door and walked in to see a Gryphon play some indoor golf. "give me a moment." he gripped his club soft but tight. He lightly hit the gold ball. It rolled but missed the coffee cup. "man. I can never get the 18th hole." he set the club down and took his seat behind his desk. "can I help you with something?"  
"yes. I wish to adopt a child…" she noticed the name plague and read it. "…Fredrick."  
"okay." he replied. A pregnant pause descended as Fred waited for a reply. "well? Is there any specific child or do you want the whole building?"  
"oh. Oh, sorry. Yes. A Ms. Scootaloo."  
Fred nodded and went to his file cabinets to get her name when he just realized… "un… we don't have a Scootaloo."  
Dash pulled out the scroll given to her by Celestia. "this will explain everything." Fred took it and unfurled it.  
He read it and, in a unexpected twist, got really angry. "What the hell is this?"  
"what?" Dash asked, not really sure why he's angry. Fred turned it around and gave it to Dash. She read it and couldn't believe what she was reading.  
'don't be fooled by this wretch. She's the worse mother in existence and will burn down your building and everyone in it if she doesn't get her way.'  
"WHAT!?" Dash exclaimed at the top of her lungs. There's no way Celestia would say something like that.  
"Security." He said into his intercom.  
Dash tried to make things clear. "no no no no no. wait wait wait wait wait. This is all a big mistake." security entered the office and grabbed her by the hooves. "I swear, she didn't mean to write this!"  
"Get her out of my sight."

Dash yelled as she was thrown out of the building. She landed in a puddle of mud face first right in front of Shadow and Manni. She pulled her face out and spit out mud.  
Shadow helped her up and wiped off her chest. "What happened?" Dash sadly and angrily showed him the fake letter. Shadow took it and read it. "What?"  
"Someone swapped that with Celestia's letter." Dash sniffled. "but… why would he do that?"  
"I don't know." Manni snidely said. "could've been misplaced." she bit into a apple and walked off with such a smug look. Shadow and Dash angrily looked at each other, already know what happened to the scroll Celestia gave them.

The Pegasi mayor of Manehatten sighed as he leaned forward on his desk. "so bored…" he moaned.  
His intercom rang and his secretaries voice came though. "Mr. Day. You have a couple of visitors here to see you."  
"Send them in." he replied with disinterest. He is in a really sour mode today. The door opened wide and 3 figures walked in. what surprised him was that one was a species he never saw before. That species got his curiosity. "who are you 3?"  
"I am Requiem Hikaru, Mr. Mayor. And this is Princess Gilda, heir of the Gryphon Kingdom, and Duchess Trixie Lulamoon, wife to Princess Luna. We come of behalf of Princess Celestia."  
"Celestia?" he asked. It's not often that Celestia sends someone to Manehatten. "what does she want?"  
"This will explain it." Trixie said as she used her magic to bring some notes to his attention.  
He grabbed them and quickly read them over. "Discord escaped?" he asked, not really surprised by it. That war a couple weeks ago would've been enough to for him to break loose. "and Celestia wants me to help you find a guide to the Badlands where he's hiding?"  
"yep. If Discord stays on the loose, there's no telling what will happen to the world." Gilda said. "Cats could marry dogs, houses could hang upside down. Mice will-"  
"I get the picture." the mayor sighed. "so… you need a guide?"  
"yes. Particularly someone native to the Badlands, like a dragon." Trixie suggested.  
Mr. Day thought about it. "hmm… we have a number of traders from there. In fact, one just arrived 2 hours before you did. He should be down in the markets. Un… I think his name is Garble. He's a Red Dragon who… to put it lightly, has got a bad attitude"  
"Garble. Okay." Req said as she wrote the name down. "Thanks for the info."  
"it's no problem. Is there anything else you need?"  
"not at the moment." Gilda said. "and again, thanks for the info, mr…"  
"Day. Golden Day."


	101. Manehatten

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Discordian Troubles

Chapter 7

Manehatten

With the directions from Golden Day, the goddess, the princess, and the duchess made their way though the crowded Manehatten markets to find their Badlands guide.  
"Let's see…" Req pulled out her notepad. "he said we're looking for a Red Dragon named Garble. But he didn't give us any other information. How are we supposed to find him?"  
"I'm sure we can think of something." Trixie said. "besides, how many dragons are named Garble?"  
"true."  
Their search was interrupted when Manni ran by, running as fast as she could with fear for her life. "GET BACK HERE!" Dash yelled as she ran after her.  
"Dash?" the trio said to themselves. Shadow panted heavily as he got to them. "Shadow, what's going on?"  
"*Pant. Pant. Pant.* Manni, she… she replaced Celestia's letter to the adoption agency with a fake, saying Dash is going to burn the place down if she doesn't get her way."  
"WHAT!" they yelled out. They looked in the direction Manni and Dash ran and snarled. "Hope on." Gilda said. Shadow reluctantly did just that. "we're going after them." she told Req and Trix. They nodded, knowing Manni has to pay for this. Gilda took to the air and went after them.  
Req said and placed her hands on her hip. "I never knew Manni would go this far. Just what is her obsession with Scootaloo, anyway?" she asked. She saw that Trixie was gone. "Trixie?" she looked around for a second and watched her enter a shop.

The bell to the shop ringed as Trixie walked though the door. The place was very oriental in appearance. The bell caught the attention of the owner. "ah. Greetings. And welcome to my shop. May I help you?"  
"just browsing for the moment." she replied.  
Req entered the shop and whistled at the collection. "wow. Quite a number." she muttered as she looked around. Antique clocks, old magic scrolls and books. What surprised her is there's a actual sword. "now that's weird." she grabbed it and pulled it out. "I thought ponies don't use swords."  
"Ah. That is a truly rare piece." the shopkeep said, noticing Req grabbed the blade. "someone sold it to me for quite a high price; said he found it while exploring in the Arctic North. Legends say it belonged to Zax, the Human God who helped create our world with the Alicorn Goddess Jeria long ago."  
"oh." Req gripped the handle tight and swung it. It was light and nimble and cool to the touch. "easy to swing." she spun it around. "might make a good back-up weapon. How much is it?"  
The shopkeep looked at the blade and thought up a price. "mmm…. 2000000 Bits."  
"$2 Million dollars?" Req whined and put the blade back. She doesn't have that much money. "that's a lot of money."  
"it's the only one in the world. Of course it would be worth a lot."  
During their little talk, Trixie walked around and saw a necklace dashed away somewhere in the back. "how much is this?"  
The shopkeep walked over and she pointed to the necklace. "Oh. That. You have good taste." he grabbed it and pulled it into view. It was black and red with a Alicorn design. "This is a Alicorn Amulet. There's 5 in existence and said that they're very powerful."  
"Alicorn Amulet…" Trixie muttered. That would make a perfect souvenir for Luna. "How much?"  
"around 5000 credits."  
Trixie bit her lips. Then, she remembered who she was married to. "if possible, can you make the bill out to Princess Luna?"  
He wasn't so sure he should do that. "that… doesn't sound like a good idea. For starters, she barely knows me and…"  
"tell her that her wife, Trixie Lulamoon, bought her a gift but is keeping it under wraps."  
"Wife?" he looked down at her hooves and saw the wedding band with royal markings. "Oh. Oh, my apologies. I-I heard that Princess Luna had taken on a wife, I just didn't know it was you."  
"You and everyone not from Canterlot or Ponyville." Req joked, looking though a book.  
"tell you what. Because I didn't know who you were and so you don't throw me in jail, how about I cut the price in half; 2500."  
This was one aspect of her marriage she didn't see coming but shouldn't expected. "okay. 2500." she used her magic to bring out a notepad to write down the castle's address as the shopkeep reached up and grabbed the amulet. "here you go." she said, handing him the note. "again, keep it a secret. Just tell her that Trixie has a surprise for her." she said with a wink.  
The shopkeep put it in a box and handed it to her. Trixie left, tossing a couple bits down for himself. Req continued looking at a book, not aware that Trixie had left… until she used her magic to pull the humans ear, making her hop out on one leg.

Manni ran as fast as she could down a street with Dash in hot pursuit. "GET BACK HERE!" she yelled. Manni stuck her tongue out and kept running. Shadow suddenly jumped down in front of her with his horn glowing. Manni screeched to a halt and ran down another road. "Shadow!" Dash yelled, about to put him down for getting in her way. Shadow stuck his hoof up and pointed down the road.  
Manni looked back and saw that they weren't in pursuit. She snickered and kept running… until Gilda fell from above and pinned her to the ground. "get off me!" Manni exclaimed.  
"not a chance." Gilda said in a scary tone. She took Manni's bags and looked though it, finding the real letter just as Dash and Shadow caught up. "Got it." she said, tossing it to the Pegasus.  
Dash caught it but didn't leave just yet. She had a few questions for Manni. "why are you doing this? Why are you so obsessed with getting Scootaloo and Eris away from me?" Manni kept silent. She was keeping her reasons to herself. "fine. Be that way."  
"Maybe we should tell Golden Day about her. Make sure she keeps away from us during out visit." Dash stiffened and her eyes widened when she heard that name. Gilda and Shadow noticed this. "Dash?"  
"What…. What did you say?"  
Shadow and Gilda looked at each other with confused expressions. "she said we should take Manni to this Golden Day person." Shadow repeated. Dash stood there with a clear stunned expression. He's here. He's actually here. "Dash?" without a word, Dash quickly took off, ignoring her injured wing. "Dash!" Gilda reacted with a yell and hit herself in the head. "What?"  
"I just remembered." she said in a worried groan. "Golden Day is Dash's dad."

"OOOOH!" Rarity exclaimed. "Spike, take a look at this!"  
The engaged and expectant couple were in the Manehatten maternity store, looking at clothes for their coming dragon/pony hybrid foal and for Rarity for the coming 10 months. She thinks to have found something perfect for the kid and got Spike's attention.  
"what is it?" he asked as he walked over.  
"What do you think of this for the baby?" she asked, holding up a sailor's uniform.  
Spike didn't know what to say. "it looks….. Unique." in Rarity's vocabulary, that means good. "but, um… wouldn't it be better to make the stuff? I mean, you are a fashion designer."  
"I had considered it, Spike, but I'm gonna have to work overtime to make enough clothes to sell in order to raise enough money. Who knows how hard or easy it'll be to raise a hybrid." Spike shrugged in agreement. She had a point there. "plus, and as much as I hate to admit it, there are some designers who are…" this part hurt her pride the most. "…better then me."  
Spike chuckled. "if you say so, Rare." he looked though the shop and found something that would be… nice for her. "hey, Rare. Think I found something that would look good on you."  
Curious, she turned around and saw him wearing a VERY thin see-thought negligee. "SPIKE! You honestly expect a dignified lady such as myself to wear something that… tasteless?"  
Spike had his counter-argument ready to go as soon as he turned into a teen in case this happened. "and you went after a dragon who just turned 14 both physically and mentally."  
"how much for the negligee?" Rarity asked as soon as Spike finished. Spike chuckled and walked over. At least he had one thing to use against her if and when they got into a fight.

Begin Song: watch?v=rICRIQPT54o The Fate of the Galaxy - Mass Effect 3 Soundtrack

A little filly dropped her teddy bear. She went to pick it up when a pair of feet walked past. She didn't see who the feet belonged to but she felt cold just being around her. She quickly grabbed her bear and ran off.

A lone human female, with a red cloak covering her body and no more then 12, slowly walked though the Ponyville markets, making her way to the store that Req and Trixie were at just a half hour ago. As she walked, she left a air of intimidation, frightening even the toughest of dragons and gryphons.

On a roof-top just over the markets, Orochi and Tsylatac watched as she made her way to the shop.  
"she's not going to have what it takes." Glacies said. "we shouldn't have let her go along to retrieve it."  
Tsylatac got off a chimney and landed on the shingles. "calm yourself, Glacies. She's more then capable of pulling this off. I'm sure of it."  
"you better hope so…" Lucis said as he took over. "…cause if we lose that thing, it's gonna set our plans back a ways."  
"Trust me, Lucis. She won't fail."

The door the shop opened, jingling the bell and getting the attention of the shopkeep. "hello there. Is there…" he saw the person and immediately though it was Requiem. "ah. Lady Requiem. With what do I own the pleasure of your return?"  
The unknown girl looked around the shop and found what she was looking for. "you have something of mine. And I want it." she asked in a cold tone.  
Something was wrong. That wasn't Requiem. Still, he never turned down paying customers. "of course. I'm sure we can think of a good price."  
"Price?" the girl chuckled and, with a flick of her right wrist, summoned a red scythe with a curved handle. "I wasn't asking for it."

0:51. End Song.

Marble stopped in his tracks as he stared at a sight he wasn't sure he'd see ever again.  
His old childhood neighborhood. It was exactly how he left it; a dump similar to any slums anywhere. "I never thought I'd see that ol' dump again." he said with a chuckle. It seemed like yesterday when that freak storm appeared and crippled his sister Diamond and destroying a number of rooftops. They never did figure out what it was, though.  
Pinkie walked up and nuzzled beside him. "you ready to meet your old friends?" she gently asked.  
Marble took a deep breath and sighed. "yeah." he went to take a step but stopped mid-way. He steeled himself and went forth.

Gentle humming came from a small flower garden just beside a basketball court, where a group of young stallions and mares were playing a game.  
Diamond Cake, Marble's younger and crippled sister, watered the flowers from her wheelchair. She set the jug down on her lap and rolled over to another part of the flower garden. She wasn't aware of the visitors coming to her.  
Marble was surprised to see Diamond watering flowers. She used to hate that. Guessed being crippled can have benefits.  
He stopped a few feet away and cleared his throat. "um… hey there, sis."  
Diamond stopped what she was doing and looked back. "Marble?" her brother smiled and waved to her. Diamond smiled wide. "Marble!" she used her magic to pull her brother over and hug him. That little screech got the attention of those playing. "Oh, it's been so long!"  
Marble blushed in embarrassment. And it was in front of his marefriend, too. "Diamond. Please. I have my marefriend with me. You're embarrassing me."  
"oh. Sorry." she stopped her magic and put him down. She turned her attention to a surprising calm pink mare. "long time, no see Pinkie."  
"hey, Diamond. It's been a long time." she walked over and hugged her. "how are you doing since Hearts and Hooves day?"  
"still crippled." Diamond joked.  
"Sis…" Marble groaned.  
"Okay. Okay. Unc."  
Marble raised a eyebrow in confusion. Pinkie fully figured out what she meant and gasped in excitement. "I don't get it." Marble muttered. Pinkie and Diamond scoffed. "What?"  
"think about it. Unc." Pinkie said with a smile while poking Marble's head. He was still confused but the pieces eventually fell into place.  
"wait…" Diamond giggled. He figured it out. "are you saying that… you're pregnant?"  
"yea-huh." Diamond said with a giggle.  
Marble couldn't believe it. His little sister was gonna be a mom. He staggered and fell back. Pinkie caught him before he hit the ground. "who… when… how…?" he couldn't form words. Those were the only ones he could get it. It was more then enough for Diamond to explain.  
"Green Block, 3 weeks ago, and my legs are crippled, not everything below my waist."  
Marble couldn't believe it. He's gonna have a hard time believing it. He- "wait, Green Block?" he asked, breaking the mood he had. "the dad is G.B.? the most violent pony around."  
"He's not violent." Diamond said in his defense. "he's kind and gentle. He even proposed when we found out."  
"and don't you think he's doing that out of guilt; or maybe because he has too?" Marble continued, not wanting to believe that. Green Block was the one who was ridiculing him the hardest when the accident happened.  
"Marble… he's a nice pony. If you took the chance to know him, you would see that he's a really nice guy."  
Marble was about to argue again when a large and powerful explosion came from downtown.

Spike and Rarity left the maternity store with a number of items for Rarity and the Baby when Spike ran into someone he never expected to meet again. He hit the red dragon and fell back.  
"Hey! Watch IT!" the Red Dragon angrily said.  
Spike brushed off his butt when he saw who he ran into. "oh, no. not you." he whined, falling back down. When he said that, Rarity took a look at the dragon and reacted as same, hitting her head against a wall. "oh, no."  
The dragon took notice of the mare. "do I know you two?"  
"no. but we know you." Rarity sighed, not wanting to believe that this is who they think it is.  
The red dragon took a good look at Rarity and Spike. After 3 minutes, he finally figured out who they were. "Oh. Oh, wow. This is too good." he laughed. "the screeched voiced Rarity and little 'Spikey-Wikey.' Hahaha. Oh, this is good."  
Spike casually looked to Rarity. "I'd say Garble remembers us, Rare."  
"you really grew since I last saw you." Garble joked. "you may have wings and look like me, but you're still a wimp."  
Spike scoffed at that. "a wimp? I helped end a war against the Changeling Horde. I helped destroy Nightmare Moon for good. Me and rarity are helping take out the spirit of disharmony. Tell me, how does that qualify as a wimp?"  
Garble had nothing, mostly because he couldn't think of a good retort. "fine. Guess you're not a wimp. But you're still a weakling."  
"I am well aware of that."  
"Thankfully…" Rarity interrupted. She walked over and help her fiancée up. "…some ponies like a sensitive dragon."  
"What?" he eyed inside the bags and tried to contain a chortle. "oh, good grief. Hahahaha." Spike and Rarity angrily looked at each other, then at Garble. "oh, no. oh, no. you can't be. You can't be expecting a child."  
"Not just that." they both said. "we're engaged."  
"What?" Garble fell over laughing. This was so funny, it hurt. "you two? Engaged? Ahahahahahahaha! Oh, this is too good." he rapidly hit his fists on the concrete ground.  
Suddenly, a large and powerful explosion echoed though the streets. Smoke from it caught them and covered them fast.

Even leaders of cities need to rest and Golden Day is doing just that, taking a little nap on his desk. His door slamming open woke him up. He snorted and rubbed his eyes to see a very angry Cyan Pegasus where his door was. "may I help you?"  
"how…" Dash shakingly said. "How could you?"  
Day raised a eyebrow in confusion. "excuse me?"  
Dash took a deep breath and… "HOW COULD YOU LEAVE US LIKE THAT!?" she cried. "You! You just left us! How could you leave us!?"  
"What are you talking about?" a disgruntled Day asked.  
Dash angrily wiped away her tears. "Shine Dash. 24 years ago. You two had a loose night that resulted in a young mare…"  
Shine Dash? That's a name he hasn't heard in a long while. Wait? Does that mean that she's. "…when the mare was 2, you left and abandoned both her and her mother! Some time after that, you found some hussy and that resulted in Soarin', formerly deceased member of the Wonderbolts."  
Soarin' is dead? He hadn't heard of that. "and now, here you are, the mayor of Manehatten. Hehe. I can't wait to here that story, but…" she angrily walked over to the nearest bookcase. "what I want to know…" she put a hoof to it. "IS WHY YOU LEFT US!" she pushed it over, causing it to crash to the ground. Dash fell to her hooves and cried. "why… why did you leave us? Why did you let mom die…?"  
Golden Day didn't know what to say. He never expected to see his daughter before him. Or to hear that Shine is dead. "Rainbow… I… I don't know what you want me to say."  
"Just tell me the truth." she wiped her eyes and sniffled before looking up at him. "why did you leave us?"  
That was a question that was bothering him for a while. "Dash… I-"  
A sudden explosion echoed though the city. The glass to the room they were in broke, sending shards all over.

The shopkeep pulled himself from the ground and looked back in fear to see his shop in flames.  
"what happened?" Req said as she and Trixie ran back.  
"one of your friends destroyed my shop!" he yelled.  
"one of our friends?" Req repeated. "that's preposterous. Unless you serve food, Lina and Gourry should leave you alone."  
"Well, tell that to her!" he yelled, pointing to the fire. Req and Trixie looked at the blazing inferno.  
Footsteps from high-heel shoes echoed as their owner walked out unscathed. The sword of Zax hung off her back. She took noticed of Req and silently but evilly snickered.

"This is going to be good…" Aqua evilly chuckled as she popped some popcorn into her mouth. "… I can tell."

The unknown girl raised her right arm into the air…

Begin Song: watch?v=dfGN-nrge00 Dark Impetus - Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep OST

…and summoned up her scythe.  
She spun it around in a epic but scary fashion before pointing it to the goddess.

"whoa!" Req reacted. She reached for her blades but held. "I never dealt with Scythes before." she said to Trixie.  
"perfect." the unknown girl replied. She spun her scythe once then charged at Req like a cheetah. Req barely had enough time to push Trixie out of the way when the girl reached her and swung at Req's neck. She was barely able to block it in time.  
The girl was unexpectedly powerful as she sent Req crashing though several buildings. Req crashed though the last one and right into a fountain square.  
Req groaned as she struggled to get up. This girl was surprisingly powerful and fast. That's a dangerous combo. She should know; she's a member of that combo. Req was able to get up to her knees when the girl appeared out of thin air and kicked her in the gut.  
The wind left Req's lungs as she was kicked into the air. The girl disappeared then reappeared right beside the goddess. She kicked her in the back, disappeared, reappeared, and slashed up at her shoulder. She disappeared again and reappeared, slamming the blunt of the handle into the back of Req's knee. She disappeared and reappeared again over and over and over and over again, kicking the snot out of Req.  
The girl reappeared high in the air, spun her scythe over her head, and yelled as she fell to kill Req. "This is your end!" she flipped backwards and swung down.  
A gunshot echoed, the bullet aimed straight for her. The girl blocked the shot but it sent her off course. She slammed her scythe into and jumped to the top of a chimney.  
Satoshi and Fox quickly reloaded their rifles, took aim, and fired again. The girl spun her scythe around like a airplane propeller, blocking the shots with ease. Aura and Lloyd ran by and headed towards her. The girl chuckled and pulled out the blade. She pointed it at the gunners as a pink glow swirled around it.  
A beam of pink light shot out of it and headed for Satoshi and Fox. They yelled and quickly ran out of the way. She spun around and sent a scythe-beam towards Aura and Lloyd. They blocked it but the force was too powerful and they were sent rolling into the fountain.  
The girl scoffed and put the blade away. She jumped down and walked over to take care of them.  
More gunshots rang out, heading for her. She quickly took a step back, avoiding the Mana Bolts that almost hit her in the head. She snarled as she looked in their point of origin.  
Ash's guns smoked as he aimed right for her. "(Damn. It's him.)" she snarled on the inside. Ash fired again at her but the girl moved too fast to hit. She ran up the sides of a couple buildings like a parkour pro, Ash's shots hitting where she was.  
"Dammit." Ash breathed.  
"we got this." Riku said as he, Zel, and Jax ran past. They took the same route she did when she did her parkour moves and ran after her.  
"kick her ass for me." Req weakly moaned before going limp.

Orochi and Tsylatac watched the little spectacle from atop a belltower and laughed.  
"now that was entertaining." Tenebrae laughed. The knight got up and disappeared. "Where's he going?"  
"to make sure she doesn't die." Glacies explained.  
"oh." a portal of dark fire appeared behind them and they walked in. "why?"

End Song.

"Bet you can't catch me!" Babs playfully yelled to the CMC.  
"You're on!" they all yelled as they ran after her.  
Applejack and Babs' mother watched them play from the sidelines and smiled. "It's nice to have Babs make some new friends." her mother said with a smile. "she's been having trouble with her schoolmates teasing her for being a blank flank."  
"My sis and her friends know the feeling." Applejack said, referencing to their problem with Diamond Tiara. "anyway, Mrs. Seed. I have a favor to ask of you."

"me and my friends are going into a dangerous area soon and… well, we don't want them to get in the middle of it. Think you can look after them until we get back?"  
"sure." Mrs. Seed said, not even thinking about it. "anything for Golden Harvest's daughter." Applejack forced a smile but she didn't want to hear his name. not near to that day.  
"GET BACK HERE!" Riku yelled as he, Zel, and Jax ran after the mystery girl. She lead them to the Manehatten farm in hopes of losing them. Better said then done.  
The girl jumped into the air and fired a scythe-beam at them. Riku and Zel were hit by it but Jax was able to block it and continue running. The girl disappeared and reappeared behind Jax. "Disappear!" she punched Jax right in the side, knocking her out cold.  
"Jax!" Applejack and the CMC exclaimed. The girl looked up and saw the ponies watching.  
A sudden dark noise came from her left. She looked and saw Tsylatac appear beside her. "you've been busy."  
"not by choice." she retorted. She tossed Jax to the ground and handed the sword to the knight. "I'm out of here. I already did my work." she turned and walked though the portal. The knight would've followed her but didn't. he had another plan to put into motion.  
He disappeared in a flash and reappeared behind the CMC. A gust of wind shot out of him, sending everyone but Babs to the ground. "what?" she exclaimed. He grabbed Babs by her mane. She struggled to get loose. The knight lightly placed his finger on her forehead, knocking her out.  
"Babs!" her mother yelled.  
The knight placed the unconscious Babs under his arm. "Don't worry. She's still alive. I just need her for something. I promise she will return unharmed."  
Those were the last words he said before disappearing in a flash of dark fire.


	102. Into the Badlands

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Discordian Troubles

Chapter 8

Into the Badlands

The dark knight Tsylatac reappeared on top of a mesa and tossed Babs to the ground. She hit face first and rolled a few feet. She mumbled as she rose her head, mouth full of dirt. She angrily spit it out and snarled back at the knight.  
"What was that for?" she angrily exclaimed. "why did you kidnap me? And where are we?" she looked up at the sky and noticed that it was orange. And everywhere she looked, it was red sand. She had a good feeling where she was. "Is this the Badlands? Why did you bring me into the Badlands?"  
The knight raised her hand and shut her up. "please shut up. If you must know, I mean you no harm." Babs couldn't tell if he was lying or not. That helmet was making it difficult. "but… I do have something I need you to help me with."  
"HA! Like I'm going to help you." she wasn't going to help destroy the world for his sake.  
The knight sensed this. "but it's to save this world."  
This knight wants to save the world? From what? And why? There was something screwy going on here and there was only one way she was going to get an answer. "save the world? How?"  
The knight disappeared and reappeared beside her in a flash, surprising her. "Listen carefully." he mysteriously said into her ear as his cape fluttered in front of the camera.

"Ow! Req exclaimed as Amelia wrapped her wrist. Both girls were on Orion's deck with Amelia bandaging the beat-up goddess. Jax, Riku, and Zel were also there. They had some bandages but they weren't as beat up as Req. "ugh. First that knight guy beats the snot out of me, now that girl with the scythe. Is there something about me that they hate so much, they don't even ask me to try and change it?"  
"maybe they just hate you for being you." Amelia said with closed eyes.  
"maybe. But there was something about that knight from the train. Something familiar. I can't put my finger on it. But I do know there was something familiar about him. Like I know him from somewhere."

The shop that the girl destroyed to get that sword was, as everyone suspected, destroyed. There was nothing left.  
"Dang." Trixie whistled. She looked at her box which had the amulet. "glad I bought this when I had the chance." she walked out of the crowd and down some streets. "this may complicate things." she muttered. "that Garble fella Golden Day told us about may've been injured from that explosive attack. There were some dragons and ponies wounded when it exploded. Garble could've been one of them."  
She looked to her right to see some fillies and colts cowering behind a box, afraid that this might happen again. Trixie looked back at the box with the amulet then back to the kids.  
*Ding*  
A light bulb went off in Trixie's head. She had a good idea on how to get their spirits up. And she had a good power boost for her to use. She had to make sure it was all right for Luna, anyways.

Golden Day looked out the broken window of his office down to where the shop exploded. In all his years in charge, he never expected this to happen. After that explosion, Dash quickly left to go help but realized too late that her friends didn't need it. Mostly due to the fact that the battle went by faster then you can say 'princess Celestia.' when she left, Day delved into his memories of his time with Shine. She clearly had his stubbornness so he was going to have to explain everything.  
"but… will she like what I have to tell her?" he muttered.  
"tell me what?" Dash angrily said as she walked back in.  
Day sighed and looked back. "you came all this way for a explanation, didn't you? Why I left you and your mother?" Dash angrily snarled at him. Guess that was it. "I was scared."  
That was something she never expected to hear. "Scared? What do you mean scared?"  
Day glanced away from her and sighed. "when it was me, her, Comet Skies, and May Day, we were inseparable. The best of friends. Me and Shine married and moved to the Gryphon Kingdom, both to get a new start on life… and to find a cure for her decease. Then… Shine got pregnant with you." Dash angrily frowned. "I was afraid about being a father. I didn't know the first thing about being a dad so… out of fear, I ran. I didn't want to be a father."  
"So just like that, you left us!?" Dash snarled.  
"… after that, I ran into Geo, a Earth Pony who was a geologist. We fell in love but, like with Shine, she got pregnant with Soarin'. I tried to be a good father but it was too tough. I left her and found myself here in Manehatten. I made sure I didn't fall in love but also found myself being a popular member of the community, eventually becoming the mayor."  
Dash couldn't believe what she was hearing. He left two families because he was afraid? Is he kidding her or something? "I don't believe this. You left me, and Soarin', because you were afraid!? Is … are you insane!?"  
"I admit, those were decisions I regretted."  
Dash angrily scoffed and kicked at his desk. "You bastard! You just up and abandoned us! If you stayed, then maybe mom would still be alive."  
She died? That was something he should've expected but he still didn't want it to happen. "let me guess. It was from her decease?"  
"yeah. And I didn't know about it until I got the letter saying she was dead. And just 2 weeks ago, Soarin' died during the war with the changelings, leaving Scootaloo all alone."  
"Scootaloo?" he asked. He hadn't heard that name before.  
"Soarin's adopted daughter. He took her in when her family died in a fire. And with him dead, I'm trying to adopt her, but this annoying unicorn Manni is trying to prevent me from doing so for a reason she's not saying."  
"I see…" he looked at his desk and at a picture of him and his friends from his childhood. He couldn't believe Shine was dead. And his heart sank knowing that Dash is all alone right now. He wanted to make right with Dash somehow. And he could only think of one thing. "can I… can I see this Scootaloo?"  
Dash was surprised to hear him ask that. "s-sure. But why?"  
"to help repay my leaving you when you were very very young. It may not be immediate but I will do what I can to help you adopt her."  
Inside, Dash was happy he's going to help but she is still mad that he left them all. "Fine." she angrily said. "and just so you know, it's too late to apologize. You had 19 years to do so."  
Dash turned to leave when Day stopped her with a question. "Wait." she stopped and looked back. "Shine's decease. Do you…"  
Dash lamentably nodded. "I have 12 days left. And I don't care if it's short. I'm gonna love that squirt. And I'm gonna get the other one back."  
She left with her father not far behind. "other one?" he muttered.

"hello?" Babs nervously called out as she walked on the mesa. "h-hello?" nothing but a shrieking wind answered. "I-is anyone out there?" She continued walking until she reached the edge of the mesa. "well, that's just great." she turned around to head to the other side, and hopefully a path down, when she ran into someone's leg. "ow." she rubbed her nose and looked up to see a monster standing over her; a monster with multiple body parts.  
"and who are you?" Discord asked, looking down at her.  
Babs shook in fear as she looked up at him. He's so intimidating. She shook her head and gathered herself. She remembered the worst memory in her mind and worked with it. "the name is Babs Seed." she said in a intimidation voice. "I hate my life and I hate my family. I heard you escaped and I was hoping I could become one of youse."

"Babs! Oh, my Babs!"  
Babs' mother has been crying every since the kid was kidnapped. Applejack left after it happened to tell everyone what happened and ordered the foals to stay there.  
"Don't worry, Mrs. Seed." Applebloom sympathetically said, rubbing her back. "my sis and her friends will get Babs Seed back or die trying."  
The mother sniffled and wiped her eyes. "you think so?"  
"Are you kidding us?" Scootaloo exclaimed. "some of her friends are so powerful, they can overpower Princess' Celestia, Luna, and Cadence."  
She had to admit, that was pretty impressive. But still… "I just hope Babs will be okay. Just who was that… thing that took her?"  
The fillies all looked at each other. "We don't know." Sweetie Belle said. "that's the problem." she sighed. "I just hope they aren't hurting her, whoever took her."  
"but we will get him back." Dash said as she walked up. "no question about it."  
"Dash!" Scootaloo happily exclaimed. She ran over and hugged her, much to her surprise. "so? Am I Scootaloo Dash now?"  
"eh…" Dash scratched the back of her neck.  
Scootaloo's eyes half-closed. "what happened?"  
"Manni, who else? She replaced Celestia's letter with a threat."  
Scootaloo snorted and let go. "just what is her obsession with me?" Dash shrugged, not knowing the deal herself. Scoots then noticed a unknown Pegasus walking towards them. "un… who's he?"  
Dash looked back and sighed. "someone I never thought I'd see again." she walked over to him. "this… is my father. Golden Day."  
"your father?" Scoots gasped. "but you told me he was dead."  
"I said he was dead to me. I never said he was 6 feet under." she angrily said to his face. After what he pulled, he saw that coming a mile away.  
He painfully shrugged it off and turned his attention to the orange filly. "so… this is my potential granddaughter?" he asked.  
"yep. Considering Manni ever lets up."  
Day thought for a moment. "Dash. When we left, you said something about a 'other one'. was there another you were going to adopt?"  
A shiver ran though Dash's soul as she thought about that day. It was a nightmare more like. "she was… Eris was… taken from me. And now there's no chance at getting her back."  
"Dash…" Scoots nuzzled up next to her. "Don't say that. Of course we'll get her back."  
"I know, squirt. But…" Dash couldn't speak any further. Her voice was cracking from fear that she would never see Eris the same way again.

Fireworks exploded over the park downtown, drawing Ponies, Gryphons, Dragons, and Changelings to a just-made stage. On the stage stood a certain show-mare with a all-too familiar costume.  
"Citizens of Manehatten, come and be amazed as the GREAT and POWERFUL TRIXIE gives you a show like no other!"  
Some members of the crowd clapped but they heard about Trixie being a show-boat. And half didn't even hear that she was married to the princess of the moon. Among the crowd was the guide they were all looking for, and Marble who didn't want to be with his sister at the moment. He's still peeved that she's engaged to his archenemy and carrying his child.  
"Prepared to be amazed as the Great and Powerful Trixie performs feats unimagined and never before seen by mortal eyes." someone in the crowd weakly said 'whoo', signaling Trixie that she needed to go turbo. "and did I also mention that I had a powerful and magical object to power up my spells?" she said with a snicker. They did not and were now keen to see what object she had. Trixie used her magic to make the Alicorn Amulet appear. "gotta make sure this is safe for Luna, anyway." she muttered to herself before putting it on.  
As soon as she did, she felt a surge of energy rush though her and literally, literally, felt her eyes turn red for a second. "whoa. That was… odd." she shook her head and went on to put on a show.  
"Watch in awe as the Great and Powerful Trixie summons a powerful beast from the Realms of Tartarus!" the realms of Tartarus? What, is she crazy? She wasn't even planning on pulling moves like that; she's not even sure where that thought came from. Not even the Princess' can pull a move like that. Why'd she proclaim she could? She had no choice but to do it. Hopefully, the Alicorn Amulet can pull it off.  
Trixie concentrated and the amulet glowed red. A spark appeared in mid-air then quickly exploded out. The audience covered their eyes to block the bright glow. When it passed, they unblocked their eyes and gasped in awe.  
Cerberus roared to the sky and snarled at the crowd. Granted, it was the size of a Chihuahua but it was Cerberus none the less. Trixie was amazed she actually pulled it off. "it worked?" she muttered to herself, still stunned. She glanced to the crowd, remembered she had a crowd, and went back into character. "and there you have it; The Great and Powerful Trixie is capable of summoning a beast from the Realms of Tartarus." she quickly sent it back before it could cause trouble. "now, for my next trick, I'm going to need a volunteer! Anyone?"  
Nobody raised their hands or hoofs. Trixie rolled her eyes and used her magic to pull one, a red dragon, out and onto the stage. "thank you for volunteering, good sir."  
"Sir?" he exclaimed in surprise.  
"may I ask your name, good sir?"  
"un… Garble."  
"Okay, G-" Trixie stopped mid-sentence. Wasn't that the same name of the guide Golden Day directed them too. "Garble?" she repeated.

Req had her face buried in her right hand with her pointer finger on her forehead. Manni was forcibly put in a chair by Gilda and wrapped in magic chains ala Shadow. She tapped her forehead and sighed again.  
"why…. Why do you hate Dash? Why are you going out of your way to make sure Dash doesn't adopt Scootaloo?" she asked.  
Manni stayed silent and tore her head away in a huff. Gilda got angry and pulled hard on the rope. "You better come clean, you little witch! This is my best friend your messing with!"  
Manni opened one eye and looked at her. "I don't want to say. It's personal."  
"PERSONAL!" the 3 of them yelled in anger.  
"IN what way…" Shadow started. "…did Dash do something to you that made this come from you!?" Manni kept silent.  
Just then, Dash and Scootaloo ran in, laughing and hugging each other. "IT FELL THOUGHT!" they happily exclaimed.  
"what do you mean?"  
Scootaloo smiled and fell to the floor. "you are now looking at Ms. Scootaloo Dash."  
Shadow smiled, ran over, and hugged her and Dash. "oh, that's great! Congrats!" Req and Gilda looked at each other with a smile then back to them. Manni couldn't believe her ears. "How did it happen?"  
"well, it turns out that Golden Day, the mayor of Manehatten, is my father." Dash said.  
"we know." Req said. "Gilda filled us in."  
"well…" Dash wasn't affected by that; she knew Gilda would fill them in sooner or later. "…he felt bad for abandoning me and mom when I was only 2 that he was willing to do anything to make up for it. Well, after I decked him in the cheek…"  
"he deserved it." Gilda said.  
"…we went to the adoption agency again and we were able to clear things up with his good word and the REAL letter from Celestia. Now, Scootaloo is officially my daughter."  
"that's great." Req said with a smile. "also, about your dad, did you forgive him?"  
"Buck no." Dash exclaimed. "He abandoned me and mom when I was just a toddler. But…" she bet down and nuzzled her new daughter. "… this is a good start."  
"yeah, yeah. Congrats." Manni distantly said. "You'll get to be the girls' mother for 10 days."  
Scoots rolled her eyes. "shut up." Dash laughed and the two high-hooved.  
The door to the cabin opened and Trixie walked in. "guess who I found?" she said in a sing-songy matter. She used her magic to pull in Garble.  
"un… what's going on?" a VERY confused Garble asked.  
Req and Dash gave her some mean stares. "what?" Trixie asked.

Half an hour later…

Discord and Eris hovered above the city, Babs in Discord's clutches.  
"This is the place?" he asked.  
"Yep." Babs said. "that's Manehatten. And that's where your pursuers are right now."  
Eris chuckled. "well, only one thing to do now." she evilly said.  
"what?" both Discord and Babs asked. Eris snapped her fingers before she answered.

Garble, having heard the entire story, thought about helping them. During that entire explanation, most of those there went out to get everyone back to the Orion, leaving Requiem, Trixie, and Dash to explain the story. Dash told Scootaloo to head back to her friends and stay there, knowing that there's gonna be a big to-do coming soon.  
"so… let me see if I got this straight. You want me to lead you into the Badlands to find a escaped Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony so you can put him back in the statue he broke out of or destroy him completely, AND free the baby Draconequus he brainwashed?"  
"hmm-hmm." mostly everyone said. There were some members missing as they were still in town.  
"mmm…" Garble thought long and hard about the pros and cons. On the con side, he could get turned into a frog. Or worse. On the other side, he would be considered a hero by helping them. So many options and so many things that could go wrong. "mmm…. Okay."  
"you'll do it?" Hiccup asked.  
"sure. Why not? I don't want the world turn into a puddle anyways." the group silently cheered and some high-fived. "BUT… it's going to cost you."  
*record needle scratch*  
"Beg pardon?" Halo asked.  
"you heard me. You're going to have to pay me."  
"PAY YOU!?" Lina exclaimed. "We're asking you to help save the world and you're worried about your next paycheck!?"  
"gotta make a living."  
Lina's top almost blew off and she almost threw a fit but Gourry was able to get her outside in time. At the same time, Spike and Rarity came in. "What's with Lina they both asked.  
They noticed Garble and they noticed him then… "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?" the 3 of them yelled.  
"you 3 know each other?" Aura asked.  
"we had a run-in when I was still a baby!" Spike growled. "treated me like crap and almost had me break a Phoenix egg."  
Rarity took over. "And, to top it off, when he found out me and Spike were having a baby, he laughed at the notion and nearly broke the street he was pounding on out of laughter."  
"it's still funny." Garble said with a cracked voice. He cleared his throat and chuckled. "well, in this case, it's gonna cost you extra."  
"EXTRA!?"  
"hey hey hey. I got my head stuck in a tree for a week thanks to these 2."  
Thunder that sounded like a cat's long meow rolled outside. "fine. Deal. Whatever." Twilight said. "where's Pinkie and Marble?"  
"still downtown." Trixie said. "I saw him at my performance but I didn't see Pinkie."  
Lightning the color of green beans crashed down. "well, they had their chance to get back." Satoshi said as he ran out.

Pinkie looked up to the sky at the dark clouds that suddenly appeared. "that can't be good." she gulped.  
"We should probably find shelter." Diamond suggested.  
"but what about Marble?" Pinkie asked.  
"I'm coming, I'm coming." he said as he ran to them. The trio went inside the apartment building to cover themselves from the storm. "everyone's gonna be mad when they find we aren't with them." he said.  
"we can explain, right?" she suggested.  
The sound of screeching metal got their attention, as well as everyone's in the city.

Satoshi ran up to the wheel and flicked a few switches when the screeching metal sound caught up to them. "Holy… that's a bad sound."  
"No argument." a groaning Spyro said, rubbing his ears on one of the masts.  
"where's it even coming from?" Lloyd asked, looking around trying to find the source.  
Sora looked up to the sky and blinked. "Found it." she said in a normal tone. Everyone looked in the direction she was and gulped.

Begin Song: watch?v=MzL4IA16k78 Koloktos/Molderach - Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword OST

A massive golden robot formed just over the city, with parts of it's armor still floating around. Once the body was finished, the armor clutched on. 6 arms shot out of it's torso, each wielding a large curved blade.  
"That Koloktos from Skyward Sword?" Bahamut casually asked.  
Fully formed, the larger-then-in-the-game Koloktos swing it's right arms down at the city, destroying a few streets.

Eris evilly chuckled. "destructive chaos is best chaos." she swung her arm and the robo swung it's blades across rooftops. Eris laughed again at that sight. Discord and Babs looked at each other with a slight pang of fear.

"take a good look at the city, kiddies, cause we're taking off." Satoshi said as he powered up the ship.  
"but what about Pinkie and Marble?" Riku asked as Satoshi pushed in a few buttons.  
"they're big ponies. They can look out for themselves until we get back." Applejack said.  
The propellers spun up and instantly spun at high speed. "they're gonna have to. Can't let that robot destroy the city." Satoshi said as he grabbed the wheel.

The Orion lifted out of the water and up into the air. This caught the attention of Eris, who commanded Koloktos to attack.  
And he complied. The 12-story robo moved though the city and towards them.  
The ship wasn't completely out of the water when the robot arrived and swung 2 of it's 6 blades.  
"INCOMING!" Edge yelled, referencing to the swords.  
"Windy Shield!" Zel, Lina, and Amelia exclaimed. A see-though green shield appeared over the ship and protected them from the attack. It caused the ship to shake though but it gave them enough time to get into the air.  
Orion quickly entered space-flight mode and shot off like a rocket down the river.  
"dammit." Eris snarled. "fine. If they're too chicken, get back to destroying the city."  
Koloktos replied and turned back to Manehatten.

"that's one big robot." Pipsqueak gulped as he and the other CMC members watched from the farm.  
Orion flew overhead and hovered just a few feet above them.  
"Ya'll be good to Mrs. Seed now, ya hear me?" A.J. said.  
"We will sis but you might want to focus on that thing!" Applebloom exclaimed, pointing to Koloktos as it neared the center of town, swinging it's blades around.  
"and he would've been destroyed by now if you didn't decide to stop and say bye." Satoshi said. He pulled back on a throttle, lifting the ship up.  
"well, sorry." A.J. sarcastically said.  
The ship turned to the city and blasted off towards the robot destroying it.

Koloktos swung it's blade down on a fountain when a series of cannonballs struck it in the body. It turned to see the ship barreling right towards it.  
"what idiots." Eris sighed as she snapped her fingers.

"anybody remember how we beat it in the game?" Jax asked.  
"un…. Think you went for the chest." Req guessed. "think that's it's weak spot."  
They all looked and saw that it was a different color then the rest of the body. "the chest." everyone said.

The Orion fired it's cannons again, getting it's full attention. Koloktos turned towards them and readied it's blades and exposing it's chest.  
"Bad idea, Muchacho." Shadow joked.  
"Req!" Satoshi yelled. She nodded to him and ran up to the bow. She pulled her sword and spun in a 360 as Satoshi fired the main guns.  
"Seraphim Blade!"  
The cannons fired the large beam of green light towards the robot with Req added her spell into the mix. The two combined and formed a more powerful attack. It struck the machine in the chest, making it stagger back.  
"Cloak of Fire!" Jax yelled.  
True to it's name, the ship was enveloped in a cloak of fire. It speed right towards the automaton and rammed right into it's chest.  
The ship burst out it's back and over the mountains into the Badlands.  
Koloktos creaked then exploded, it's pieces evaporating before then hit anything in the city.

End Song.

"Well, that was anti-climatic." Discord said as he, Babs, and a furious Eris disappeared.


	103. From Worse to Terrifying

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Discordian Troubles

Chapter 9

From Worse to Terrifying

The golden robot known as Koloktos exploded into pieces that evaporated before hitting the city. Orion quickly flew away from the explosion and over the mountains separating Manehatten- and Equestria -from the Dragon's homeland known simply as the Badlands.

"Well that was an explosive way to leave." Shadow said.  
"Discord must know we're coming for him." Req suggested. "otherwise, he wouldn't have sent that."  
"Which means we can expect a lot of trouble in the Badlands." Aura said.  
"yeah." the humans sighed.  
"I just hope Pinkie and Marble will be okay." Fluttershy said, looking back. "We left them back in Manehatten quite suddenly."  
"we had no choice." Sora said. "it was either leave them there or risk losing the city. Besides, they can take care of themselves. Isn't Pinkie a Element of Harmony?"  
"good point." Riku said.  
Spike sighed and turned to their guide. "okay, Garble. How much do you want for helping us?"  
Garble jumped onto a railing and thought about it. "hmm…. About 200 bits."  
"200 bits!? Spike and Rarity exclaimed.  
"a hour."  
"A HOUR!?" all the ponies exclaimed.  
"Are you kidding us?" Dash exclaimed. "you're gonna drive us into bankruptcy."  
Garble chuckled. "Sorry, but that's my price. Besides, I'm sure royalty…" he looked to Trixie. "… can surely pay the price."  
"you have got to be joking." Trixie and Twilight said in unison.  
"nope." Garble chuckled. "that's my price. And last I checked, you agreed to it."  
"that was before we knew the price!" Applejack exclaimed. "and because we were in quite a rush. Remember the giant robot?"  
"I remember. But I stand by my price. Either you agree to pay up or else I'm jumping ship."  
Ash and Fox gutturally growled at each other. This was highway robbery but they needed a guide. "*sigh* deal." Ash said.  
"Ash!" the humans exclaimed.  
"we either go around wandering the Badlands and just wait for the end of the world or we have a someone show us where to go."  
"t-t-that's something I want to know." Zilver said. "why do we need a guide into the Badlands, anyway? Why not just look for large places that could house a bad guy?"  
The ship passed over the mountains and the expanded splendor of the Badlands opened up to them. "That's why." Lina droned.  
A single red hazy cloud stretched all over the Badlands, covering the entire land. Nothing, not even the tallest mesa, could break though the red cloud.  
"That's why we call it the Badlands." Garble said. "the entire place is covered by one big red cloud that hasn't disappeared or showed any signs of disappearing in 2000 years. And under that cloud, there's a whole lot of mountains, mesa's, pillars; basically anything that would give this ship a hard time."  
"…oh…" Zil droned. "that… would do it…"  
Satoshi leaned on a console and sighed. "down into the clouds?"  
"down into the clouds." Garble instantly replied. Satoshi sighed, not wanting to get the ship wounded again; with what Oscurita did to it. But, they had a world to save.

Orion droned down from the sky and into the low clouds that covered the ground from 150 feet above. It broke into a section, causing the cloud to quickly engulf it.

"They left us!" Marble angrily exclaimed. "I can't believe they left us!" he angrily kicked a basketball into a wall. It bounced off and hit him in the head but he wasn't fazed a bit.  
"well, they were in a hurry. Remember the robot?" Pinkie asked.  
"yeah. I remember. They still could've tried to come get us, though."  
"I don't think they had time." Diamond suggested.  
Marble moaned and sat down. "a little warning could've been nice."  
Pinkie and Diamond groaned in unison. Suddenly, Pinkie's entire body began shaking. Violently. "Pinkie?" Diamond nervously asked.  
Marble looked back and nervously exclaimed. "uh-oh." Marble gulped. "Pinkie Sense."  
"Pinkie Sense?"  
"something that nobody can ever explain." Marble sighed. "and by the looks of it, it's a Doozy."  
"I-I-I-I-I-it's a b-b-b-b-b-b-big o-o-o-one." she shakingly said. "t-t-t-there's a v-v-v-v-very b-b-b-big d-d-d-d-doozy coming."  
Marble gulped and nervously looked to his sister. "and she's never wrong."

The Orion turned past a large rock pillar it was barely able to avoid in time and continued on.  
"whoa! I didn't even see that thing!" Sora exclaimed.  
"Which is why you brought me." Garble said. "dragons born and raised in the Badlands become intune to the place; knowing where everything is. Speaking of which, turn to the left!"  
Satoshi did just that, narrowly avoiding a mesa's wall. The ship scratched up to it and only lost paint. "oh, man. I-I just repainted that." he whined.  
"but we don't even know where to look for him." Edge pointed out. "he could be anywhere in the Badlands."  
"if there's one thing we learned from bad guys, they always like large places; castles, comets, weapons. The list goes on and on." Req said. "so, if we look for the largest pillar or mesa, we'll find Discord and Eris."  
"well why didn't you say so?" Garble said. "the largest mesa in the place is about 5 miles south."  
They all looked at each other then up at Satoshi. "already turning." he said, turning the wheel.  
After 10 minutes of flight, they came across the largest mesa on the planet; 7 miles wide and 5 miles tall. "Holy… that's huge…!" Halo gasped, looking up and not finding the top.  
"that's a mesa for ya." Garble said.  
"and there's only one way to find out if Discord's up there." Jax said. Satoshi turned the wheel and the ship flew up to it's top.  
The anchor from Orion fell and crashed into the mesa's flat top. The ramp descended and everyone walked down. "trekking across this place is going to take forever. How are we going to find him?" Fluttershy asked.  
"Simple…" Eris said from behind.

Begin Song: watch?v=EbcnWWpqFrM Key of Darkness - Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep OST

"…we'll find you." she raised her hand and a pulse shot out of it. The pulse forced everyone to the ground in a violent manner. Eris chuckled and floated up. "I must say, I commend you for coming all this way just to deal with us. It shows just how Celestia is keen on keeping her tyrannical rule."  
"what?" Twi asked in a mix of confusion and anger.  
"you heard me, 'precious student'. she was willing to eradicate the Changelings, she was happy when Nightmare Moon was killed for good, she locked Papa Discord in stone. She even tried to kill me when I was just a baby, Or did you forget that?"  
They didn't forget. Seeing Celestia like that really shook her up. "but… that still doesn't explain why Discord is doing this."  
"yes it does." Discord said as he appeared behind them and pulled the same move Eris did earlier. "I'm trying to return this world back to the way it was; a free world where anything and everything can happen- Not where it is under the constant tyranny of those loathsome Alicorns."  
"you're not making any sense." Req groaned, holding the side of her abdomen.  
"Do I have to spell it out?" Discord sighed. "when the world was under the rule of the Draconequus', there was freedom for all, including nature. If a building wants to float upside down, why not let it? If a bunny wants to grow legs as long as a giraffe, so be it. But with the Alicorns; all they want is rules, rules, rules. Bleh bleh bleh bleh. they hated it so much, they called it Chaos. So, we took that name with pride. And look at what happened with Equestria; ponies in control of the weather, animals so helpless they need the ponies help, wars breaking out between countries, Celestia and Luna raising the sun and moon. All of it, rubbish. The Alicorns hated our rule so much, they wiped all of us out. Well, all but me and Eris."  
Dash groaned as she got up. "why didn't they kill you?"  
"simple. I'm the only one who knows where Celestia's little husband and daughter are hidden away. Nobody, not even Eris, knows. That's why she kept me in stone; so she can find the information and go get them herself. But, we Draconequus' are stronger then we appear. 2000 years later and all she got was a recipe for chicken pot pies. As for Eris, I'm not sure how she survived. Maybe a spell was used to make sure she would disappeared then reappeared 2000 years later; hopefully when Celestia's rule met it's end. Guess that was too much to ask since it endured this long."  
Twilight couldn't believe what she was hearing; neither could the other ponies. "you're insane, Discord. Rules exist for a reason. If they weren't around, we'd have anarchy."  
"So?" a unknown voice said. They looked to see Babs standing in another section. "why shouldn't the world turn into chaos?"  
"Babs!?" Applejack exclaimed. "come on. Your mother is worried about you. We can-"  
"I'm not going back, Cousin A.J." she said in a snarky and mean tone.  
A.J. was shocked to hear that. "w-why not?"  
"because young Babs Seed here…" Discord walked over to her. "…knows to true fate of the world belongs to Chaos and wants to have some good fun in the process."  
"Yeah. Now scram before I turn you into a toaster or something?" she threatened. When Discord and Eris weren't looking, she winked at A.J. with a slight smile.  
"Well, enough lolly-gagging." Eris yawned. "it's time to spread some glorious chaos." she, Discord, and Eris turned to leave.  
"Wait!" Req exclaimed, pulling out her sword. Discord snapped his fingers. A invisible force hit Req and sent her flying into Garble and Trixie.  
"I think you need a friend." Eris evilly snickered as she snapped hers. All 3 of them disappeared in flashes of light.

End Song.

Begin Song: watch?v=FHncR_7k-08 The Human Reaper - Mass Effect 2 OST.

0:00.  
"a friend?" Hiccup muttered. "what did he mean by that?" nobody knew. It could be anything.  
Suddenly, the mesa began to shake and crack into pieces. "oh, crap!" Req said. "Back to the ship!" she yelled.  
And just in the knick of time as…

0:13.  
The ground burst open and a Reaper from Mass Effect crashed out, destroying the middle of the mesa and sending rubble flying.  
It let loose it's trademark horn and turned to climb out of the mesa.

"oh, Crap!" Ash yelled. "Not one of those things!" he yelled as he and everyone else booked to the Orion.  
"What is that!?" Gourry yelled.  
"Not something you want to face one on one." Req yelled back to him.

0:37.  
The Reaper Capital Ship climbed out of the hole it made in the mesa and let loose it's horn again. It showcased it's body as it slowly moved to face the fleeing group.

"that can't be good!" Riku yelled as he looked back.

It spotted them, powered up it's laser, and took aim.

0:56.  
Once locked, the Reaper fired it's laser at them.

Everyone quickly climbed onto the ship. Satoshi quickly ran up to the wheel and immediately started the ship up.

The laser scorched along the ground as it neared them.

"HURRY IT UP!" Trixie yelled, looking as the laser neared them.  
"I'm trying!" Satoshi yelled back. "It takes time."  
"then we'll give you time!" Req exclaimed. She and everyone else who can cast barriers ran to the edge and cast them. The barriers combined into one super barrier and blocked the laser. The sheer power of it made the casters tire easily.  
After just 3 seconds, the barrier broke and the laser hit the ground below the ship, causing a explosion that sent the ship, and it's passengers, yelling over the side.

1:34. End Song.

The Reaper horned and took to the air.

Begin Song: watch?v=U6ITutywYGA Reaper Chase (suite) - Mass Effect 3 OST

0:00.  
Pinkie's shaking got more violent to the point of scaring anyone nearby.  
"is she going to explode?" a Gryphon asked.  
"un… no…" Marble said, unsure if she will or not. "but… all the while I'd stay back."  
"t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-the d-d-d-d-d-doooozy is g-g-g-g-g-getting c-c-c-c-c-closer!"

The Reaper shrieked though the air, completing ignoring the mesas and pillars It flew right though them, destroying them on the way.

Discord, Eris, and Babs reappeared above Manehatten. Discord snapped his fingers and summoned a couch. "This should be a interesting show." he snickered as he summoned up popcorn. He and the other 2 sat down.  
"(hope they don't find out.)" Babs thought to herself. Her mind flashed back to when that knight kidnapped her.

"Listen Carefully…" Tsylatac said as his cape fluttered in front of the camera.  
"I want you to say you hate Celestia's rule and become one of Discord's prodigies."  
"What?" Babs yelled. "there's no way! He's a sadistic a-hole that just wants to turn the world into his playground. Why would I join him!?"  
The knight sighed. "so you can keep tabs on him and inform me of his movements."  
"but why? My friends told me you're beat up this girl named Requiem."  
The knight stayed silent for a moment. "that was for something else. But I do not seek the end of Equestria. I wish to save it, from Discord and from another threat."  
"another threat?"  
"That's a story for another day. Right now, you should focus of Discord."  
Babs sighed. She didn't want to be put in danger; her mom would flip. But, then again, how many times are you called a hero for saving the world. She sighed again. "what do you want me to do to get on his good side?"

Discord shook Babs out of her little daydream. "wha-what?" she said, breaking out of her trance.  
"watch. The show is about to start." he snickered as he drank out of a soda bottle.  
Babs looked down and gulped. She hopes her family and new friends will get out okay.

A loud foreboding horn echoed though the city scape. Nobody knew where it came from but they were scared just the same. They hoped it was friendly, too. Boy, were they off the beat.

Pinkie continued shaking. Apparently, this isn't the doozy. But it's a big threat none the less.  
"What was that?" Diamond said in fear.  
"nothing good." Marble gulped.

1:50.  
The horn echoed again and a large shadow covered the city. Everyone looked up and instantly got scared.  
"oh, shit." Marble gulped.

The Reaper descended from the heavens and touched down in the middle of the city. It let loose it's trademark horn and powered up it's laser.  
"not again!" a whiny earth pony said as she and everyone on her block were instantly incinerated by the laser.

Eris laughed with glee as the Reaper went about it's business. "Oh, now that's good comedy." she laughed, popping in some popcorn.  
"hard to find good entertainment these days." Discord laughed. At first, he was scared by Eris' personality. But, if you can't beat them, join 'em. Turns out this kind of chaos is fun.

The Reaper bellowed as it fired it's laser again into the city, destroying entire city blocks. The residents ran as fast as they could for shelter, not wanting to get killed by the giant robot. They just went though one giant automaton, they don't want to deal with another.

Diamond's wheelchair tripped on a rock, causing it to tip and fall over. She fell out and roll to a stop. "Help!" she called out.  
Her brother heard her, looked back, screeched to a halt, and ran to her. A Pegasus, Green Block, flew past him and picked her up with great concern in his eyes. He noticed this and the thankfulness and sweet pleasure in Diamonds eyes.  
"what was I doing?" he muttered, thinking about how he was mean to Diamond being engaged to Block. He shook his head, grabbed the still shaking Pinkie, and pulled her away.  
A explosion sent all 4 of them, including a large number of the populace, to the ground. They quickly looked up and yelled as the Reaper walked over them.

3:46.  
The Reaper let out it's horn and was about to crush them when a explosion came from it's top most point. It didn't damage it but it got it's attention.  
More, smaller explosions riddled down it's side all the way to it's tentacles.

The Orion, now in space mode, flew out of one of the explosions and into the robots field of vision.  
"HEY!" Satoshi yelled. "You have us to deal with!"  
The Reaper bellowed and powered up it's laser. Satoshi quickly cut the power to the engines. The Reaper fired it's laser as Orion fell to avoid it.  
The engines reignited in the knick of time just 5 feet over the river. The ship entered a sonic boom just as the Reaper fired it's laser again, hitting where it was.  
"Come and get us!" Satoshi yelled as he slammed the throttle forward as hard as he could.

"they're alive!" Eris exclaimed. She growled and rubbed her hands together. "I have to rectify that." she snapped her fingers.

The Orion zoomed along the river, just skimming the surface, leaving a big wake behind it.  
The Reaper's horn bellowed as it took to the air and went after them.  
It fired it's laser down at the ship but the Orion was too fast for it to hit so it just shot into the water.

"HA! You couldn't hit a warship if it was caught on flypaper!" Satoshi yelled to it.  
"Are you trying to egg it on!?" the mares all yelled, not wanting to be killed anytime soon.  
"you want to get it away from the city, do you?" he yelled in reply. The mares shut up and let him do what he does best.

The Reaper fired again and again and again but the Orion was just too damn fast. So, it decided to ram it. It powered up it's engines and flew after the ship as fast as it could.

"Perfect." Satoshi muttered. "now to get him away from the city."

The Reaper fired it's laser yet again. The Orion quickly dashed to the right and kept on flying.  
The two space-craft eventually exited the river, which lead out into a large ocean bay. Orion flew up into the air, followed by the massive robotic Reaper Cuttlefish.

"I hope you have a plan." Spike yelled, hanging onto the ship and holding Rarity close at the same time.  
"yeah. Don't get killed." Bahamut yelled.  
"good plan."

Every citizen in the city gather at the eastern-most part of the city to see the fight take place.  
"Come on, guys! Kick it's butt!" Pinkie cheered with pompoms. Marble face-hooved and sighed.

The CMC and Babs mother also watched from the farm as the Orion and the Reaper flew into the air above the bay.  
"no way they're going to lose to that thing." Scootaloo said with hope in her heart. "there's no way."

"they're doomed." Eris and Discord said in unison, popping more popcorn into the mouths. Babs, however, is like Scootaloo, hoping for them to win.

The Orion zoomed up into the clouds, leaving the Reaper in it's dust. The Reaper bellowed it's horn and fired it's laser into the clouds, hoping to hit it in a blind fire. It hit something, causing it to explode.  
"Nice try!"  
The Orion zoomed down from behind and fired it's main cannons into the Reaper's back. It hit but didn't leave a dent. The robot monster quickly turned around in a u-turn that would tear a normal ship in half, and fired at Orion. The ship quickly turned right to avoid it.  
The Reaper turned to follow the ship, still firing it's beam in the process.

"Everyone hang on to something." Satoshi warned as he pulled back on all throttles and levers.

Orion banked up and pulled a dangerous loop-de-loop that allowed it to miss the laser by a few close inches. Those on board could feel the heat emanating from the laser. The ship turned upright and flew down the monsters infrastructure.

"That thing is massive! How are we supposed to take it out?" Emil exclaimed.  
"the thought way that thing is built, it's going to take more then the Dragon Slave to take it out." Lina theorized. "please tell me you know how to take it out."  
"yeah. How'd they take it out in the game?" Rarity asked.  
Aura shrugged. "I don't' know. Un… I think they went after the firing chambers as they were priming."  
"But ugly's here is under that front tentacle." Halo pointed out, having seen it fire a few times. "how do you propose to get at that?"  
The ship flew underneath the Reaper, showcasing a few large glowing cylinders underneath it. "take out the eyes and it'll be exposed." Req smirked as she looked to the pilot.  
Satoshi nodded at the idea and turned the ship around.

Orion pulled a major u-turn and sonic-boomed out from underneath the Reaper and out quite a ways.  
The Reaper bellowed and turned towards them as Orion turned up, flipped around, and headed back towards it. The Reaper fired it's main cannon and the Orion moved to dodge.

6:48.  
"Take this!" Satoshi yelled as he pressed both fire buttons.

All cannons on both sides fired. The shots homed in on the Reaper and hit it in the eyes. The Reaper bellowed and fired blindly into the sky.  
Orion fired it's main cannons and all the secondary ones at the firing chamber.  
The shots hit square on, destroying the chamber. Secondary explosions followed as the Orion zoomed underneath it and out the other side.

The Reaper, or at least the bottom half, exploded in a torrent of fire and metal.

7:37. End Song.

Everyone onboard cheered and sighed with relief. They destroyed something that was originally indestructible. So much for that claim.  
"Whew." Twilight rolled down to the floor. "that… was a lot of fun."  
"think I tossed my biscuit's a few times." Garble groaned. He gagged and held his mouth.  
"you learn to get used to it." the earth part of the gang said. They've been though all this before numerous times.

"yes!" the CMC all cheered. " nobody beats bad guys like our guys. " they cheered and danced. During which, Feather Weight grabbed and kissed Scootaloo. All by mistake. He realized what he did and quickly let her go.  
"un… s-sorry." he nervously said. Scootaloo blushed as well and scratched her cheek.

The crowd in the city cheered. 2 robots dead in 2 hours. This was a new record for the city. Marble cheered but noticed that Pinkie was still shaking. Apparently, the Reaper wasn't the doozy. Then… what was?

Babs, internally, was relieved they won, but outside she panted like a worry-wort.  
"calm, Babs." Eris chuckled. "this is far from over."

Clouds quickly moved all around the Orion, leaving everyone on board confused.  
"What's going on?" Spyro asked.  
"how should we know?" Zel said, a bit frightened by this.  
One cloud ran into the ship and washed over it. ot floated on away and showed everyone where the sudden gust of wind came from.

Begin Song: watch?v=Tzer8ZCW-Ys Fall - Tron Legacy OST.

A large dark hole appeared where the Reaper was and absorbed everything in the immediate area, the Reaper corpse included.  
"is that… a black hole…?" Fox asked like he saw a ghost.  
Even those who never been to space knew that Black Holes are bad news. They slowly looked to each other and, in unison, "GET US OUT OF HERE!" they all yelled to Satoshi. They didn't need to tell him twice.

The engines kicked into the highest gear possible but the pull of the Black Hole already reached them. At best, they were only delaying the inevitable.

"no…" Marble gasped.

"they… they can't…" a defeated Scootaloo said.

Discord and Eris chuckled evilly as they watched the pitiful humans trying to escape. "try to run like the little ants you are. You won't get far." Eris evilly chuckled as she snapped her fingers.

The Black Hole's pull grew even stronger. Everyone on the ship felt it and knew their rime was almost up.  
"Come on! Come on!" Satoshi grunted, not wanting to give up. He never gave up before and he won't know.  
The Orion shook and buckled under the pressure as it tried to escape but everyone knows nothing escapes a black holes pull; not even light.

"watch closely, Babs." Discord said. "this…"

The Orion's wings broke and were pulled into the hole.

"is how you…"

The ship inched closer and closer to it's inevitable doom.

"Deal with trouble-makers."

The Engines sparked and failed, and with that, sealed their doom.  
The ship was pulled back into the black hole, spinning around like a top.  
Everyone yelled as they were pulled into oblivion. Once the ship was in…

End Song.

… it clapped shut with a loud clap of thunder.  
Celestia gasped in fear as she heard the same thunder. Luna and Cadence also sensed it.  
Something very horrible happened today. They weren't sure how but… they sensed that the Elements of Harmony… are dead.

"YES!" Discord and Eris cheered. They high-fived and pulled a victory dance.

Nobody could believe that they were dead. It didn't seem like it. Pinkie had stopped shaking as soon as the Black Hole dispersed. The death of all their friends was the doozy.

"she… she can't be dead…" a soulless Scootaloo said with tears running down. "Dash can't be dead… she just became my mom." she fell to her knees, not wanting to believe it.


	104. Lifeless World

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Discordian Troubles

Chapter 10

Lifeless World

5 minutes after the gang was sucked into a Black Hole and killed, and in another location, Eris and Discord were still celebrating. "we did it! We did it! Oh yeah yeah yeah." Eris laughed.  
"good-bye Elements, good-bye Celestia's last line of defense." Discord laughed.  
Babs, who had 'joined' their ranks, couldn't believe it. She definitely didn't see that coming, neither did everyone else in Manehatten.  
Scootaloo was hit the hardest. She was Dash's daughter for 3 hours and her new mother was already dead. She was hit with so much depression, she turned grey. Literally.

The sky above shimmered and sparkled as billions of stars and multiple nebulas littered it. The person looking at it blinked and groaned. "what… happened…?" she said. She rolled over, found herself face first in a pile of sand, and coughed up a mix of sand and blood. "*hacking cough* oh, Faust." she gulped and shook her head, trying to clear it up. "what the hell happened to us?"

Dash hacked up some more blood and sand, cleared her throat, and got up. "where are we?" she asked with a sore throat. She looked around…

Begin Song: watch?v=vAeljBzzhsg Dust to Dust - Final Fantasy XIII OST

… and in every direction, there was nothing but sand, sand, sand. It seemed to go on forever. There were no landmarks to follow, nothing to find shelter in, just endless sand in a sunless yet bright world.  
"how did we get here?" she coughed again. "I remember we were sucked into that Black Hole then… nothing."  
"people always wonder what's on the other side of a Black Hole." Req said as she walked to her. "never knew it was a endless desert with a weird sky."  
"Req." Dash said with a mix of confusion and relief. "you survived too?"  
"yeah. And I'm sure the others did, too. But…" she looked up to the sky. "where are we?"  
"I don't know. That's the scary part. Are we dead or are we just in another realm?"  
Req scoffed. "I saw what the Afterlife looks like with my own eyes. Trust me; this ain't it."  
"so it is probably another realm."  
Muffled screaming got their attention. "GET OFF OF ME!" someone yelled from beneath Dash. Dash yelped, quickly got off, and helped who she was sitting on up. Unfortunately, it was the prick who's been trying to take Scoots away.  
"Manni? Ugh. I forgot you were on the ship."  
Manni spit up sand and brushed it off her fur. "why am I not surprised? I was bounced all over that thing you call a cargo hold."  
"but if you survived as well, then maybe everyone else has… wherever they are." Req said. She turned and started walking.  
"where you going?" Dash asked.  
"this way." she simply replied. "remember that I'm a goddess. As such, I can sense things and I sense that if we go this way, we'll find our friends."  
"you sure?" Manni asked, not wanting to question her abilities.  
"never steered me wrong before." she said before walking over a sand dune. Dash and Manni looked at each other for a moment then ran after Req. they weren't keen on being all alone in a endless desert, especially with each other.

"well, this is just great." Jax angrily grumbled as she, Gilda, Zel, Trixie, and Applejack hung off a dead oak tree. "now where are we?"  
"Could be anywhere." Zel said as he struggled to get his cape off the branches it was entangled it.  
"well, I don't like this place." Gilda said with a disturbed look. "it's so… lifeless."  
"same." A.J. and Trixie said.  
Jax grabbed one of her chakrams and cut the branch her skirt was caught on. She fell to another branch, which she landed with grace, then jumped down that to the sand. "well, we won't find answers just hanging around." she tossed her chakram. It cut though the branches the others were hanging off of, allowing them to fall.  
"which way do we even go?" Zel asked. "there's nothing but sand in every direction."  
Zel had a point. There was no telling where they were or even if there's anyone else here.  
"Solodum forer derum." a ball of light shot out of Trixie's horn and up into the moonless and sunless sky. "Luna taught me that. It supposed to help you find people important to you. In this case…"  
"our friends." the other 4 finished.  
The ball shone brightly and shot to what they're going to refer to as west. "quick. After it." Gilda said as she took to the sky. The ponies and humans nodded and ran after her and the ball.

"Hello!" Derpy called out as she flew though the air. "Hello!" she had been doing that ever since she woke up 10 minutes ago and she was starting to give up hope; believing that she was the only one who survived. She whined in fear. "I don't want to be all alone. I don't want to leave Dinky all alone." a single tear fell. "I never even got to say good-bye to eTu`nes."  
A sudden and quick bright flash caught her attention. She looked to her left and saw a pristine and magnificent palace rising out of the sand. At the very least, it was shelter. And hopefully, her friends were there. She flew towards it, eager to get away from the endless sand below her and the endless star & nebula filled sky above.

No clouds. No shelter. No water. No food. This place is the definition of true hell. At least, that's what Halo and Twilight are believing. As soon as they woke up, they started walking, hoping to find anything. Better said then done.  
Twilight's movements slowed, getting the attention of Halo. "You okay?"  
Twilight looked up at him and smiled. "Y-yeah. Just thinking about what Discord said back on that mesa. Could Celestia; could any Alicorn, have really done all those things? Wiped out the Draconequus' and put the world under their rule?"  
Halo glanced away for a moment. "well… it's possible." Twi looked at him with such shock, it was like he turned into a ghost. "think about it; has Discord ever lied to you all before?"  
Twi thought back to both his escapes. "except for a annoying riddle that sent us down a wrong path, no. he never did. Which means… it must've been true." Twi whined and sat down in despair. "did Celestia lie to me?"  
"no. she didn't either."  
"huh?"  
"Celestia said that she and her sister have been ruling Equestria for 1500 years, right? It's possible they were born long after the war ended and didn't know about them. And didn't they said they knew Discord before he went all cuckoo with the chaos stuff? They may have found out about the war some way or another and that ended up being their rivalry."  
Twi had to admit, that made sense. But she doesn't remember Celestia telling her any of that. So where did Halo hear all that?

A unconscious Satoshi was slumped over the wheel of a beaten up Orion. It's wings were gone but, other then that, it was mostly intact.  
Ropes appeared from out of nowhere, wrapped around the ship, and pulled it. Satoshi fell back to the floor, still out cold. He didn't know where he was being pulled, or how he'll react when he finds himself there wherever it was going.

End song.

5 hours. That's how long Req, Dash, and Manni were walking. 5 long hours and not a sign of anyone else or anything else; no tree, no mesa, no town. No nothing. Dash flew as high as she could and could find nothing around. They were all alone.  
"this is it." Manni worriedly said, feeling that this is where they will meet their end. "I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die."  
"we're not going to die." Req said. "I haven't felt hungry ever since we got here."  
"same here." Dash said as she landed. "wait. THAT'S IT! We're in the Lifeless World."  
"the what now?" Req asked in confusion.  
"it's a old legend from when the world was made. Supposedly, when Zax and Jeria created the world, they also inadvertadly created a alternate world where the rules of life and time have no say. It was said to be endless desert with a clear sky filled with stars and beautiful colors."  
All 3 looked up. There were stars and colors. "so, you think this is the Lifeless Realm? Cause it looks a lot like Purgatory."  
"Purgatory?" Dash and Manni asked.  
"a place where the dead wait before going to heaven or hell. I only caught a glimpse but it did look like this." she looked up to the sky. "Catalyst was right after all." she muttered to herself. "all the worlds are connected at the afterworld."  
Manni snarled and threw sand at Dash. "This is all your fault!" she yelled at the Pegasus.  
"My fault!?"  
"if you had just let that STUPID Draconequus go, we wouldn't be in this situation!"  
"What!? If you didn't try to kidnap Eris and Scootaloo in the first place, then Discord wouldn't have been released to where we would be here!"  
"It was your fault, you cyan bitch!"  
"WHAT!?"  
"if you had just let them go, we would've avoided this!"  
"If I let them go, I would've killed myself! And why are you SO obsessed with taking Scootaloo away from me!?"  
"Because she's my-" Manni stopped right there and looked away.  
Req looked between the two, feeling a bit awkward to be caught in the middle. "Oooooookay. Um…. How about we keep going? Hopefully, we'll find everyone."  
"Fine!" Dash exclaimed with great anger.  
"Fine!" Manni said in the same tone.  
"Good." Req cheerfully said. Dash turned to leave when she suddenly felt light-headed. "Dash?" her chest started to hurt horribly and her vision began to blur. She felt bile float up from her stomach. It burst out in a violent torrent with blood.  
"DASH!"  
Rainbow Dash's vision blacked out and she keeled over to the side. Req ran to her side as Manni watched in fear.  
Rainbow's decease is starting to take it's toll.


	105. Reunion with Friends Long Dead

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Discordian Troubles

Chapter 11

Reunion with Friends Long Dead

Rainbow Dash collapsed into the sand as her disease had begun to take it's tone on the Pegasus. She thought she had more time before she would start feeling the effects of the illness; especially if they are in the Lifeless World. But, guess somethings, you can't outrun. So much for hoping that diseases don't hit in the Lifeless World.  
"DASH!" Req yelled as she ran over. Manni watched with fear clearly seen in her eyes. Req pulled out her sword and held it over the unconscious Pegasus. "Curaga!" the spell seeped out of the sword and into Dash but, frankly, it won't help with an incurable disease like the one Dash has. She was so desperate, she went into her goddess spells. She didn't want her friend to die. "Celestial Light!"  
The sword glowed bright white and Dash did the same. Dash took a deep breath and coughed violently. Req took a sigh of relief and fell back onto her butt. "thank goodness. You had me worried."  
Dash coughed again and held her throat. "what happened?" she coarsely asked.  
"your illness hit; what else?" Req replied.  
"my… illness?" she rubbed her throat as she got up. "but this is the Lifeless World, isn't it?"  
"well, Gabs told me that even in Purgatory, you can still get hit with illness's. thankfully, they won't kill you, seeing as how you're already dead. So even fatal diseases like cancer or… whatever you have won't kill you, long as you'er in here."  
Dash looked up to the clear sky. "but… I'm still gonna suffer the painful affects?"  
"afraid so."  
Dash sighed and rubbed her eyes. That's just great, just real great. She's still gonna get the affects but won't die from them. Why not just call this place hell while we're at it? "well… can't stay here." she flapped her wings and took to the air. "come on. Let's see if we can find everyone."  
"o-okay." Req muttered. She walked off in the direction they were already heading with Dash not far above her. Manni followed not far behind. She almost let the truth slip when she and Dash had their argument before she lost consciousness but, thankfully, she was able to hide it in time.

Begin Song: watch?v=lJ9cPxUXbuk Sulyya Springs - Final Fantasy XIII OST.

The stars in the sky flickered one by one as each and every group in the Lifeless World journeyed on, hoping to find the others and make some sort of plan and get out of this endless desert place. Of course, not knowing where to go is a bit of a… problem.

"we've been walking for hours." Shadow moaned. "can't we take a break?"  
"you want to find the others or not?" Sora replied, leading him, Fluttershy, Edge, and Garble though this wasteland.  
"I WANT to go home with Dash and Scoots. And are you even sure we're going in the right direction?"  
"no, but this feels right. And my feelings have never lead my astray."  
For some reason, the Pegasus, the Changeling, and the Dragon weren't exactly confident with that plan. But, it was the only thing they have to go on. And anything was better then being in the middle of nowhere.

Spike continued walking with a sleepy and lightly wounded Rarity on his back.  
"sorry again, Spike. I didn't know there was a snake under that rock." she yawned, looking at where the snake bit her on the hoof.  
"just be glad it wasn't poisonous." Spike commented. "otherwise, we would've lost our kid."  
Rarity held her stomach for a moment. "yeah." she felt guilty. Ever since they started going out, even after he proposed, he had been doing everything for her and not letting her do anything for him. How could she? She didn't have the time. Well, as soon as she got the chance, she was going to go by her Element and do something for him as thanks for taking care of her.  
Considering they ever get out, that is. "where do you think we are?" she asked.  
"I don't know." he replied. "could be anywhere, could be nowhere. We could be dead and this is the afterworld or another dimension with no sun yet everything is still as bright as the day."  
They passed over a sand dune and a patch of green not far from them. Well, it looked like a patch but they were quite a ways away from it.  
"is that… green?" she asked, squinting her eyes.  
"only one way to find out." Spike put Rarity down for a moment, picked her up to carry her as if they were crossing the threshold, and took of to the air. Where there's green, their's likely people. And where their's people, there's likely a way out.

"are we there yet?"  
"no."  
"are we there yet?"  
"no."  
"are we there yet?"  
"Can you shut up, Bahamut? Geez. And we don't even know where we're going."  
"sorry if I'm trying to lighten the mood, Zilver."

Derpy knocked on the massive double-decker doors of the palace she found while flying. "Hello?" she knocked again. "hello?" when nobody answered, she figured it's deserted. "just so you know, I did knock." she said outloud before opening the door and heading in.  
The door automatically closed behind her, locking her inside.

Dash flew upside-down beside Req as the 3 of them continued on to… who knows where.  
Manni glanced to the right and saw something that would be considered out of place. "is that green?"  
Req and Dash doubled back and looked in the direction she was looking. Sure enough, there was a patch of green far from them. By Req's calculations, it'll take them at least half a day to reach it.  
"Anything's better then sand." Dash happily exclaimed as she flew towards it. Req and Manni followed after her, running as fast as they could.

The trio reached the greenery in 4 hours of non-stop flying and running which, in the Lifeless World, is a breeze. Anyone could run a triathlon here and still be as well-rested and calm as when they started.  
The patch, however, turned out to be rolling fields, every flower ever known stretched out over the hills, trees the size of houses, small snow-covered mountains that one can easily climb over, and petals floating a unseen and unfelt wind.  
In short, this was the definition of paradise.  
"knew that this place couldn't be endless desert." Req said as she looked around in awe.  
"hopefully there's people here." Manni said. Her stomach growled, causing her to laugh nervously. "and maybe some food. I didn't have a thing to eat since we left Manehatten."  
"well, only one way to find out." Dash said as she walked deeper into the greenery. Req and Manni followed.

After 3 hours of searching though the green fields, the 3 of them were starting to give up hope that there was anyone else here. I say were because… well… that proved to be false.  
The trio climbed over a hill, each of them yawning out of boredom, when they spotted a small but modern town not far below them. And where there are buildings, there are…  
"People!" the 3 of them exclaimed as they ran on down.

It took them the better part of a hour to get there but they got there. Sure enough, there were people, but it was a bit surprising to see Ponies, Humans, Demons, Lylatians; basically a whole ton of beings from different worlds here.  
"is that…. Is that a gargoyle?" Req commented, seeing one walk by. Dash and Manni shrugged and walked though the town.  
They got the attention of everyone they passed by. They all felt something off with those 3, as with their other guests that arrived recently.  
"Come on. Kick it over here!" a boy's voice called out.  
Requiem recognized it instantly and gasped in shock. "was that…" she ran off to go find the source of the voice. Dash and Manni, wondering what she heard, ran after her.  
Req ran though the ground, shoving people out of the way, before coming across a playground where children were playing. Among them was a 7 year old boy she never thought she was going to see again.  
"Adolf…" she gasped.  
Adolf kicked a soccer ball into a net. It went in, causing him and his team to cheer. "YEAH! That's how we do it!" he cheered. He high-fived a few of his teammates when he spotted his sister standing there with a wide smile on her face. "Requiem?"  
"ADOLF!" she yelled out as happy as can be. She ran for her and hugged him and held him tight. "Oh, Adolf. It's so good to see you again."  
"wh-what are you doing here, Req?" a surprised and confused Adolf asked.  
"it's a… it's a long story, little bro." she said with tears in her eyes. "it's just great to see you again."  
Dash and Manni appeared and saw her hugging the kid. "un… Req? who is this?" Dash asked.  
Req put her brother down. "I told you about my… deceased brother Adolf, right?"  
Dash looked at him and he playfully waved. "he's Catalyst?"  
Both siblings face-palmed. "guess we're gonna have to explain that part of the story." they said in unison.  
Then, Dash had a realization. "wait? If he's dead, then that must mean th…" Dash quickly turned around and ran off. It took her a moment but Req got the same realization.  
"if this is the afterworld…" she muttered. "… then all dead people must be here. Including a recently deceased brother and mother."

Dash ran though the town, even passing by her friends that had just arrived. She arrived at the outskirts of town, finding the two she was searching for, talking and laughing on a bench. Happiness welled up inside her as she ran over. "Mom! Soarin'!" they both turned around in surprise as Dash' ran up and hugged them. "OH, it's so great to see you all again!"  
"Dash!" they both exclaimed in surprise. "are you dead?" Soarin' asked.  
Dash chuckled and lightly punched him in the shoulder. "no. I'm not dead. At least… I don't think I am."  
"this is just so unexpected." Shine said.  
"I know. I felt the same way when me and everyone else got here." Dash immediately broke the mood and lightly punched her mom on the shoulder, same as with Soarin' but a bit harder. "why didn't you tell me you were sick?"  
Shine knew she would have to answer that question sooner or later. She just hoped she had 60 more years till then. "well… I didn't want to worry you while you were growing up. Though… having you commit Suicide, I certainly didn't see that coming."  
Dash was surprised that she heard that. "how did you… forget about it. Forget about it. Still, you could've told me. Could've helped me when I got it."  
Shine felt bad. "I'm sorry, Dash. I didn't know it was genetic. If I did-"  
"I know. I know." Dash softly said. "but still, some fair warning."  
Soarin' looked between them and felt uncomfortable. "sooooo, how's Scootaloo? Is she okay?"  
This part, Dash was looking forward to. "you mean Ms. Scootaloo Dash? She's doing fine. Just adopted her."  
Soarin' breathed a sigh of relief. "thanks, Sis. And hey, how's Eris?" a pang of regret fell on her face as she looked away. Soarin' felt bad for asking that. "that bad?"  
"y-yeah."  
"how bad?"  
"it's- it's a long story. And I don't feel like talking about it now."  
Soarin' nodded. "okay. I understand."  
Dash took a deep sigh then looked back to them. "well, anyway, as I said, I got Scootaloo adopted into my family, despite some help from a stubborn and vengeful Manni."  
"Manni?" both her brother and mother asked.  
"yeah. Some crazy lady who was trying to take Scoots away. Still not saying why. But, thanks to Dad, we were able to put her in her place."  
Both Soarin' and Shine gasped. "you… you met Golden Day?" Shine gasped.  
"yeah. He feels extremely guilty for abandoning both our families and he believes helping with Scoots would help. It did, but only a sliver. And it felt good, punching him in the face."  
Soarin' and Shine chuckled in empathy. She beat them to the punch. Literally.


	106. A Way Back Home

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Discordian Troubles

Chapter 12

A Way Back Home?

Eris laughed as she bounced a Gryphon child like a basketball. She bounced it around, keeping it away from several glass Draconequus'. she scooted around them and tossed the 'ball' into the basket. It went in and gave Eris 3 points.  
"YES!" Eris grabbed the scoreboard "That means I have…" she added 3 to it. "100 to your 33 and that means I win." she chuckled and snapped her fingers, sending the glass Draconequus' away.  
The Gryphon child unfurled and ran as fast as he could away from the crazy lady. Eris let him run and tossed the scoreboard away, causing it to explode like a firecracker. Suddenly, Discord appeared. "hey there, Papa Discord. You missed the game. I creamed them 100 to 33."  
Discord ignored that and skipped to the point. "I'm not here for that, Eris. I want to know where that Black Hole sent them all."  
"what, after the Reaper was destroyed 3 days ago?" she thought back to what she did. "by all accounts, it should've killed them and sent them straight to the afterworld."  
A alarm clock went off in Discord's head. "Please tell me you're joking."  
"no. why? Wasn't I supposed to have done that?"  
Discord bit his finger and whined. "Their bodies were taken as well into the Afterworld, which means they have a good chance of coming back." Discord rapidly snapped his fingers and disappeared.  
Eris scoffed and wrapped a towel around her head. "how was I supposed to know?" she muttered as she snapped her fingers and disappeared.

Back in Ponyville, a couple of characters I think we all forgot, myself included, sensed something wrong and FINALLY woke up after a long 7 month nap. Something in the atmosphere affected them, making them black out for that long. Who are these people, you may ask? Well, they're animals.  
Ash's pets, the Alaskan Wolf Fenrir and the Swallow-Tailed Kite Cobalt, finally woke up after a long while and already felt that they missed out on a lot of events. And to top it off, their owner was missing.  
The door to Fluttershy's cottage opened and Carrot Top walked in. she smelled something bad and covered her nose. "geesh. I know I promised Fluttershy I'd look after her animals but she didn't warn me about the smell. P.U." she walked in and saw Fenrir and Cobalt were up. "Hey! I was worried you two were going to sleep forever. Everyone was. Fact you didn't die of starvation and thirst is nothing short of a miracle." Fenrir looked around for Ash. "you looking for your owner? Well, Ash said you two were a lot smarter then you looked. So…" she shrugged. "might as well give it a try."

"hey-ey! Adolf!" Aura happily exclaimed as he held the kid by his ankles. "it's been too long, squirt."  
Adolf felt the blood rushing to his head. "yeah. Great to see you too. Going dizzy. Going dizzy."  
"oh." Aura flipped Adolf upright then set him on the ground. "just happy to see you again. Me, Req, and Bahamut thought we weren't going to see you again."  
"I know. I felt the same way. I just can't believe you guys are all dead."  
"I don't think we're dead." Bahamut said as he scratched his cheek. "I think we were just sent here. I don't feel 'out of body' or anything."  
"Me too." Req and Aura said in unison.  
"really?" Adolf asked in confusion. "Huh. That is a bit odd." the 4 all looked at each other, wondering if they were truly dead.

In just 3 hours, everyone sucked into the black hole had found themselves at the same area that Req, Dash, and Manni had found. The only one who didn't reappear there is Derpy. Naturally, everyone was worried, hoping she's okay. She has her daughter going though a tough time with that disease that has her growing dragon wings inside her body. The ropes that wrapped around the Orion; belonged to those who lived there, pulled the ship into the area. Satoshi woke up half way there and, though some explanation from the deceased, helped them pull it there.  
Everyone took the chance to say their good-byes to those they had lost from events they couldn't control. Some, however, weren't able to find who they were looking for. Adolf said it was because that not all lives are in this town. There's thousands; millions; billions others like it all over that desert and that they would be in one of those. The fact that Adolf, Shine, Soarin', and a number of others were there was nothing short of coincidence.  
And that's not even the highlight of the 'livly's' stay. One of the deceased gave them the nickname; saying they aren't fully dead. Nobody takes her seriously as she was… cuckoo back when she was still alive.

"What do you have to show us, Adolf?" Req asked as her little brother dragged her to the middle of town.  
"Something amazing." he said. He lead her to a large pool of green water in the middle of town that's only a foot deep but 30 feet wide.  
"What is it?" Lina asked as she and the others approached the pool.  
"I don't know the real name for it but we just call it the Pool. Allows us to see what's happening in the living world; current events, if you will. There's one in every realm across this entire place."  
"huh. How's it work?" Hiccup asked.  
"Simple." Soarin' flew on over. "just say the name of the place you want to see and it appears. Works like this…" he cleared his throat and said… "'Cloudsdale. Equestria.'"  
The pool lightly shone for a moment then showed a picture of said place. Everyone exclaimed in amazement at the thing; they never saw anything like it. Aura wanted to try something. "Teria. Earth." the pool shown and showed the medieval style town. "can it show people too?"  
"Yeah."  
"Jessica Aesir." the pool shined and showed Aura's younger sister holding her baby boy in her arms.  
"Wow! What a cutie!" Fox wolf-whistled.  
A vein popped in Aura's head. One light scuffle later and Fox was on the ground with Aura's boot to his head. "I can tolerate most inter-species relationships, but I'm sure as hell not going to tolerate you hitting on my sister! All right!?"  
"All right." Fox squeaked, his mouth barely able to move.  
Req sighed. "you're gonna have to forgive Aura. He's very protective of Jessica. Even more so after what Sopa did to her."  
"Sopa?" Twi asked.  
"Jess's less… friendly boyfriend. Had a huge crush on me and in a word: Sadistic. Ever put her though the same thing your going though with Starlight." Twi looked back at her preggo stomach; knowing what Jess went though.  
"hey, whatever happened to him?" Adolf asked.  
"I don't know. That was mine and Aura's battle but he was to deliver the finishing blow." Bahamut said.  
His and Req's eyes fell on him. "I… I couldn't do it. As much as I hated him, I couldn't bring myself to kill him."  
"then he must still be alive." Req said. She looked into the pool and said 'Adrian Sopa.' the pool shined but turned to black. "Black?"  
"odd." Adolf lightly touched it. "it never did that before. Adrian Sopa." again, nothing but black. "what the hell?" he muttered.  
Req and Aura looked at each other with nervous expressions. They had a bad feeling about this.  
"OH! Let me try something." Amelia shoved the two aside. "Lina Inverse."  
"Me!?" Lina exclaimed in surprise.  
"it won't work, missy." Adolf said. "it doesn't show people who died. It on-"  
"hey. There we are!"  
"wait, what?"  
Sure enough, there was Lina right in the pool. Along with everyone else. But Adolf, Soarin', Shine, and the surrounding area weren't in there.  
"How can you be in there?" Soarin' asked himself. "this thing doesn't work like that. Trust me, I tried. It doesn't show dead people."  
Riku looked at his hand then up into the sky where the angle was looking at them. "Maybe, we're not really dead."  
"we're not?" all the livsy's asked.  
"how else can we be in there? And why else would that crazy lady give us that bad nickname?" Hiccup concluded.  
"Which means… you guys can go back." Shine said.  
All the livsy's looked at each other for a moment and cheered. "We can go home!" they all cheered. They completely ignored the feelings of those that were dead until they were a minute in. "s-sorry." Fluttershy shyly said.  
"It's okay." Adolf, Soarin', and Shine said.  
Twi got a idea. It had nothing to do with those 3 but it may be a clue that could end someone's suffering. "hold on. I want to try something." she walked to the pool and remembered what Celestia told her about Cosmos. "Alicorn Cosmos, Scion of the Stars."  
"who's that?" Lloyd asked as the pool shone, not remembering hearing about that guy. Even the ponies were confused who he was, even with Celestia's explanation.  
"Cosmos was Celestia's husband. She said that Discord sent him away. So, maybe…" the pool stopped shining, allowing Twi and everyone else to look in. everyone but the dead trio gasped in surprise. "it… it can't be." Twi gasped.  
In the image where Cosmos should be… was Discord.  
A couple of white flashes appeared behind them. "you really shouldn't have done that." Discord threatened.  
"D-Discord!" Twi gasped. "how did you get here?"  
Discord scoffed and held her up. "I'm a Spirit of Chaos. I can bend reality to my will. Going to the Afterworld isn't exactly hard."  
"he's right." the dead trio said. "he's done it before."  
Discord put Twi down and hovered above them. "guess it was too much to ask for my daughter to take care of you!"  
Eris sighed. "how was I supposed to know that the Black Hole would send them here, body and all? You see, this is what happens when I'm kept out of the loop so don't blame me."  
"what do you want, Discord?" Req asked in a threatening tone.  
"Simple." he snapped his fingers. "For you do die!" A lightning bolt shot out of nowhere and towards them. It disappeared as soon as it reappeared. "what?" he snapped his fingers again and the same thing happened again. "What in…"  
"didn't experience before, did you Discord?" Soarin' chuckled. "ya see, offensive magic has no say here. This is a place of eternal rest, after all. Non-combat spells are still good though."  
Discord snarled and snuffed. "This ain't over!" he barked before disappearing with Eris.  
Zil fell over and chuckled. "Whew. Thank goodness for that rule."  
Twi returned her attention to the pool and looked it. It showed Discord returning back to the living world and freaking out. "why didn't Celestia tell me that Cosmos was Discord? She said that Cosmos was a Alicorn with power of the stars."  
Nobody had no answer for her. This was news to them as well. But the reason and the answer will appear sooner or later. Right now, they had more pressing concerns.  
"Adolf? How do we get back?" Req asked.  
Adolf shrugged. "how should I know? I can't go back so I didn't bother looking for it."  
The group groaned and scoffed.  
"if the way back is what you seek…" the crazy lady that gave the nickname started. "… then seek the palace to the East. There, a tome will be found to take you back to the realm you call home. But, be forewarned. To claim the book, you must face what you fear most." the lady walked off, leaving them to ponder what she said.  
"the Palace to the East? This place has palaces?" Emil reacted.  
"it seems so." Shine muttered. "though I haven't heard anything about it."  
"she said something about a book." Twi got exited. "maybe it's a book of all the knowledge in the universe. Oh, that's so exciting!"  
"Twi…" her pony friends went on.  
"Okay. Okay. Guess I can wait until I die."  
"I'm more worried about that 'worst fears' line." Trixie said. "when they say that in stories, you know it's going to be bad."  
"well, it is worst fears." Zel commented. "of course it's going to be bad."  
"un… guys?" Applejack interrupted. "the more time we spend talking, the more time Discord has to figure out how to stop us and mess Equestria up big time."  
Everyone looked at each other and nodded. "Right." they all said. With a objective in hand and a world to save, they ran off the to get the book and get back home.  
Dash stopped and let everyone run by her. She looked back to the pool and looked into it. "Scootaloo." the pool shined and showed a image that shocked Dash to her core. Scootaloo sat in a corner by herself, crying and cutting her legs with a razor, and as grey as Dash when Discord distorted her. Guess depression is Scoot's opposite.  
Tears fell from Dash's eyes and into the pool. She felt a pang run though her front-left leg, getting her attention. "Don't worry, Scoots. I'll get back as fast as I can." she turned and flew after her friends.

Scootaloo cried her eyes out, holding a bloody razor in her hooves. All 4 of her legs were cut up intentionally. She lost 3 families in just 3 years. The universe must hate her if it's doing this to her.  
Something wet hit her on the back of her neck. She reached back and wiped it off. She looked up at the ceiling of her room. There weren't any cracks or noticeable leaks. So where did it come from?


	107. Meanwhile

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Discordian Troubles

Chapter 13

Meanwhile…

SNAP! SNAP! SNAP!  
Pinkie yelped and squealed as she jumped to avoid mousetraps that Eris had set down a couple days earlier. She jumped onto a flagpole and hugged it tight to avoid to still clapping mousetraps.  
"ow. My poor butt." she whined, rubbing where the mousetraps hit her. "dang it. This is getting annoying." she jumped down onto a clear patch and sighed. "I like practical jokes as much as the next guy but there's a difference between joking and just plain cruel." she hopped to another clear patch then to another then to another.

Ever since the gang died 4 days ago, the entire world has effectively gone to Chaos Hell. Nothing is as it was on the world anymore; it has officially turned upside down. Black is white, up is down, dogs and cats are getting along. It is just pure hell. And Discord and Eris love it.

CHOMP!  
"Ow!"  
Pinkie jumped out of a stream with a crocodile biting her flank. she kicked it in the eye, making it whine like a dog and fall back to the stream. "why do animals and traps always go after my butt?" she whined as she walked to the Manehatten farm. "hey there." she called out to the CMC.  
They looked and lightly smiled. At least Pinkie can bring laughter to dismal days. "hey, Pinkie." Dinky called out. "what kept you?"  
"a bunch of traps and animals who seem to be keen on biting my butt." she whined. She pulled a paper bag out of nowhere. "maybe this'll cheer Scootaloo up." she reached in and pulled out a noise maker.  
"a noise maker? Really?" Applebloom asked, not sure if Pinkie is taking this seriously.  
"noise makers always cheer up even the most depressed ponies." Pinkie said with confidence. She blew into it, causing a loud and obnoxious noise. She overdid it and broke it after one blow. "oh." she sadly said.  
"can… I have a try?" someone said from a ways away. They all looked to see a familiar filly approach them. The fillies and colts were surprised and happy to see her, her mother included.  
"BABS!" they all happily exclaimed. They ran over and hugged her. "what happened?" "did that knight hurt you?" "where were you?" "oh, Babsy, Babsy, Babsy! I was hoping you were alive!"  
Babs blushed in embarrassment. "un… mom? You're embarrassing me in front of my friends."  
"what happened to you?" Applebloom asked.  
Babs laughed nervously and scratched the back of her head. "it's a… long story."

Slumped in a corner of the darkest room in the house, Scootaloo silently cried. She lost her family; she lost Soarin'. she lost Rainbow Dash. The Universe hates her and she hates it. No no- she LOATHES it. She grabbed the bloody razor and looked at it. All 4 of her legs were cut up; some still seeping blood.  
A knock came from the door, getting her attention. "Scootaloo? You in there?" Babs asked from the other side.  
"go away!" Scootaloo cried out. "just… just leave me alone!"  
Babs ignored her and came in anyway. "you want to talk?"  
"No! just go away!" she cried out.  
Babs glanced away for a moment, trying to find the right words to say. "listen, Scootaloo. If this is about Dash, then don't be worried."  
"Why?"  
"because she's not dead." Scoot's stopped crying and wide her eyes, wondering if Babs is telling the truth. "look, Discord told me that Eris did send them to the Afterworld but thanks to their bodies also being taken, they have a chance to come back. Normally, the body stays behind when someone dies. They were sucked in nail and all."  
Scoots couldn't believe it. It sounds too good to be true. "are *hiccup* are you sure?"  
"positive. I betcha that in a few days, they're all gonna be coming in guns blazing, taking Discord down faster then you can say-"  
"and just what do you think you're doing?" a super-duper peeved Eris asked as she appeared behind her.  
Babs and Scoot's froze up when she appeared. "eep."

The smoke from a active volcano filled the sky of a lone island located FAR south of the main continent.  
A certain female Draconequus appeared at the volcano's rim with two fillies in tow. She tossed them to the ground, where they landed on a hard rock.  
"I knew something was off about you!" Eris snarled, referring to Babs. "I knew something was off about you as soon as I saw you, you sniveling dreck." she kicked Babs in the gut. Babs rolled over to hold her gut, then Eris pressed her foot on the filly's neck. "You were just a spy sent to keep an eye on us, weren't you?" Babs choked as she tried to shove Eris' foot off. "WEREN'T YOU!?" Babs' vision started to blacken as the smoke and heat from the volcano, plus Eris' foot on her throat, started to take their toll.  
A pebble hit Eris in the head. "HEY!" Scootaloo yelled. "LET HER GO!" she tossed another pebble at Eris. It missed but it pissed her off all the same.  
"you… little bitch." she took her foot off Babs and angrily stormed over to Scoots. Scootaloo was so scared, her legs shook. Eris grabbed Scoots and held her over the rim, right over the lava. Scoots struggled to get free but Eris was holding on tight. "you and mom; you and Dash. The both of you- no, everyone! You all lied to me! You told me I was the last of my kind; you all told me that all Draconequus' are evil!"  
"n-no we didn't. Discord… is lying to you."  
"SHUT UP!" Eris was starting to lose it and her ruffled hair was the proof. "You and Mom lied to me! You stole me from my family and lied to me!"  
"you… didn't have a family." Scoots grunted. "we looked but we didn't find anyone. And when did we lie to you; and I mean really lie?"  
"All the time!" Eris tightened her squeeze. "Papa Discord told me you two never loved me. You all hate me; me, my species, and my power! You all hate it and wish me gone!"  
"t-that is not true." Scoots grunted. "we loved you. We took care of you. Sure, we were afraid, but only for the first hour that we knew you."  
"STOP LYING!" Eris snarled straight to Scoot's face.  
Scoot's looked into Eris' eyes and said with unwavering condition: "would I ever lie to my sister?"  
Sister… that word raced though Eris' mind. She had a mother… and a father… but she never had a sister. Her head started to hurt horribly, forcing her to drop Scootaloo and hold & yell it in agony.  
Babs ran over to Scoots and held her over as she coughed up a storm. Eris yelled as her head felt like splitting open. "Eris?" Scoots worriedly asked.  
Eris whined and held her head as pain raced though it like there's no tomorrow. She put one hand to the ground to keep her up. "Make it stop…" she whined. Her body began to pulsate. A glyph appeared beneath her and stretched out to cover her area.  
"this can't be good." Babs said with shaking fear as she and Scoots tried to go around her. They were able to do so and run for the slope.  
"Gy….. Gyh…. Ah…. Ge…." the pulses came rapidly as the glyph shone brighter and the pain intensified inside Eris. "gy…. Hr…."

"DDDDDDDDDDDDYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Everyone connected to Eris felt a shot go though their heart and soul.


	108. Palace in the Sand

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Discordian Troubles

Chapter 14

Palace in the Sand

"DDDDDDDDDDDDYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Everyone connected to Eris felt a shot go though their heart and soul.  
Discord felt something horrible happen and disappeared.  
The CMC all felt a dreary weight add to their shoulders.  
Celestia felt dread come over her.  
And Rainbow Dash felt a part of her self shatter into pieces.

Dash fell to her knees and gasped every time she took a breath.  
"…. you all felt that, right?" Edge asked.  
"a shot go though your heart and soul?" everyone replied, all feeling dread and despair.  
"so it wasn't just me."  
"something… Something terrible happened." Dash gasped.  
"think we all felt that." Req said. "we better hurry." she told the driver of their little sand vehicle. He nodded and put the skiff into overdrive.

The crazy lady back at the town said something about a palace to the east which housed a tome to get them all back home to stop Discord and Eris. Unfortunately, the journey on foot would take them more then 30 years and that's not time they have. Thankfully, they have things that can cut the journey to mere minutes.  
little Sand Skiffs the size of Orion that can go so fast, a journey to the other end of the Afterworld would take 6 hours rather then 600 years. And the occupants don't feel it. No, they see it with the scenery blurring right by.  
Satoshi stayed behind to make repairs to Orion and reattach it's wings. By all accounts, he should be done by the time they all got back.

"there it is." Soarin' said. The driver slowed the skiff down enough for everyone to get a good look at the crystalline palace.  
It stretched high up into the sky with the only clouds in the entire Afterworld swirling around it at 300 feet up.  
"wow." Twi gasped. "it looks just like the Crystal Empire palace. Except much bigger, of course."  
"where would we even find that book?" Gourry asked, feeling like this was going to take a long time. "that thing is so big."  
"knowing our experience…" Ash said as he took over. "… it's probably at the top, guarded by some monster."  
"yeah right." Lloyd scoffed.  
"care to make a bet then?" Ash smirked. "30 gold coins says it's at the top."  
"deal."  
Cynder sighed and pinched the bridge between her eyes. "boys. So clichéd."

The volcanic island that Eris had taken Scootaloo and Babs is long gone. There's no trace of it left; nothing except a big smoldering crater that's quickly filling up with sea water.  
Scoots and Babs are all alone on a deserted island with nothing but a palm tree. (how's that for a cliché?). They have no hope of getting back home and are most likely to spend the rest of their days on the island, which is slowly losing ground to the rising water level.  
"never thought I'd go out like this." Babs said, kicking some sand into the water.  
"neither did I." Scoots sighed. She thought back to Eris freaking out and going crazy. "Babs? why did Eris freak out like that?"  
"I don't know." Babs kicked the tree, causing a coconut to fall. "could be a number of reasons."  
Just as Babs was about to crack the nut open, they heard moaning coming from the other side of their little island. They both looked to see a unconscious Eris lying in the sand, body still pulsating and energy coursing all throughout it.  
"Eris!" Scoots exclaimed. She ran over to her and tried to touch her only to have her hoof meet a invisible barrier that burned her. "Ow!" she pulled her hoof back and put it into the water to get rid of the pain. She looked back to her sister with worry. Her eyes were snapped shut and her mouth bared her teeth as she tried to deal with the indescribable pain with each gasping breath. "Eris…"

The skiff rolled up the palace's base. Everyone jumped off to the sand below.  
"whoa!" Riku whistled. "it's even bigger up close."  
"it's probably big inside too." Lina sourly joked. Riku rolled his eyes and mimicked her.  
"and you think it's at the top, Req?" Spyro asked as he strained his neck looking up. "cause I don't think we can fly that high."  
"I'm sure this place has a elevator or something we can use; Pulley system. Whatever." Req replied.  
Dash, still shaken by the shot though the heart and soul, glanced back to her brother and mother, hoping to get some more intel. "Do you know what's inside?"  
Both of them, plus Adolf, shook their heads no. "not a thing." he said. "we had no reason to go inside before."  
"now you do." Dash said with a smirk.  
Jax strode on over to the large doorway and knocked on it. "Hello?" the doors suddenly shook for a second, making her jump a bit.  
With no help from anyone or anything, the doors opened wide on their own accord, which was nothing new to the earth-based heroes of the group. For everyone else, however, this was new.  
The doors opened wide, revealing a large audience chamber on the inside. Touches on the wall lit on their lonesome, adding light to the otherwise dark room.  
"well…" Sora started with a slight pang of fear. "that's welcoming."  
Jax glanced around the place, taking it in when she noticed sand already inside. The odd thing was, they look like hoof prints. "is that…" she leaned down for a closer look. "I think someone already beat us here." she said back to the others.  
"beat us?" Emil asked in confusion. "who could've beat us here?"  
Jax looked on ahead and found a spot where the sand reached a big part then continued on as hoof prints. "a certain missing klutz."  
A missing klutz? Ash counted those who were there and he, along with everyone else, remembered that they were missing a gray mail mare. "Derpy!" they all exclaimed.

Eris shivered as she curled into a ball. Her body still pulsed and energy still coursed though her. Scoots and Babs tried cooling her off with water from the sea but it evaporated before it even got close to her. To make matters worse, a small area underneath her burned into glass and started to spread out, gradually emcompassing the whole island.  
"what's going on with her?" Babs worriedly asked.  
"I'm not sure." Scootaloo said with concern for Eris.  
With every strong fiber in her being, Eris was able to open her eyes. "Scoot… Scootaloo…" she weakly said. What surprised the Pegasus was that there were tears forming in her eyes.  
Scoots didn't know what to do here. She never heard of anyone suffering like this. She doubts that even the princess' can do anything about this. "Eris…"  
Eris whimpered for a moment before her body began glowing again. "make… it… stop…" she whined. She doesn't want to experience it again and tried to hold it in. "gh…. Gy…. Gyah…."  
"h-how?" Scoots depressingly asked.  
Eris' reply was something Scootaloo didn't want. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

From the coast of Equestria, where the town Coltdon was, a large nuclear like explosion could be seen erupting out of the ocean. It was the second one in a hour and from the same location.

Just before everyone entered the palace, another shot went though their hearts. This one did it for Dash and she just fell down to her knees, crying for no reason.  
"just what the hell is that?" Bahamut said with a shiver.  
"whatever it is, it isn't pleasant." Halo gasped.  
Soarin' noticed his sister crying and walked over. "are you okay?"  
"y-yeah." Dash wiped her eyes. "Just don't know where this came from."  
Twi and Req looked at each other with concerned expressions. "we better hurry." they both said. Everyone nodded and they went in.

The Audience Hall, as everyone expected, was big. VERY big. There was enough room to fit 2 Orions and have room for a X-Wing from Star Wars.  
"Wow." Rarity gasped. "how long do you think it took them to build this fabulous palace?"  
"how should we know?" Soarin', Shine, and Adolf asked.  
"We've only been here for a few years." Adolf added.  
"right. Well, is there anyone…. Older?"  
"the oldest person in our little hamlet is that crazy lady you all met." Soarin' said. "she's supposed to be over 10000 years old."  
Req whistled. "now that's old."  
"benefits of living in eternal paradise." Adolf chuckled.

After some exploration, the group was able to find a hidden button on the walls of the hall. Spike pressed it, revealing a hidden passage behind the throne. It retracted up into the ceiling, revealing a large spiral staircase behind it. It went up into the palace, which was good enough for them. They climbed up it, eager to get that tome.

Half-way up the stairs, Garble had a thought. "are you sure it's at the top? It could've been down there in the hall."  
"it's a force of habit these old places have." Ash said. "it's either in the highest point, the deepest cellar, or the most dangerous dungeon."  
"ugh. That's something I can agree with." Lloyd said with distain.  
"I'm more curious about that thing the old lady said." Spike said.  
"what thing?" Rarity asked.  
"she said something about facing our worst fears. What could she have meant by that? Our worst dream, our worst fear like snakes or spiders, or… what would tear apart our selves?"  
That was a good question. She never did give anything useful to go on, just 'face your worst fears'. some are fearing the worst of this and prepared for the worst to happen.

The gang reached the top of that flight of stairs to see another large door in front of them, as well as the grey Pegasus that had been missing for quite some time.  
"Derpy!" Jax exclaimed. She and Req ran over to her. As they neared, they heard her sobbing. Tears fell from Derpy down into a puddle. She must've been crying for a long time for there to be a puddle.  
"it… it's all my fault." she cried out loud.  
"your fault?" Req asked.  
Derpy didn't reply; just kept on crying. "I'm so sorry, eTu`nes! I'm so, so sorry!"  
"eTu`nes?" everyone muttered. Who was this eTu`nes? Jax heard Derpy say it quite often. Dash and Shine knew who he was but didn't want to say anything.  
"eTu`nes! Don't leave me… please… don't go…"  
"okay, what happened to her to make her like this?" Sora asked, keeping her distance.  
"how should I know?" Jax asked. "I heard her mention the name a few times. I thought it was a pet or something."  
Emil looked up at the door and cocked his head to the right. There was the image of a snake wrapped around a body on it. "what the…?" odder still, it was at arm level. Curious, he walked over and pressed it.  
The door unlocked, cracked open, and swung wide, revealing a bright white light on the other side. It was bright enough to force everyone to cover their eyes. Knowing what Derpy is currently going though, they had a very bad feeling about this.

"you must face what you fear most…"


	109. Face your Fear

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Discordian Troubles

Chapter 15

Face your Fear

When the flash of light passed, Twilight found herself in a hospital bed wearing a gown like what Cadence had.  
"what….?" she gasped. "how did I… get here?" Suddenly, a pony she never met before came in and grabbed something; a baby, out of a bed. "Wait? What are you doing!?" she frighteningly asked.  
He looked to Twi with a cold scowl. "Princess Celestia deemed you unworthy on being a mother. She ordered me to take your child away from you before you can do irreparable harm."  
Twi's heart sank. "no. no no no, you're lying!"  
"No." Celestia said in a booming tone. "he's not."  
Something was wrong here. Very very wrong. "but… you can't take Starlight away."  
"yes I can." Celestia said with a mean scowl. "and with good reason." she took the baby from the guy's hooves. "you failed to eliminate Discord, you killed my husband, you destroyed Ponyville…"  
"What? That doesn't sound like me at all!"  
"well, you did, Twilight Sparkle! You caused all those things and many more. Last I checked, that makes you a unworthy mother! You'll be lucky if I decide you can visit Starlight." Celestia walked out the door with the baby in hand. Twilight just looked up like she lost her soul.  
"no." she gasped. "no, she can't take Starlight away. She can't…" she curled up into a ball and cried. "she can't…."

Applejack found herself back home, just outside the barn. "how'd I…"  
"Applejack!" a voice called out; a voice she hadn't heard in years. "Come keep an eye on your baby sister."  
"baby sister?" A.J. gasped. She remembered this day and ran into the barn. She pushed the doors opened and saw what she feared; herself as a little filly. Filly Applejack was hanging off a railing, reading a book. "no. no no no, not this day." Adult A.J. said in fear.  
"Applejack!" the voice called out again.  
"Coming, Dad." Filly Applejack called out. She closed the book and jumped down from the railing. The railing shook, causing a lantern to fall into a pile of hay. Filly A.J. didn't notice it as she ran out. She ran right though her adult form like she wasn't even there.  
Applejack shakingly shivered as she slowly back up. "no. not again." the pile of hay ignited on fire. "I don't want to relive this again." the fire quickly spread and covered the barn. "not again…"  
"Applejack. Stay here and look out for your sister." the male said as a female ran by to the barn with a bucket of water.  
"Okay dad." a shaken Filly Applejack said. Her father took off his Stetson hat and placed it on her head.  
"we'll be right back." he said, filling the filly's heart with hopeful chance. Her father grabbed a bucket, filled it up, and headed to the barn. Big Mac also ran by but he headed to town to get help.  
Applejack's mother and father ran into the barn to put out the fire, which was a… big mistake. The supports snapped into two and collapsed, causing the flaming barn to fall on them both.  
"Mom! Dad!" both Adult and Filly Applejack yelled out.

"NO! no, Edge, you have to believe me!" a tearful Fluttershy cried.  
"Believe you?" Edge angrily scoffed. "that's a laugh. You never truly loved me, did you?"  
"no, I do love you! I came back to Canterlot for you. When you turned evil, I never stopped loving you!" Edge angrily scoffed and looked away. "Edge, please, you have to believe me!"  
"Shut up!" Edge slapped her across the face, sending her to the ground. A shocked Fluttershy rubbed where he hit her. He… he hit her. "just shut up, you bitch! Just shut up and leave me alone!" Edge's wings flapped, taking him to the air. "I should've stayed Chrysalis' lap dog." he angrily muttered before flying away.  
Fluttershy's vision blurred as tears fell at a great pace. "Edge… don't leave us alone….. Please…" she closed her eyes and fell over, holding her stomach tight.

"Spike, stop this!" Rarity cried out.  
Spike, now full grown as he was in Secret of my Excess, roared loudly and rampaged though town. He stomped down on the Boutique, killing Sweetie Belle and their friends.  
"SPIKE, STOP!" Rarity cried. Spike snarled and turned to her. Rarity's heart dropped when she saw that his eyes were soulless. "s-spike…" Spike walked over, opened his mouth wide, and proceeded to eat her. "SPIKE!" Rarity tried to cover herself but what could that do?

"Luna!" Trixie yelled out with cheer as she ran over to her wife. Luna snarled and blasted her with a powerful spell, sending her into a pillar.  
"What are you doing here!?" she angrily asked. "I thought I told you to stay away forever!"  
Trixie struggled to get up,, grunting in pain in the process. "w-what?"  
"I should've seen the signs earlier but I didn't expect it from you, Trixie!"  
"w-what are you talking about?" she asked with tears in her eyes.  
"what am I… did you forget already?" Luna used her magic and shoved Trixie beneath a stain glass mural. Trixie looked up and gasped she when saw that she was attacking Luna, Celestia, Cadence, and Chrysalis. The Alicorn Amulet she bought was clearly shone. "5 years ago, you tried to kill us all; You tried to kill me!" Luna pulled her ex-wife over to her. "you stabbed me in the gut; killing our child."  
"What…"  
Luna shot Trixie down to the floor. "you were banished to the farthest reaches of the world with no hope back. But here you are, ready to kill us again!"  
"no! no, I'm not!" Trixie pleaded. "I would never try to kill you. Honest. I love you too much to even think about it."  
Luna scoffed. "love. Pshaw. Thanks to you, I lost all feeling for it." she turned her back to her tearful ex. "have your fun." she said to someone that wasn't Trixie.  
Worried that something bad was going to happen, Trixie got up and ran for the exit only to find someone worse then a angry Celestia standing there. "no…"  
"I've been looking forward to this for a LONG time." Trixie's father evilly chuckled. He raised a knife and charged at her.  
"no no no no no no no!"

A black crystal at the top of the door shone with dark pulses. The effects of the crystal had sent everyone into a trance like state where they are being forced to confront their worst fears and nightmares.  
The only ones not effected were Soarin', Shine, Adolf, and Derpy, since she already went though it already.  
Those affected had a little red jewel in the middle of their foreheads, showing them their worst fears.  
The jewels on the humans head broke and shattered, cutting them off from their worst fears… after they happened. Sora and Cynder fell to the ground, silently sniffling while some of the other shook in fear. Requiem held herself and shivered. The rest were just shocked.  
"what happened?" Shine asked.  
"n-n-nothing you want to experience." Req shakingly said.  
"it…. Definitely….. Lived up to it's expectations." Emil said with shocked eyes.  
"our worst fears? More like nightmares." Ash softly gasped. "very horrible… very real… so very vivid nightmares."  
Lina took a shuddering breath and sighed. "if possible, can you… not ask us what we saw? To take about it will…." she held herself as she shivered.  
If Lina is scared, then it must've been frightening. So, Soarin' didn't pursue it. Besides, he and Shine are more worried about Dash. What nobody knows is that she and Manni are having the same vivid nightmare.

Dash found herself near a house on top of a big hill.  
"Where…? I don't remember this place. I never even been here." she heard laughter behind her. She looked and gasped at what she saw. She saw Scootaloo, who is a bit younger, walking up with a couple of ponies she didn't recognize.  
"This is going to be the best birthday party ever!" Scootaloo cheered.  
"I'm sure it will, my darling daughter." the female Pegasus said with a smile.  
"daughter?" Dash softly repeated. The 3 walked though her like she was a ghost and kept on walking to the house. "This must've been when she lost her parents and was rescued & adopted by Soarin'."  
The 3 entered the house, everyone inside yelled surprise, Scootaloo laughed and wooped, and they went in.  
'Soarin' said it was a fireball that hit the house, killing all but Scoots. But… why am I seeing this? I didn' even know Scoots was in Ponyville till just 3 weeks before Twilight came. So how is this my worst fear?" she heard shaky breathing nearby. She spread her wings and took to the air and found in instantly; Manni. She flew down to her. "Manni? Why are you in here?"  
"it's… I don't want to see this again." she gasped in fear.  
Before Dash could ask what, they heard a boom from above. She looked up to see the meteor fall to the house. "Scoots!" she started to run to it but remembered that this was the past and that this was a dream- a nightmare. Can't change nightmares.  
"no. no no no." Manni gasped. "I don't want to lose them again. I don't want to lose Sunny again."  
"sunny?" Dash asked in confusion. The meteor hit the house, causing it to explode and sent bodies flying.  
"SUNNY!" Manni yelled.  
"Who?" the dream distorted then turned to white. Dash flew over to Manni. "Just who is Sunny?"  
Manni didn't want this to be brought out like this. She didn't want anyone to know. "I… she…" she took a deep sigh and finally gave in. "Sunny… was my sister. She… her last letter told me that she had a filly. A orange filly with purple hair that she named sc-"  
"Scootaloo." Dash said with her. It didn't take long for Dash to piece it together. "You're Scootaloo's aunt."  
Manni softly nodded. "yeah. When I saw that you were trying to adopt her, I… I thought I should take her with me. I didn't think you would be perfect for Scootaloo. So…"  
"you tried to take her." Dash finished. She shook her head and snarled. "Why didn't you say anything!? We could've avoided this whole mess; going to Manehatten. Having to deal with Discord. Me losing ERIS! If you had just told us, this all could've been avoided!"  
"I KNOW!" Manni yelled, catching Dash off guard. "I know. When I found out Scoots was alive, I didn't think. And when I found out you were adopting her… I just lost it. I quit using my brain."  
"we noticed." Dash angrily said. "That little stunt with releasing Discord really showed us that you weren't thinking!" Manni didn't argue. She deserved this for all the crap she pulled. Dash sighed. "listen, Manni. I hate you for all the crap you pulled on me and Scoots. And thanks to you, we have Discord on the loose. But…" but? Manni wasn't prepared to hear 'but'. "…I… forgive you for all you did to us."  
"you… forgive me?"  
"yeah. If I had known you were Squirt's aunt, I would've stopped trying to go though with the adoption. Hell, I'm sure even Celestia would've done something for all of us to be happy."  
Manni sighed. "it's okay, Dash. Scootaloo must really care about you if she's willing to stay with you despite what I said."  
"she thinks of me as her idol." Dash chuckled with a smug smile. Manni chuckled and looked up at Dash with a smile. "come on." Dash offered her hoof to her. "you want to make nice with Scoots, just stick with me." Dash winked. Manni smiled and took it. Dash helped her up. "but…" Dash's cheerful mood quickly changed to anger. "you ever try to take Eris away from me again, I will personally see to it that you get sent to Tartarus! Got it?"  
"got it." Manni squeaked. Dash let her go and sighed. Once Manni calmed down, she asked… "I have to ask, where did you find Eris?"  
Dash chuckled and thought back to that day. "she found me." Manni raised a eyebrow in confusion. "she helped me help myself when I tried to… kill myself when I heard that my mom died and when I lost Shadow. If it wasn't for her…" Dash held her heart, giving Manni her answer.  
"Dash…" both Dash and Manni gasped in surprise when they heard the voice. "Manni… wake up!" the ground opened wide and absorbed them both.

The jewels on Dash's and Manni's foreheads shattered, bringing them back to reality. By the looks of it, they were the last ones out as the ponies were crying and holding each other close.  
"whoa. What we miss?" Dash asked, feeling the same as ever.  
Fluttershy, being held by a lamentful Edge, sniffled and wiped her eyes. "how can you be so cold-blooded!?" she cried. "didn't you face your worst fear?"  
"eh…" she and Manni looked at each other. "no, not really, no."  
"no?" Rarity wiped her eyes. "how could you not have faced your fear?"  
Dash shrugged. "guess I already faced them in real life and overcame it. Although, I did find myself in Manni's. turns out there's more to her then we realized." Manni nervously chuckled and scratched the back of her neck.  
Nobody could believe what they were seeing. Dash and Manni, getting along? Weren't they mortal enemies not that long ago?  
Dash unfurled her wings and took to the air. "come on. What are we waiting for? We got a tome to get to."  
She flew on though the door, revealing another spiral staircase. She flew up it, leaving them behind. "Wait up!" Manni exclaimed before running to catch her.  
Everyone's mouth's hit the floor when they saw that they were getting along. "I think we just entered the Twilight Zone." the earth-based humans said in unison.


	110. Catalyst

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Discordian Troubles

Chapter 16

Catalyst

The gang ascended the palace stairs as quick as they could to reach the tome that would get them home. Unfortunately, they had some trouble when they were forced to confront their worst fears. Everyone was devastated by having to live though those horrors. Everyone except Dash and Manni, that is. In Manni's worst fear, which Dash experienced because she already faced hers in real life, she found out that Manni was in fact Scootaloo's aunt and that all her attempts to take her were really her ill-attempted ways to rescue her. If she had just told someone, they could've avoided all of this. Despite this, Dash forgave her. Partially.

"it was… just so real…" Rarity shivered. "Spike attacking everyone. And me. It was just… too scary."  
Spike held her close, having gone though a traumatic experience himself. "I know. And you know I would never do that, right?"  
Rarity nuzzled her fiancée and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "I know, Spike. But still…"  
"Seems that most of your fears was someone you loved more then anything leaving." Adolf pointed out. "guess love can really scar you for life if it works against you."  
Fluttershy whined as she nodded. "yeah. It was scary. I didn't how I would do if Edge ever left me."  
Edge smiled and kissed her on the forehead. "and that's something I would never do. You know that, right?"  
"yeah. I know that, Edge." she said with a smile.  
Not everyone's worst fears was their lover leaving. Req's worst fear was one from her past; one she never wants to see again. That black cloaked abomination she called-

Begin Song: watch?v=b8vXYBEvSow Caius's Theme - Final Fantasy XIII-2 OST

Suddenly, a church bell rang, getting their attention. The earth gang froze in fear. They remember that horrid sound. That sound wasn't connected to anything good.  
Aura was the first to speak. "was that…?"  
The sound came again, confirming their fears. They looked at each other then ran up the stairs as fast as they could. "Guys?" Twi called out. They didn't respond. "guys!?" Adolf remembered it as well, and he knows what devil it belongs to. He ran after them as well, scared stiff.  
everyone else looked at each other and got worried. They ran and flew as fast as they could to catch up.

Discord reappeared in Canterlot, right in front of the royalty.  
"Discord!" Celestia snarled. She went into a battle pose, ready to turn him into ash.  
Discord just chuckled. "I'm not here to fight."  
"you're not?" Chrysalis asked.  
"no." he snapped his fingers, making all 6 of them, that's including Armor and Glade, disappear. "I got something to show you." he snapped his fingers again, making him disappear.

The gang ran up the stairs as fast as their legs or wings could carry them. The earth part of their gang had serious looks on their faces. It's like they heard this bell sound before.  
"do you know what's going on?" Dash asked Lina.  
"not a clue. This is a first for all of us." she replied.  
Light shone from above, signaling that they were near a exit.

The gang ran out of the palace and out onto a veranda that was big enough to hold them all and then some.  
"whoa!" they all gasped. They were so high up, they could see the town they came from off in the distance. "that's far." they all exclaimed.  
"and that's 500 miles away." Adolf, Soarin', and Shine all said. "we must be pretty high up."  
Spyro looked over the side and whistled. "very high up." below them were the clouds they saw obscuring the high top of the palace.  
"we must be very high if we're past the clouds." Twi commented.  
Req couldn't shake the horrid feelings she felt when she heard those bells. There were only a few times when she heard them and it was back home on earth… and whenever HE arrived.

Discord and the royalty reappeared high above the ground, at a point where they could see the gang.  
"they're alive." they all happily gasped.  
Discord evilly snickered. "are you sure?" he sinisterly asked. He looked up, as did everyone else. "where do you think we are?"  
They all thought for a moment but it was Cadence who ultimately came up with the answer. "the Lifeless Realm."  
"bingo, dingo, dango." Discord playfully applauded her.  
"but why did you bring us here?" Armor asked.  
Discord evilly smiled. "to see what would happen if one were to die in the afterworld."  
Celestia gasped in terror. "no. no, you can't."  
"already done." Discord snickered as he snapped his fingers.

Everyone took in the view as long as they could. Not even the princess' can get this high up. That bad feeling still lingered in Req. maybe… it was just a coincidence that they heard it. After all, it is a palace in the Afterworld, after all. Maybe it was just-

Lightning suddenly fell from above and struck all around them. One hit near Halo, making him yep.  
"Look out!" Riku yelled as more came crashing down all around them.  
Fireballs came from the walls, forcing them to duck and cover. "what's going on!?" Amelia yelled.  
"how should we know?" Bahamut exclaimed.  
The outlines of the veranda burst into flame and spread out, cutting off all means of escape.

Discord, in surprise, looked at his hands.  
"Discord, stop this now!" Celestia cried out.  
"I didn't do this." he said. "someone else did. I just summoned a creature to take care of them. I have no clue where all that came from."  
"you didn't?" Luna asked. She and everyone else returned their attention to the display. "then who…"

The sounds of a sword being pulled caught the group's attention, as well as the sound of a creature yelling out in pain.  
A few seconds later, the halved body of a armored behemoth from a certain sci-fi shooter came crashing down at them, right near Fox. "WHOA!" he yelled, barely avoiding it. "where did…?"  
A invisible hand grabbed Req by the throat and lifted her up into the sky. She was the flopped around like a rag doll all over the area, hitting the floor at least 10 times, each one harder then the last.  
A blast of fire erupted from out of nowhere and hit her, sending her into the wall of fire. She hit that and a invisible force shot her down to the ground, right near the exit that lead up.  
She gasped for air and coughed up blood. "Req!" Aura yelled as he ran over. Someone snapped his fingers, causing a wall to appeared between the gang and Req.

The sound of footsteps caught their attention. They looked around and saw no one walking so where…  
A part of the ring of fire dispersed, revealing a small stairway that, indeed, shows someone walking towards them ever slowly.  
"well… long time no see."  
The earth part of their gang quickly pulled their weapons and took aim at the person, which has the others confused.  
"I honestly never thought I'd see you again."  
Req gasped in fear. "no… no no no no no no no." her sword shook violently in her hands. "not you…... Anyone but you…" Adolf grunted as he held his chest. The wound where the bastard killed him hurt.  
The black cloaked figure approached them with a wicked smile on his face. "is that any way… to talk to your brother, my dear Serenity?"  
"Serenity?" everyone other then the earth-gang asked. "who's Serenity?"  
"just who are you?" Twilight asked.  
The cloaked figure snickered and swung the cape part of his cloak aside, revealing himself fully and completely. "why, the name… is Catalyst, my dear Twilight Sparkle."  
"Catalyst…" Twi softly repeated.  
"wait, THE Catalyst?" Lina exclaimed. "The one that caused Requiem and her friends a lot of trouble?!"  
"correct as always, Ms. Lina Inverse." he evilly sneered at his shocked sister. "seems I'm well known."  
"we wish you were a distant memory!" Aura yelled. He swung his lance and charged at the cloaked stranger. Catalyst lightly side-stepped to the right, punched Aura right in the stomach, then karate-chopped him in the neck. Aura collapsed but didn't hit the floor as Catalyst caught him and tossed him back into Hiccup. Both fell to the floor with Aura on top of Hiccup. The skirmish forced his hood to fall over, revealing his face. (okay. Since I'm not at that part in the Requiem Trinity where he reveals himself, I'm gonna keep calling him Catalyst. Save the reveal for Part 3: Eternal Twilight.)  
Catalyst swung his arm as if their was a blade in it. "good to know I'm not rusty." he evilly snickered.

End Song.

Begin Song: watch?v=rPOrkLoNs6g Followers of Chaos - Final Fantasy XIII-2 OST

0:00.  
Req shivered in fear for a moment until she shook her head, clearing it and steeling herself. "what are you doing here Catalyst? We killed you! You shouldn't be here!"  
"I wondered that myself when I first got here, dear sister. Normally, when gods die, their souls go as well. But we're technically Demi-Gods, Serenity. So, when we bite the dust, we end up here." he chuckled. "it's funny. I sought to destroy this accursed place and immortality but now it's the only thing keeping me alive. Hmhmhm. Ironic, don't you think?"  
"it's hilarious now get out of our way!" Jax yelled, swinging one of her chakrams like a sword.  
"Ah, Jacqueline Yggdrasill. Better known as Melody Zeigler. Heh… it's funny that your getting along so well with horses, considering what you went though."  
Jax was surprised to hear that. She never told Catalyst this. "how did you… how do you know all this stuff? How do you know who Twilight and Lina are?"  
Catalyst looked back up the stairs he came down. "the tome. It can show you what's happening and what will happen. That's how I know everyone's names and events. That's how I know that Fox married that beautiful and surprisingly sexy vixen Krystal…" Fox drew his staff and pointed it at him. "… that Hiccup lost his leg when he fought the Red Death…" Toothless snarled at the cloaked sadist. "…and that Twilight was raped and is now pregnant with Starlight." Twilight angrily frowned and powered up her magic.  
Req got up and drew her sword. "what do you want, Catalyst?"  
Catalyst chuckled and put his arm out.  
1:20.  
Darkness shrouded around it and formed into a wicked blade that would scare even the devil. "to leave this accursed place. And the only way to do that…" he swung his blade along the ground, scratching a line in with a horrible noise that made them all cover their ears.  
Fire erupted out of it and covered the sky above them.  
"wait. Nobody can use combat spells in the afterworld." Adolf said. "it'll upset the balance."  
"oh. Adolf. Didn't see you there? How's that stab wound treating you? Deadly, I can imagine." Req snarled and gripped her sword hard enough to draw blood. "yes, that is true, but, technically, these are not battle spells."  
Lina sputtered and called Catalyst's bullshit. "you have fire all around us. you have hit Req with a fireball. You called down lightning on us. I'd call these combat spells."  
Catalyst snickered. Lina's as smart as he imagined. "okay. I lied." he swung his wicked blade around and pointed it at the group. "I just don't give a flying FUCK about this world."

1:51.  
Demon wings shot out of his back. The bastardo got ready and charged at them. They all barely had any time to react when Catalyst reached Req. he kneed her in the stomach, stabbed her in the shoulder, and pulled her to the floor with his blade.  
He quickly side-stepped to the right to avoid Riku's blade and blasted him in the back with a fireball.  
Lloyd and Emil jumped down from above and slashed down at him. The blades met a invisible forcefield. Catalyst's eyes glowed as energy gathered beneath him. "Wrong move." he smugly said. The energy burst out, sending both swordsman to the ground.  
A magic blast shot by Twilight shot past his head. "dang, I missed!"  
Catalyst sneered and pointed his blade to her but didn't attack. "you're lucky you, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Trixie are with child right now, otherwise I'd make you pay for what you have done."  
"hey!" Edge rammed into his gut, making him stagger a bit. "Nobody talks about my Marefriend that way." Spike and Halo joined with him.  
Luna wanted to go help as well but Discord had erected a barrier, keeping her and her fellow Alicorn's away. It also seems to block all sound as they were yelling but nobody below took notice.  
Catalyst quickly gathered himself and fired a beam out of his sword at the trio. It hit the ground beneath them, sending them careening to the wall.  
Zel and Gourry swung their blades down at the fallen god. Catalyst casually blocked them both with his own blade. The duo quickly pulled their swords back and attacked again. The 3 had a brief swordfight in which Catalyst emerged victorious by stabbing them both in the legs and blasting them into a wall.  
A glyph appeared beneath Jax as she powered up a low-grade spell. If Catalyst can cast them, so can she. "Mighty Fire from the Raging Inferno; the blaze that can snuff out all life…" Catalyst heard this and fired a fireball towards her. "…I call upon thee to-" the fireball hit her, cutting her spell short and critically wounding her left arm.  
Sora saw the sight and angrily growled. She drew her short-sword and charged at him. He heard this and quickly blocked her. Sora jumped onto the blade and flipped over him. She ducked from his swing and stabbed him in the gut. "that's for my sister!"  
The stab didn't faze Catalyst in the slightest. Instead, he just laughed and grabbed her by the throat. "you were never the violent type, were you Krystal Zeigler?" he said with glowing eyes. He drew her close to his face where they could tough lips. "you were a gentle lass, weren't you?"  
"Let her go!" Ash yelled. A few Mana Bolts hit Catalyst in the back, making him roar like a monster. He dropped the girl and turned around at the gunner.  
"Wrong move to make, Ashlin!" Catalyst evilly chuckled before disappearing. He reappeared behind him and stabbed Ash in the back. "as was leaving your miserable home town."  
"ASH!" Sora yelled out. Catalyst took out his blade, quickly spun in a 360, and fired at Sora. It hit her, sending her rolling into the wall of fire.  
Bahamut rammed Catalyst from behind but he expected that move. It was all the Drake ever did. The demi-god quickly spun around and grabbed Bahamut by the horns. "ah, Bahamut. You would've made a powerful general in my army. But you choose to stay with the humans. Hmhm. Grave mistake." Catalyst spun around as fast as a tornado and sent him careening right into the attacking Spyro, Cynder, Gilda, and Garble, sending them to the ground.  
Req yelled as she flew in from behind and stabbed him in the back. Catalyst yelled out in pain as energy from Nexus Ultimus shot though his body. "That's for hurting my friends!" Req yelled.  
Req flew up, quickly pulled her blade out, cast Bind; holding Catalyst in place, spiraled around a few times, spun her blade, and swung it, yelling "Seraphim Blade!" a sword beam shot out and struck Catalyst right in the back, decapitating his wings. Catalyst yelled as he fell over the side of the castle, falling to the ground that lay far below.

End Song.

Req landed on the floor and retracted her wings. The fire dispersed and everyone took a much needed breather.  
"that…. Was a whole lot easier then last time." Req panted. Her sword turned green as she walked back to the others, ready to cast cure.

Begin Song: watch?v=rKDmj3llGfc Heart of Chaos - Final Fantasy XIII-2 OST

Darkness shot up from behind Req and into the sky. Streams of the dark stuff shot out of it and hit her in the back, sending her in to the wall. More streams came out and hit the others, minus the pregnant ones.  
"did you honestly expect that I would go out that easily?" Catalyst asked as he rose from below, the darkness shooting out of his back like a locomotive. "I am the God of Death and Destruction! I am the thing that causes wars to end all wars to break loose on other worlds!" his eyes glowed red as his power bulged though his body. "I am the Bringer of the End!" he roared like a monster as darkness shot out of his body and washed over them all. It retracted like a real wave from a sea, dragging the others with them.  
"no you don't!" Req yelled. She swung her sword at the darkness, cutting it before they were all dragged over the side.  
Catalyst laughed evilly as he rose up higher. he summoned up a blade almost as big as the castle. He swung it down at them, ready to turn them into a distant memory.  
"if you can use battle spells, then so can I!" Lina yelled as she finished powering up a spell that could take him out. "Dragon Slave!" the spell shot out her hands, cut though the sword, and hit Catalyst right in the noggin. As what one would expect from the spell, a massive explosion followed, covering Catalyst and most of his darkness.  
Darkness cut though the blast like it was butter with Catalyst just laughing away. "you thought that could defeat me!?" Catalyst asked with a chuckle.  
"what?" Lina gasped. "that… that should've killed you."  
Catalyst just chuckled. "but I'm already dead, aren't I? besides, a weak spell like that won't take me out?"  
"w-weak?" if the Dragon Slave isn't powerful enough to take him out, then what is?  
Catalyst lightly chuckled, then laughed full on at the futility that the group was doing with all this fighting.  
The dark cloud began to retracted into Catalyst in a painful way but he accepted it with a smile. "Darkness lives only to conquer. Darkness lives to corrupt…"  
the cloud began to wash over him and turn into a new form, one that the group had seen before. "I am the true Scion of Chaos. I am the true Bringer of Death…"  
The crab-like legs were the first to form, followed by the muscular and demonic hands.  
"I exist only to bring the Light to it's end. The Light of Existence…"  
The body formed with a large hole though the neck down to the hip.  
Catalyst leered at the group and smiled evilly. "I… will destroy this pathetic Afterworld and Immortality with it!" a devilish head formed around him.  
Fire shot out of the hip and into the head, engulfing it in flames. This was a form Requiem knew all too well. She saw it during their final battle with Catalyst back on earth; when Nightmare Moon possessed her and extracted her memory from that fight; when Dark Chrysalis used crystals to transform into that monstrosity.  
"Catalyst's… true form…"  
Chaos Catalyst reared back and roared to the sky. He dug his front legs deep into the castle's architecture, anchoring him to the building. He bent down to the group and roared as loud as he could.  
He summoned up his wings and flapped them, creating a large gust that was too powerful to fight. They were all sent careening back into the wall and hitting it hard enough to hear a few bones crack.  
Chaos Catalyst roared like a distorted, demonic elephant again and powered up a beam attack.  
"no." Req grunted. Chaos Catalyst's attack powered up even more as he continued to flap his wings. "this won't happen again." Catalyst fired his beam attack. "I won't lose my friends!" Req's eyes glowed black.

End Song.

The attack hit, causing a large explosion that covered the entire top.  
Chaos Catalyst laughed at his victory. "You see… you cannot… defeat me." he said in his demonic voice.  
Suddenly, a light shone from within it, but something was… off about this. It's like it was too dark to be normal.

Begin Song: watch?v=BRyMeFv1g0g Invisible Depths - Final Fantasy XIII-2 OST

A sword beam shot out of the smoke and fire, hitting Chaos Catalyst in the chest. More and more came out, hitting him more times then he can count. "What?"  
The smoke dispersed, revealing something nobody expected. "this is… unexpected."  
Darkness seeped out of a clearly mad Requiem. Her eyes glowed black as the dark power rushed though her. Everyone else was unconscious from the blast Catalyst sent them. Everyone but Twi, who was feigning unconsciousness.  
Req yelled as she sent another sword beam at her demonic brother. It hit and exploded in a way that nobody ever saw before.  
This was certainly a side of her Catalyst never expected to see. He never would've seen her accept the darkness. "this… could be a problem." he muttered under his breath.  
"you… you will pay for harming my friends!" Req yelled. She pointed her sword at him. It opened up, forming a wicked looking cannon. "I will die before I let you kill my friends! YOU HEAR ME!?" the darkness erupted out of her, frightening Catalyst. This wasn't the same barmaid he remembered torturing for fun.  
Requiem sprouted her wings but that had taken a dark turn. They looked more… demonic then usual. She rose up into the air and charged at the beast. "AAAAHHHH!" she slashed down at him.

*cut to black…*

1:38. Prematurely End Song.

"oh… dear… Faust…" Celestia shakingly gasped. The others also looked on in shock. What Req did was… was indescribable.  
"that was… something I didn't expect to happen." Discord commented with a equally surprised by the spectacle.  
He snapped his fingers and disappeared. The Alicorns were left behind in the Afterworld and began to fall.

Aura's hand twitched as he grunted and woke up. "wha… what happened?" he groaned as he got up. Like him, everyone else groaned as they woke up.  
"what… happened?" Twilight asked with a feigned moan.  
"I don't know." Spyro groaned. "but I think we got our asses kicked."  
Aura took a quick glance around and found Req out cold in the middle of a burned section of the veranda. "Req!" he ran over to her just as she woke up. He helped her up and held her when she stumbled.  
"Aura… wh-"  
The screams of the royalty got their attention. They all looked up to see them fall to the ground.  
"Princess Celestia!" Twilight called out. Thankfully, they were all able to spread their wings and catch air. Chrysalis caught Armor and Cadence caught Glade. "Whew." they all landed on the veranda and looked down at the ground far below. "what are you doing here?" Twilight asked. "last we saw you, you were still back in the real world."  
"Discord happened." Celestia said. "he took us captive and took us hear to show us your demise at his hands. But… something happened he didn't account on."  
"Catalyst…" Req interrupted. Celestia nodded. The goddess got a headache and held her head. "ugh… do you know what happened to him?"  
"You don't remember?" a worried Luna asked.  
"n-no. I remember him blasting us then… nothing. I blacked out or something. Did you take him out?"  
The royalty looked at each other with worried expressions. "un… we don't know." Armor said, feigning ignorance. "it all happened so fast, we didn't see what happened."  
"oh. Okay." Req shook her head, trying to get rid of the headache. "hope you guys have Advil back at Equestria." she moaned as she turned and walked off to join the others.  
"how can't she remember what she did?" Cadence whispered. "I know I'm not going to forget it."  
"me too." Twilight said.  
"you saw it too?" Luna asked.  
"yeah. I feigned unconsciousness but I did see everything. Every… gruesome detail." she shivered in fear. There was no way could believe that Requiem did all that. She's always sweet and innocent but knows when to throw down; kinda like Fluttershy. But she never expected this dark side to her.  
"What do we do about her?" Chrysalis asked, worried for her life.  
Celestia looked at Req, who was busy curing those injured. She doesn't believe that Req would've done this intentionally but still, knowing that she's capable of doing that… "nothing. For now. She clearly doesn't know what she did so it's unlikely she'll do it again. But still… we should keep a eye on her."


	111. The Tome

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Discordian Troubles

Chapter 17

The Tome

Discord appeared in the skies above Manehatten with a hateful snarl.  
"damn. This could be a problem." he muttered to himself. "I never knew that that girl could have that frightening a power inside her. And by the sounds of it, nobody did. And to top it off, I got Eris going crazy." he was so busy talking to himself that he didn't notice a quick spiral flame of darkness appeared behind him and someone float out. "this is not working out like I planned." he bit his finger in worry as his eyes darted back and forth. "I know. I'll leave the planet." he snapped his fingers and summoned up a suitcase. "yeah. Yeah, I'll go to another planet and start up the Draconequus' there. That's better then hanging around here."  
"how sad." a deep and booming voice said. Discord screeched to a halt in mid pack and looked back. "the great and might Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony is afraid of a little human girl." a human with some very weird hair said.  
"exactly who are you?" Discord asked.  
The human chuckled with a different voice; this time feminine. "someone who's going to make you a lot more powerful."  
"and to be frank, we're so sad you don't remember us. Especially after all we've been though." a calm, cool, and collected voice said.  
"but if you are curious, our collected name…" a dark orb appeared in his hands. "… is Orochi."

Req fell onto her back and sighed deeply. She had been casting cure on everyone from their fight with Catalyst non-stop for the past half-hour and she was dirt-poor tired.  
Aura picked her up and put her on his back. "thanks, Aura." she weakly said before falling asleep.  
Lloyd winced as he rubbed his leg. "damn, that guy was tough!" he groaned. "exactly how were you able to beat him?" he asked the earth-based members of their group.  
"a whole lot of luck." Jax replied, pressing his right arm into it's socket until it cracked. "ah, that's better." she sighed. She moved it around, making sure it was in place. "how did we beat him this time?"  
Everyone shrugged. They had no idea how. "I think Req knows…" Aura looked back to her sleeping form on her back. "but she's out cold right now."  
Twilight, Celestia, Luna, Cadence, Armor, and Chrysalis knows what happened. They saw every horrid detail of what Requiem did to Catalyst. They're so horrified, they didn't want to say what they saw. And I wasn't able to write it; It was that disturbing. They knew Req wouldn't normally do something like that but… for her to snap like that but not remember… they're now very, very afraid of her.  
"so…" Applejack sighed with a yawn. "we got another flight of stairs to go up."  
"but it looks like it's a short one. Compared to the others." Emil said as he started up the stairs.  
Ash started when he looked back at the armored behemoth that was cut in two back before Catalyst revealed himself to everyone. Something about it felt… familiar. "eh. It'll come to me." he muttered as he started up.

"oh, that's right." Trixie used her magic to summon up the box with the Alicorn Amulet. "I got this for you in Manehatten." she opened it up and revealed it to Luna.  
"what is it?" she asked.  
Trixie pulled it out and showed it to her. "some kind of amulet I found in a thrift store." Trixie remembered how much she paid for it and chuckled nervously. "you might get a check for a few hundred bits in the next couple of days."  
"What?"  
"it was really cute and I thought it would make a perfect gift for you."  
"Trixie…" Luna chuckled and kissed her on the forehead. "you don't need to give me a gift. Just being with you is good enough." Trixie smiled and nuzzled her. "plus, where would I put it? All this jewelry has to be kept on for us to retain our regal and glorious looks."  
Trixie didn't buy that for a second. "Luna…"  
"it's true. Just ask Tia."  
Trixie sighed. "well… guess it would make a good gift to one of the kids; considering he or she is a Unicorn or Alicorn. I hear this thing is to amplify powers. And I think that part is true."

The gang neared the top of the palace, something that had taken them a combined 10 hours to do, and were ready to finally leave this place. Req woke up half-way up; still not remembering what had happened to make Catalyst go bye-bye.  
Ash, however, was still thinking about that armored monster when he finally placed where he remembered it from. "oh, crap."  
"what?" Sora asked.  
"you know that armored thing that Catalyst chopped in half and threw towards us?"  
"Yeah? What of it?"  
"I just remembered when it was from. It was a Hunter from Halo."  
"a Hunter?" Aura and Bahamut repeated. The gang reached the second to last veranda when they said… "Don't those things usually work in pairs?"  
Ash forgot about that. "uh-oh…"

Begin Song: watch?v=Myb0gwAjYZs Hunter - Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn Unofficial OST  
(what unofficial means in this case is that it's ripped from the thing. So… you have sound effects. In this case, it helps.)

Sure enough, their fears were realized when a Hunter approached them and growled. "That ain't good." Fox gulped.  
The Hunter snarled and powered up it's fuel rod cannon.  
"Move!" Zel yelled. The Hunter fired it's cannon into the center of the group, making a green explosion that sent everyone in different directions.  
Gourry quickly drew his sword of light as the Hunter powered up it's cannon again.  
Ash quickly got up, pulled out one of it's pistols, cocked back the hammer, and proceeded to fire at the alien, making it angry.  
Gourry charged at the Hunter, much to the alien's amusement. Gourry jumped at the beasty but the Hunter smacked him with his shield, sending him crashing into Chrysalis. The Hunter powered up it's cannon again and decided to overload it.  
"This is getting us nowhere." Sora yelled.  
Aura drew his lance and charged at the monster. The Hunter snarled and aimed it's cannon at her. Aura jumped over it, getting the attention of the Hunter just as it fired it's cannon. It hit Sora's position, causing a green explosion.  
The lancer landed on the Hunter's back and powered up his lance with fire. He stuck it in it's back, causing fire to spread all throughout the Hunter.  
The smoldering behemoth fell over and died from it's burns.

End Song.

Aura sighed and pulled his lance out. "that wasn't that bad." he joked. Sora screaming 'bloody murder' said otherwise.  
"AHH! MY LEG!" she yelled, holding her messed up leg. The Hunter's attack hit her there, causing it to become horrible mangled, burned, and twisted. It was so bad, that a few of the gang, one of them being the toughest in the gang, to throw up.  
Aura rounded round, saw the leg, and gagged. "my god." he gagged again and felt a little bile in his mouth.  
"it hurts!" Sora yelled, trying to hold back tears.  
"I could imagine!" Gilda exclaimed. "your leg is messed up."  
"thanks for pointing out the obvious!" Sora snapped. She whimpered as she hit the part of the thigh that wasn't messed up. "can't you cast cure or something?" she asked Req.  
"I'm only good for wounds and broken bones. When it's something as bad as this, I tend to falter. The only one who could possible fix this is Uriel or Gabrille but they're back at Luna."  
"beg pardon?" Princess Luna asked.  
"what? Oh, oh. No no. Luna's what we call our moon." Req explained. "and I mean it. Gabs or Uriel could do something like this in their sleep." A.J. was about to ask a question and Req already knew that. "and I know. I may be a Goddess but I'm still getting in touch with my powers. Those spells you saw me pull; Seraphim Blade, Judgment Ray, Angel Feathers, Cure- those are all I know. And the level you intensity you see them as are all I can muster."  
The princess' and Twilight looked at each other. They know that's not true.  
Adolf snapped his fingers, remembering something that could help. "I can tell Gabs or Uriel if they come by." he suggested.  
"they come by?" Ash asked.  
"Periodically. But when they do come, I'll tell them that Sora is horribly mutilated and tell them you're on Equestria. But… for now…" Sora yelled in pain. Adolf winced. "I'm afraid that you're gonna have to wince your way though it."  
"WHAT!?" Sora yelled. "You have no idea how much this hurts! AH! Nothing hurts this bad."  
Cadence scoffed and crossed her front legs. "Really? Cause I can think of one thing that hurts worse."  
"Not now!" Sora growled.  
During this time, Ash was tinkering with one of his pistols, putting in a combination into the jewels encrusted on the handle. It took and the jewels momentarily glowed. He spun the gun and pointed it at Sora's leg. He fired, hitting the leg square in the center.  
"What was that for?" Dash yelled.  
"wait for it." he said.  
"Wait for what!?" Sora yelled. "For you to add mo-" she stopped yelling as she felt the pain recede. "oh. The pain's gone."  
"how did he…" Manni muttered.  
Ash spun the pistol and gave it to Sora. "just fire every time the pain hits again and you should be fine."  
"t-thanks." Sora replied with a slight blush. He was really looking out for her. Outside the bedroom. Guess he really does care.  
Ash helped her up and put her on his back. "Come on. We got a tome to get to." he walked up the last flight up stairs as everyone watched on.  
"they make such a cute couple." Amelia commented.  
"Like Req and Aura, huh?" Riku chuckled.  
Everyone walked up after them. Everyone but Jax, that is. "Ash… is mine!" she snarled to herself. "and it's gonna be a cold day in hell when my sister gets him instead of me!"

The gang walked up the last flight, growing hopeful with each step. Each step is one more closer to home and the friends they left back on Equestria.  
During the climb up, Twi couldn't help but ask her mentor. "Celestia?"

"why didn't you tell us that Cosmos was Discord?"  
Celestia gasped and stopped. "sister?" Luna asked.  
"how did you find out?"  
"there's a pool in the town we came from…" Soarin' started. "with the ability to show us events and people happening right now. We just said Cosmos' name and Discord's image popped up."  
"why didn't you tell us?" Twi asked again. Celestia looked away from her, not wanting to answer the question. "Princess?"  
"I don't want to talk about it." she said. "I just… don't want to."  
The ponies looked at each other with concerned expressions but they didn't go any further. If she didn't want to say, she didn't want to say.  
Jax, however, got a idea. There's more then one way to get info.

After a half-hour of climbing, they reached the top floor. And the tome. Everyone whistled when they saw what it was.  
A giant, shiny, green sphere hovered in mid-air with a deep drone whispered out of it.  
"This is the tome?" Hiccup commented. "Funny. I expected it to look like a book." some of the others nodded and murmured in agreement.  
Twi's pupils went wide when she saw the intellectual treasure trove in front of them. "this contains all the knowledge in the universe and is getting more every single second. Just one hour alone with this would make one the wisest person on their planet. Can you imagine what a lifetime of studying would do?"  
"Focus Twi." Halo said. "we're here to find a way home. You can have fun with this after you die."  
"I know. I know."  
Fox scratched his chin as he looked at it. "so… how do we do this? Do we ask all formal like, with the 'thee and thy and thou' crap or just flat out ask?"  
"one way to find out." Jax said. She walked up to it and it lightly shone. Req and Chrysalis whistled. "let's see… how do I word this…?" Jax muttered.  
Celestia said, "just ask it how we can get home from this Afterworld."  
"right. I know." Jax turned back to the sphere and pondered on how to word it. "um… oh great and powerful tome…"  
"hey. That's copyrighted." Trixie said. Armor sighed and bonked her on the head.  
Jax rolled her eyes. "oh great and powerful tome… reveal to us…" she glanced back to Celestia. "… the entire history between Celestia and Discord."  
"What!?" Celestia exclaimed.  
The sphere glowed bright as it fulfilled her wish. It shone so bright, everyone had to cover their eyes.


	112. Origins

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Discordian Troubles

Chapter 18

Origins

"It's not fair!" a 4 year-old Luna exclaimed as 7-year old Celestia played with her new crown. "I want to be the new princess!"  
"now be fair, Luna." their mother said. "Celestia was the first born so she's the Princess of Ponyland."  
Filly Luna didn't like it and threw a fit instead. "But I want to be the princess! It's just not fair! I want it, I want it, I want it!"  
Filly Celestia rolled her eyes and smacked Luna on the head. "Shut up! I'm the princess, now deal with it!" Luna, now super pissed at her sister, teared up and ran out of their home as fast as she could. "cry-baby." Celestia said with a huff. Her mother smacked her on the head, harder then what Celestia did to Luna. "ow! Mom!"  
"Go apologize to your sister!" she said. "she's younger then you and she's not good with making friends."  
"but mom, she…"  
"Go!" she said with force.  
Celestia, caught off guard by that, followed her orders. She put her crown down and went after Luna.

Celestia descended down the castle walkway, headed though the town, and walked into the woods that surrounded her home town. Whenever Luna ran away, she always went into the woods. And she's getting bolder each time, too, going in deeper every time.  
"Lulu!" she called out. "I swear, that girl is going to run away so far, she'll be at the moon." she sighed. "LULU!" she yelled out. Celestia went 'ugh' as she walked further in, walking past her sister's hiding spot. Her shouting also got the attention of a young serpent-like creature with different limbs made from different animals.

Celestia sighed after a half-hour of searching. "Lulu… you didn't really run away, did you?" she sadly said as she continued on.  
The serpent creature slithered though the trees above, watching the filly as she walked. It was mesmerized by her big pink flowing mane and her voice. "(never saw her before.)" he thought to himself. "(but by the looks of it, she's a Alicorn. And mother told me that Alicorn's are deadly monsters but she doesn't look like a monster.)"  
Celestia sensed something off in the forest. She stopped in mid-step and glanced back for a couple seconds before moving on. "Lulu! Come on, Lulu. This isn't funny." the serpent creature slithered though the trees, keeping up with her. "if it helps, I promise I won't yell at you. … for the rest of the day."  
The serpent felt bad for her and started to get worried. The woods can get pretty dangerous at night and he doubts that the pink-haired Alicorn can handle them. So… he was forced to do something her family told him not to do: he went to talk with a pony.  
"Lulu!" the serpent appeared right beside her, scaring Celestia quite a bit.  
"missing someone, are we?" he asked.  
"un…" Celestia wasn't sure what to make of this. This was a new species she never saw before talking to her. "un… yeah. My sister."  
"if she's a blue un…. Un…. I'm sorry, I'm not sure what kind of species you are."  
Celestia chuckled. He doesn't know what she is. "hmhm. Well, I'm a pony. A special species of pony called a Alicorn. And you?"  
"mmm… I think I remember being called a Draconequus."  
"you think? Never heard of someone not knowing what their species is."  
"well… I was never good at school." he sheepishly said. Celestia chuckled again. "and to answer the original question, your sister is hiding about 50 feet that-a-way." he pointed behind her. Celestia looked and saw the faint outline of a blue pony.  
Celestia face-hoofed. "unbelievable." she said into her hoof. She angrily looked in that direction and headed over. She peered into the bush Luna was hiding it, scaring her. "Lulu…" Celestia sternly said before using her magic to pull her out by the tail. Luna angrily scoffed and crossed her fore-legs. Celestia turned to the serpent. "thanks for helping me."  
"no prob." he replied. Celestia bowed to him then headed off back to town. The serpent was curious about this Alicorn. Normally, one would run away in fear thanks to those ghost stories and propaganda the adults spread about how they're freaks of nature. But this one… this one was different. She didn't see him as a freak, but as a friend. Curious why, he headed up into the trees and followed her.

"who was that?" Luna asked as they walked back into town, still being hung by Celestia's magic.  
"I don't know. We just met. But there was something different about him, though."  
"different how?"  
"I don't know. I think it was because he's a Draconequus."  
"a what?"  
"I don't know. Think that's the name of his species. Maybe Cosmos will know." Luna playfully cooed. Celestia now regretted saying that name. "Please don't."  
"Tia and Cosmos, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G."  
"Lulu!" Celestia snapped.  
Luna just laughed. "it was too perfect to resist." she continued laughing as they approached their castle home.  
The serpent creature followed them from the shadows, staying out of view of everypony. He quickly moved across the street and into another alley.

"found Lulu, mom." Celestia said as she walked into her study. She placed Luna on the floor on her face. Luna looked up at her and snarled.  
Their mother was buried in paperwork so she didn't pay much attention. "That's nice."  
"and get this. In the woods, I came across a Draconequus. He was really helpful; helped me find Luna."  
"that's nice." their mother tonelessly replied.  
Celestia's ears drooped. It was a stupid mistake talking to her when she's like this. But… she decided to have some fun with it. "mom, I'm pregnant."  
"that's nice."  
Celestia rolled her eyes and shrugged at Luna, who was laughing. She noticed something flash by the window. Curious, she walked over to look. As she neared it, the thing outside snickered. Celestia already knew who it was. "You can come in, Cosmos."  
The 8-year old black Alicorn with a silver mane poked his head in and chuckled. "how'd you know it was me?" he asked as he climbed in.  
"you always pull this stunt, that's how."  
Cosmos chuckled as he climbed in. Luna spotted something in the other window and went over to investigate. "hello?" she called as she peered out. The serpent creature's head poked down unexpectedly, causing Luna to yelp.  
"hi there." he nervously said.  
"Lulu!" Celestia said as she and Cosmos ran over. "what ha-" she spotted the serpent and chuckled. "You again. What are you doing here? And you can come in."  
The Serpent stayed outside all the same. He wasn't about to enter a Alicorn palace. "it's… okay. I'll stay out here." he did get comfortable, however. "and I was curious. Nobody has ever shown me kindness before."  
"Really?"  
"un… Celestia? Who is this?" Cosmos asked.  
"oh, Cosmos. This…. Well, he didn't tell me his name but he helped me find Lulu when she ran away. Again!" Luna nervously chuckled. "he said he's a Draconequus. You know what that is?"  
"I heard Dad say that name a few times but I didn't pay any attention."  
"your name is Celestia?" the serpent asked. "that's a nice name; beautiful, too." Celestia blushed a bit. "well, my friends call me Dis."  
"okay. Dis." Celestia said with a smile.

10 years later…

The relationship between Draconequus' and Alicorns are reaching a breaking point. The ruling families of both species are now, for lack of political terms, full-out yelling. The citizens are ignoring it and acting as if nothing happened, including 4 friends who have been together for 10 years.

The 3 Alicorns sat down in a green field and looked up into the sky, calling out images in the sky.  
"hey, look at that one." the 17-year-old Celestia said, pointing up to a cloud. "that one looks like a bunny."  
"and that one looks like a crown." the 14-year-old Luna said, pointing at another. "a nice… royal crown."  
The 18-year old Cosmos rolled his eyes and chuckled. Luna's still obsessing over that after all these years.  
Celestia sat up and cracked her back. "what's taking Dis so long? It's not like him to be late."  
"he'll get here when he gets here, Tia." Luna said.  
"and that is now." Dis slithered up and landed just outside the field. He landed and started walking with a yawn. "Sorry I'm late. Traffic was murder."  
"took you long enough."  
Dis tossed down his bag and laid down next to them. "sorry, but mother was being… stingy."  
"same with ours." Celestia and Luna said in unison.  
"which is odd because she wasn't like that when she first met you." Celestia said.  
Cosmos shrugged. "sure there's some reason."

Night soon fell onto the campsite. The 4 gathered around the campfire as Luna told them a scary ghost story.  
"…and then, the Headless Horse reached the unsuspecting pony and then…" Luna jumped up and hit the ground as hard as she could. "Pounced on the pony and gobbled him up."  
The 3 yelled in fear then laughed. "that's a good story, Luna. Scary but good." Dis laughed.  
"thanks. Just made it up." she said with a sneer as she strode on over to her spot.  
Cosmos used his magic to mess with a timber of the fire. "so… did you hear about what's happening in the outside world?"  
"About the Chaos?" Celestia asked. "yeah. Sounds pretty deadly."  
"Chaos?" Dis asked.  
"some term mother's throwing around. Says there's creatures out there who don't follow the rules of the world and have the world as a playground."  
Dis wondered if she means his powers to manipulate his surroundings. "you mean… this?" he snapped his fingers, summoning up a low-level cotton candy cloud.  
The 3 just shrugged. Dis summoned up a few cones. They took 'em and dipped them into the cloud. "Oh, Dis. I love how you're able to make these yummy clouds." Celestia chuckled.  
"you think that's something?" Dis laughed. "this is something a baby can do in it's sleep."  
"but it's so yummy." Luna said, taking a big bite out of hers.  
Cosmos patted his hooves on the ground for a second. "do you guys think… we'll always be together like this?" The other 3 blinked for a moment, looked at each other, then back at Cosmos. "I mean, as friends. Sooner or later, we're gonna have to go our separate ways. It's possible that… we may nev-"  
"Don't say that." Celestia interrupted. "we'll always be together. I feel it in my gut and it has never steered me wrong."  
Luna's eyes closed halfway. "Really?" she listlessly asked. "did you forget that Ursa Minor a few days ago?"  
She had forgotten about that. She closed her eyes and chuckled nervously as her face flushed. "well… most of the time."

As time passed, the campers gradually fell asleep. First Cosmos, then Luna. Celestia was struggling to keep her eyes open as she watched the fire dance. Her heavy sleepy eyes closed and her head fell onto Dis's left shoulder, much to his surprise. She immediately began to dream, dream about this most cutest Alicorn she had ever met; the Alicorn that was right across from her.  
"you are so cute…" she said in her dream-like state. "I hope you never leave…"  
Dis, not knowing it was for a Alicorn and not knowing she was half-asleep, took that to mean him. "(Celestia… think's I'm cute…)" he looked at his hands. "(she's able to look past this and see someone… cute…?)" he looked at her and smiled. "(how do you like that?)"

The next morning, they packed up the camp before moving to their next site. There were missing one, however.  
"where the heck is Tia?" Luna asked, looking around to find her.  
"I think she walked off into the woods." Cosmos said. "and she was looking at me all weird, too."  
"how weird?"  
"like… un… um… *claps hooves together* like one of those girls from one of her romance cartoons."  
Luna gagged and stuck her tongue out. "*Hacks* ugh. You won't see me acting like that. No way, no how."  
Cosmos chuckled at it. She's gonna go though it eventually. He used his magic to put his sleeping bag in his pack when he noticed that they were missing someone else. "where'd Dis go?"

Dis slowly walked though the woods, carrying some flowers that he had summoned with his powers. "(okay, Dis. Just be confident, play it cool, and tell Celestia she's cute, just like how she told you last night.)" he walked around and tree and saw something that made him stop in his tracks.

Celestia hummed to herself as she used her magic to pull petals off a flower. "he loves me… he loves me not… he loves me… he loves me not…" she happily closed her eyes when she reached the last one. "he loves me!"  
she heard footsteps behind her and kept her eyes closed. He was about to speak but she cut him off. "I know you're there." she used her magic to pull him closer. "Shh shh shh. Please, don't say a word." she ran her hoof though his fur and heard him shiver. She leaned in close and whispered into his ear. "let this be… perfect…"  
She kissed him full on the lips and lost all meaning to the outside world.

Dis's eyes went wide when Celestia kissed him.  
"(oh my Faust, she's kissing me! If this is a dream, I don't want to wake up.)"  
Celestia broke the kiss and smiled. "huh. Tastes like bubblegum." bubblegum? Dis breathed into his hand and smelled it. Holy crap, it does. She turned his back to him. "I'll meet you back at camp. I just want to… take it all in."  
Dis did just that and disappeared. Celestia finally opened her eyes and fell to the ground, so very very glad she did what she did. Her first kiss… and it was perfect.

Dis reappeared in camp with a really funny look on his face. Luna noticed this and scowled. "what happened?" she asked.  
"n-nothing." he disappeared and reappeared next to his bags.  
Celestia returned to the camp as dreamily as she can be. "la da la la-da-la-da la da-da da-da…"  
"well, someone's in a happy mode." Luna joked.  
Celestia dreamily sighed and laid her head on her bags. "and why shouldn't I?" she sighed in a heavenly manner.  
Cosmos finished packing his bags and stopped to think. "(maybe… I should tell her… before things get weird.)" he put down his bags and walked over to Celestia. "um… Tia?"  
"yes, Cosmos?"  
"um… can I talk to you in private?"  
Private? Didn't they just have a private moment? "sure…?" Celestia got up and walked off with Cosmos.  
"what do you think they're going to talk about?" Dis asked Luna as he packed Celestia's bags for her.  
"who knows? Could be anything."

Cosmos lead Celestia to the same spot she had mistakenly kissed Dis. She was still confused as to why he lead her back here. "what's going on, Cosmos?"  
Cosmos nervously scratched his neck. This is either his worst idea or his best. Well, only one way to find out. He took a deep breath and kissed Celestia full on the lips. Celestia went wide-eyed at first then gave in to his embrace. "(he wanted to… do this himself… didn't he?)" she asked herself as she kissed back.

5 years later…

The Draconequus' and the Alicorns are at all-out war and the Alicorn's are losing to the Draconequus' powers over manipulation, which the ponies have decided to call Chaos. As a result, Alicorn scientist are quickly working on a biological weapon that will gain them victory. The 4 friends are having difficulty keeping together, since they are suppose to be enemies. And things are going to get really hairy.

Celestia sat by herself in the bathroom, holding a small stick with her magic. "Please no, please no, please no, please no, please no." a blue line appeared on the stick, making Celestia groan in a give up-ish tone. "Oh, boy." She rubbed her neck and tossed the stick into the garbage. "Cosmos isn't going to like this."

Dis appeared in the castle courtyard and quickly moved behind a statue to hide from a patrol. He peered out, made sure they were gone, and slithered into the Alicorn castle.

Luna walked though a corridor, looking at some papers, when Dis suddenly appeared. "Ah." Luna dropped the papers in her yelp. "Dis! Warn me before you do something like that."  
"sorry." Dis whispered. "just a bit… edgy."  
Luna used her magic to gather up the papers. "yeah. This war has everyone on edge. Why our parents decided to throw this stupid war is beyond me."  
"I know. I tried to talk mine out of it but they wouldn't listen."  
Luna chuckled. "guess we get more stubborn as we get older, don't we?"  
"looks like it. Un… do you know where Celestia is? I got to talk to her about something."  
"yeah. She should be in her room. But be careful; mother ordered all Draconequus' to be killed on site. No exceptions of who."  
Dis felt uneasy. Seems the Alicorns are stepping up their game. "okay."

Dis snuck down the hallway leading to Celestia's room, sneaking past any guards on the way. He almost got caught once when he knocked over a vase but was able to use his powers to turn himself into a replacement until the guards moved on. He almost lost a letter he had wrote to help express it but was able to recover it in time.  
He reached Celestia's room and was about to knock on it when he heard voices inside.  
"…mos, it's my decision on what to do with it. And if you want to help, you can."  
Dis heard Cosmos angrily scoff and walk around. "how could you get yourself into this situation?"  
"I don't know. It was just… a accident. A accident I'm gonna have to live with. What about you, Cosmos?"  
"I'm not sure. I just… I need to think about it." Dis heard a window open. "I have to go on assignment. When I get back, you'll have my answer." he heard wings flap and fade away. Celestia depressingly sighed.  
Dis waited a few moments before knocking on her door. "Tia? You in there?"  
She didn't reply for a few moments but, after a while… "yeah. Come on in, Dis."  
Dis opened the door and saw Celestia laying back on her bed, holding her forehead. "is something wrong?"  
"yeah. Something is… very wrong." she sat up and hugged a pillow. During those 5 years, Celestia learned that it was Discord she had kissed for the first time and not Cosmos back in those woods. She had been hoping for some alone time to talk to him. "listen… Dis… we need to have to talk."  
"same here." Dis came by with the intention of telling her how he felt about her ever since that day. He also never found out that Celestia and Cosmos were one of the hottest couples in town. "but you first."  
She sighed. This was going to be difficult. "Dis… I'm pregnant."  
Dis's heart sank when he heard it. "p-pregnant?" she slowly nodded. "wha… how? When?"  
"last night. I was cutting though a alley so I don't get punished for breaking curfew when someone attacked me and… and…" she didn't finish the sentence but Dis pieced together what happened. "and I wasn't feeling well when I woke up so took a test. It was positive."  
Dis found this hard to believe. Celestia was one of the toughest Alicorn's he knew. And super beautiful to boot. He can't picture her with a preggo belly. "so… why did you tell Cosmos? Before you ask, I heard you at the door. I didn't hear all of it, though."  
"well… *sigh* and I was hoping to tell you this some other time; let you down easy, but…" Dis cocked his head in confusion. "me and Cosmos… we've been dating since the camping trip 5 years ago."  
Dis' heart sank even further, as well as shatter. "w-what?"  
"yeah. I meant to break it to you slowly bu-" Dis didn't want to hear it and immediately left. "Dis!" she got up to chase him but he snapped his fingers and disappeared, dropping his letter. Celestia noticed this, picked it up, and felt her heart sink when she was what was written on it. "Dis…"

The Alicorn army gathered above the Draconequus capital city, ready to bring an end to this long war. Cosmos joined the leaders, clad in battle armor. "is it ready to go?" he asked one of them.  
"he is as ready as can be." Starswirl the Bearded said. "but… he is rather violent."  
"Good." Cosmos looked up into the sky.  
A large spiral cocoon fell from the sky and towards the town. The cocoon broke and turned into wings. The creature they belonged to flipped backwards and crashed into the middle of town, causing a large amount of dirt to kick up, obscuring what it was. A beam of blue light shot out of the dirt and hit the town, causing a large explosion. The dust dispersed with a flap of the creatures wings, revealing a large and deadly dragon.

Another explosion rocked the town as Dis reappeared in his home, tears in his eyes. "So… so she was just leading me on…" he silently sobbed and wiped his eyes. Another explosion hit, breaking him out of his tearful session. "oh no." he ran down the hall.  
"Mom! Mom, we got trouble!" he ran into his parents study and saw a horrifying image.  
Using his magic, Cosmos pulled a sword out of the bodies of the two lead Draconequus'. he turned to leave when he saw a horrified Dis standing in the doorway. "oh no." he gasped. He looked between him and the dead leaders. "oh no. these are… oh, Faust. Dis, I didn't know."  
Dis made a fist hard enough to draw blood. "You…" Dis snarled in anger. "I'm Gonna Make You And Your Kind Pay For This!" he yelled as he snapped his fingers and disappeared. In the process, he caused a explosion that sent Cosmos right into a bookcase, making it collapse on him.

Celestia paced back and forth in her mother's study, worried for both Cosmos and Dis. She didn't mean to break Dis's heart like that. She had hoped to do it slowly and not have it come out like that.  
"Tia…" Luna said with concern, watching her sister pace. The door to the study opened, making both the sisters look.  
Cosmos limped on in with bandages covering his legs and body. "Cosmos!" Celestia exclaimed. She ran over and hugged him. "thank goodness you're okay!" Cosmos begrudgingly returned her hug. Celestia silently sniffled as she broke her hug with his boy-toy. "Cosmos… I made a stupid mistake… It has to do with Dis…"

11 months later…

The Draconequus are now fully and completely wiped out. The Alicorns are now in total control of the new country they call Equestria. The Alicorns decided to use their powers to govern their new world and the ponies now have complete control over everything; the weather, the flora, the fauna. Almost everything really. It's also been 11 months since they last saw Dis. Tia, Lulu, and Cosmos believe that he's dead.  
The first major event in the countries history was the marriage of Celestia and Cosmos. The second biggest event is happening right now.

Luna paced back and forth in the waiting room at the hospital. Her sister is now giving birth to her niece. She went into labor 20 hours ago and started pushing half a hour ago. And Tia's suppose to be the strong sister. She sat down in a chair and looked at Celestia's room. "please be okay, Tia."

"AAAAAHHHH!"  
A contraction hit the newly christened Princess of the Sun as she tried to push her daughter out. "Oh, I'm gonna kill whoever knocked me up!"  
Cosmos nodded in agreement. "well, if you do find him, be sure to bring me along."  
"okay, Princess. the baby is starting to crown. One more push and she should be out."  
Celestia panted, thankful that this is almost over. She should've gotten the epidural when she got the chance. "Okay… okay… okay…"  
"just one more push and we're gonna be parents." Cosmos said with a smile.  
A very tired Celestia smiled back. "thanks… for being there for me." she panted. As soon as the next contraction hit, she pushed down again.

Outside in the rain, Dis watched from the window with a somber expression but was really angry inside. "(Celestia and Cosmos. Bah. She should be with me. We're the better couple.)" a realization hit him; something he had never considered before. "(unless… she was just having fun at my own expense with this. That bitch! She was just using me. She never cared about me.)" something inside him snapped, replacing what love he had for Celestia with anger. He now hates her with every fiber of his being.  
He heard a baby's cry. He looked in and saw a very tired Celestia grabbed her new daughter with happy tears in her eyes. "hello there, Erys. I'm your mommy." she sweetly said. Cosmos rubbed her back and nuzzled up next to her.  
"(Erys… the female version of the name Dis…)" normally, one would be happy that someone used their name. not him, though. he looked at the baby Alicorn and got a deadly plan in his eyes. "(I have great plans for you.)" he snapped his fingers and disappeared.

The large dragon from the assault that killed his parents was chained to the wall and sleeping like a baby. Actually, he is a baby. He only is 11 months old, anyhow. Dis appeared in front of him, waking him up. The Dragon snarled and tried to bite him.  
"calm down." Dis snapped his fingers. Cotton candy clouds appeared and wrapped around his mouth. "my. You are a violent creature, aren't you? Of course, that's what you were raised to do, aren't you? A creature of no remorse, with no feelings for anyone around him. A creature incapable of love, no matter how hard you try. you know only how to rain down death and destruction. You will never break loose of such destructive powers, no matter how hard you try. And I can use that."  
He snapped his fingers yet again. The monster was quickly and inexplicably turned into a small marble. Or rather, the essence of a egg. He grabbed it in his fingers and chuckled. "in 2000 years, in case I fail, you will be reborn just as you are; as violent, as deadly, as destructive." he snapped his fingers, sending it into a chaos vortex where it will remain for the next 2 millennia. "see you in 2000 years…" Dis chuckled evilly and disappeared.

2 years later…

Not long after Erys was born, Celestia's and Luna's mother died, leaving the 2 sisters and Cosmos in charge of the fledgling country. Luna started to get jealous of the ponies playing in Celestia's day and not her night. It ate at her but she kept it far in the back of her mind. It wasn't going to be a problem; she was sure.  
Erys quickly grew from a sweet little baby into a hyper-active toddler that was driving her parents wild. Still, Celestia considers her to be the best thing that ever happened to her.  
But… everything will change today…

"Don't go too far, Erys." her mother called out. Celestia smiled as she saw her daughter run off. She reminds her so much of herself when she was Erys' age.  
Erys laughed as she ran after a butterfly. She jumped up to catch it but missed. She jumped up again and missed again.  
Erys landed at the foot of someone's… well, foot. She looked up and noticed a serpent creature with different limbs. "well… aren't you the cute little fuss-bucket?" he said with a snarky tone. Erys felt something both scary and familiar about him. Unfortunately, the scary part is what's the focus today.

"MOMMY!"  
That yell for help got the attention of the 3 Alicorns and one ultra-powerful Unicorn. "Erys!" Celestia gasped before running in. Luna, Cosmos, and Starswirl ran after her.  
They ran into the castle courtyard to see a Draconequus holding Erys by her mane. Immediately, they took up battle positions. "Let Her Go!" Cosmos threatened.  
"Um… no."  
Celestia recognized the voiced instantly. Could it be him? After all this time. "Dis?"  
Dis wasn't sure she was going to remember him after all this time. "You do remember me? Well, I was so worried you wouldn't. oh, just thinking about it filled me with grief." he said in a joking manner.  
"Dis… what are you doing? We have so much to catch up on."  
"do we?" he angrily asked. "let's see. You broke my heart, you married the monster who killed my parents, you had a bastard child who you technically named after me, you're ruling the country that wiped my species to the ground! There, that caught up enough for you?!"  
His angry tone caught Celestia off guard. "D-dis…"  
"What do you want?" Cosmos angrily asked.  
Dis chuckled evilly. "revenge. Revenge for you all eradicating my species!" he evilly looked at Erys. "and I know a good place to start."  
Celestia's good feeling from reuniting with her good friend turned into anger as soon as he threatened Erys. "you touch one hair on her head or so help me, I'm going to make you pay!"  
Dis chortled and snapped his fingers. Erys yelled as she disappeared in the same manner as Oscurita. "Go on. Make my day!"  
Celestia couldn't believe what she saw. Her best friend… just killed her daughter. That's it. No more little miss nice pony. If he wants to die, so be it. "You… how could you! WE WERE THE BEST OF FRIENDS, DIS!"  
"Were being the right word." he replied. "And it's not Dis anymore…" He rose up into the air and got comfortable as his former friends got into battle positions. "… it's Discord."  
Celestia's anger reached a boiling point. "Dis…" a few tears fell from her eyes as she accepted it with a broke heart. Her best friend… was now her greatest enemy. "Discord!.. I'm gonna make you pay! YOU HEAR ME!? I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU FOR WHAT YOU DID! YOU ARE GOING TO PAY!" she powered up her magic and shot at him.

And thus, Celestia's and Discord's rivalry was born. Their war lasted for 900 years and almost tore the world apart.  
During their war, Discord was able to capture Cosmos inside a little black pearl which he placed inside her body close to his black heart but, since he disappeared like how Erys did, Celestia believed him to be dead.  
At the end of his life, Starswirl used the last of his powers to grant Celestia and Luna the gift of immortality. He saw that this war was going to last for a long time and that they would receive powerful help in the future to help defeat him just before he passed on.  
After 900 years, Celestia and Luna were forced to use a forbidden power from the dawn of the planet that they were told never to use except in emergencies. Using the Elements of Harmony, they able to imprison Discord in stone. before he turned, Discord created a little virus that he planted inside Luna. A little virus known as Nightmare Moon.  
During their war, their old kingdom was turned into ruin, forcing the pony's to spread out across their country, establishing the cities of Canterlot, Manehatten, Trottingham, ETC. the old town where Equestria was founded turned into the ruins Halo and Twilight came across while investigating the Everfree Forest and the palace, the resting place of the Elements of Harmony.  
The rest of this little show showcased Luna transforming into Nightmare Moon and Celestia banishing her to the moon, Celestia periodically visiting Discord's statue to try and find out where he sent Erys and Cosmos; only to end up with a recipe for chicken pot pies, and the events of the show and these stories with Derpy meeting eTu`nes, the Mane 6 getting their Cutie Marks, Twilight and her Friends turning Nightmare Moon back into Luna, the little bout with Trixie, the fiasco with the Buffalo, the Best Young Fliers competition, the Grand Galloping Gala, Discord's return and eventual re-imprisonment, Luna trying to fit in during Nightmare Night, Spike going on a journey to find himself, Cadence's and Armor's wedding with the Changeling invasion, the humans arrival on Equestria, the dragon Oscurita roaring in to the sky, the ponies turning into humans, the humans destroying Nightmare Moon completely, Twilight getting pregnant with Starlight, the mane 6 falling in love, Dash and Scootaloo coming across Eris, Eris summoning up the other members of the group, the Fall of Canterlot, Godzilla destroying Maredrid completely, the Battle of Canterlot, Dark Chrysalis getting destroyed, Discord being unleashed again and kidnapping Eris, him turning Eris into a sadist, the battle with the Reaper above Manehatten, the ship and all of them getting sucked into a black hole, them arriving in the Afterworld, learning about the tome, arriving at the palace, their battle with Catalyst, and right now…


	113. The Leap Home

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Discordian Troubles

Chapter 19

The Leap Home

The tome shut off and hovered in mid-air.  
Dumbstruck, everyone just stood there they were, still trying to wrap their minds around the story. Celestia, however, was angry as hell at Jax for making everyone see that.  
"un…" Jax shook her head and tried to piece together what they all saw. "so… let me see if I got this straight…" Ash groaned and pulled out a notepad. He knows where this is going. "… the reason Discord is going all apes hit because a certain princess didn't even bother to open her eyes when she kissed him 2000 years ago!?"  
"I've heard of really stupid reasons to have a personal vendetta against someone but, in this case, I can sympathize." Aura angrily exclaimed. Everyone agreed with him.  
Lina chuckled viciously as she turned to Celestia. "you know. This whole mess could've been avoided… if you had just talked to him after you found out! But no… you had to keep it a secret to when you got pregnant and when war broke out! No wonder he snapped the way he did! How stupid were you!?"  
"Enough!" Luna yelled. "blaming my sister for this won't change anything! Could any have you have seen this coming if you were in her shoes?" nobody answered her. They also made some crummy choices that resulted in something they never saw coming.  
Req pinched her eyes and sighed. "ugh. Fine. We can berate her when we get back to Equestria. Now… what do we know?"  
Ash took out his notes and began to write down as Twilight began to talk. "well, we learned that the dragon Oscurita was originally created 2000 years ago as a soulless beast of destruction. And that he was brought here by Discord."  
"but… he can't be soulless." Derpy said. "Dinky said that he was kind to her."  
Ash looked at the camera with a raised eyebrow. "I'll… just put a question mark after soulless…" he did just that. "Anything else?"  
"well, we learned that Discord had romantic feelings for Celestia, before all that mess happened." Sora said, still on Ash's back due to her bum leg. "if we can play that on him, we might be able to change him back."  
That was a plan; play his feelings. Although the Ponies aren't exactly big fans of manipulation.  
"what else?" Ash asked.  
"Cosmos was never sent to a Chaos Realm, but rather into a black pearl Discord is keeping inside his body." Riku said. "getting to that is going to be a problem."  
Jax wickedly sneered her teeth as she spun her chakram around her finger. "just leave that to me. One Personality Shift and good Discord will let Cosmos go."  
"my biggest concern is Erys." Luna said. "that really didn't explain what happened to."  
"actually, it did." Twi said. "the way she disappeared is the same way that Discord sent Oscurita to our time. So, she'll end up coming here. And remember, discord had some plan for her so he wouldn't have killed her."  
"if that's true, then she should've reappeared the same time Oscurita did." Cadence muttered. "then… where is she?"  
Everyone thought about that; Where would she reappear? Dash got a sinking feeling that she did reappear, just not as a Alicorn.  
Jax turned to ask the time how to get back when she noticed a rainbow tail go down the stairs. "(where's she going?)"

Groaning came from Scootaloo's mouth as she woke up. Water erupted from her mouth as she coughed. "Ugh. Oh, god." her chest hurt as she gagged and coughed up more water. "oh, Faust." she coughed inside her mouth and shakingly exhaled. She put her head to the ground and closed her eyes. "oh, man. That hurt. Ugh… what happened? The last thing I remember was…" she gasped and quickly turned around to the ocean. "ERIS!" her voice echoed. Only thing that replied was thunder off in the distance. Groaning came from Scoot's right. She looked and saw Bab's waking up, feeling as bad as Scoots did just a few seconds ago. "Babs!" she ran over to her.  
"Ugh… emmm…" Babs coughed up water. "egh… Wgat gappened?"  
"huh? Oh. 'what happened.' well…" Scoots helped Babs up. "I'm not sure. But I'm more worried about Eris." she looked out to the sea. More thunder rumbled off in the distance. "she's losing it. I'm not sure why but I think her powers are going out of control."  
Babs cleared her throat and coughed again. "you think that's what's going on with her?"  
"can't think of anything else." she sighed as she sat down. "we just need to figure out a way back."  
Babs coughed one last time before looking around. She recognized the area. "wait. I know where we are." she pieced the surroundings with images in her memory. "we're just outside Clopdon."  
"Clopdon?"  
"yeah, yeah. We used to come here all the time for summer vacay." Babs got up. "on foot, we're about 2 days away from Manehatten. But if we get to the train station in time, it'll be a few hours."  
Scoots nodded. It's a lot better then sitting around here. "if we can get back, we can have Pinkie or Golden Day sent a letter to Celestia, let her know what's going on and help Eris." Babs started to run off. Scoots ran after her. "You know where you're going?"  
"I've been here ever since I was a baby. I know Clopdon as well as I know Manehatten."  
Scoots' hopes Babs was right, for Eris' sake. She glanced back as she ran, seeing more thunder rumble. "please, be safe Eris."

Celestia stormed down the stairs, angry as can be at Jax. "Hey!" Jax called out, walking after her. Celestia ignored her and kept on walking. "Hey!" they reached the veranda. "I'm talking to you, Celestia."  
Celestia snapped and used her magic to pin Jax up against the wall. "why did you do that?" she angrily asked the human. "why would you do that!? You had no right to reveal all that!"  
"And you had no right to keep something that big a secret from Dis. If you had just told him sooner or bothered to open your eyes, you could've avoided all this!"  
"Shut up."  
"listen. We all make mistakes when it comes to romance. I did. Req did. Everyone else you know did. We know that feeling."  
"NO YOU DON'T!" Celestia yelled. Tears began to fall from her eyes. "You have no idea how that feels." her voiced quavered. "You don't know how it feels to… to be enemies with your best friend… to have those you loved most taken away from you…" Celestia rubbed her eyes but the tears kept falling. Her magic faltered, causing Jax to fall to the floor. Celestia also fell to the floor. "to have your own child ripped away from you… to be all alone for 2000 years…"  
Celestia sobbed as tears fell like waterfalls. Jax rubbed her neck and glanced away; she couldn't bare to look at anyone when they cry. "Celestia… we all make mistakes. We either own up to them or accept them and move on. Yours are still around and can be fixed. You got Luna back after 1000 years." she patted the princess on the back, who sniffled and looked at her with tear filled eyes. "trust me. You'll get Cosmos back, you'll get Erys back. And you'll get Dis back."  
Celestia sniffled again and wiped her eyes. "y-you think so?"  
Jax smiled with confidence. "have we ever let you down?"  
She certainly had her there. Not once have they ever let Celestia, or the world, down. In fact, these humans may have been the best thing ever to happen to their world in a long time. "no… no, you haven't." Celestia replied, finally being able to smile.

The 2 walked back up to the tome just as everyone was starting down. "Whoa whoa whoa, where are you guys going?" Jax asked.  
"back to town." Adolf said.  
"but don't we need to get the way home first?"  
"just got it." Req said as she was one of the last ones down with Twilight. "I'll explain it when we get back."  
Twi stopped in mid-step and looked back at the two of them. "where did you two disappear too?"  
Jax and Celestia looked at each other for a moment. "Just… out for a walk."  
"oh. Well, hurry up." she ran on down the steps, leaving both of them behind. Jax started after her when Celestia stopped her.  
"thanks… for not telling them."  
"about what, the crying?" Jax laughed with a scoff. "trust me, Tia. You're not the first ultra-powered ruler to break down and shed a few tears."

The sand skiff pulled away from the high palace and headed back to the town. On it, they discussed on what to do with Discord.  
"Okay. So we know that Discord was in love with Celestia." Req said. "Maybe, if some residue of his feelings are still in there, we can use it to make him see the error of his ways and let go of his pursuit of revenge."  
"yeah, that's a good plan and all, but you're forgetting that Cosmos killed his parents and helped slaughter his species." Armor said.  
"Right. Right. Forgot about that. Well, then Jax can do her Personality Shift on him and we'll destroy the evil half before it has a chance to go berserk like Chrysalis'."  
"there's a bit of a problem with that plan." Celestia interrupted. "Cosmos is no slouch when it comes to fighting. If you use that spell on him while he's still in that pearl inside Discord, he'll turn evil too. And I hate to imagine what he would act like if evil."  
"I think I know how to deal with that." Lloyd said. "we saw that Discord put that pearl thing near his heart, right? And we saw where. And from what we all experienced, if the prison is destroyed, the prisoner is, well, released."  
"I get what you're getting at." Bahamut said, chiming in. "if we get lucky and destroy the pearl while it's inside Discord…"  
"then Cosmos will be released easy peasy then Jax can shift Discord and we can get rid of the evil half just like *snaps fingers* that."  
"but remember, Discord's no slouch when it comes to fighting." Luna said. "remember, it took me and Tia 900 years to defeat him."  
"so?" Req asked. "I've only been fighting for 2 years and I beat Gods and Goddesses more times then you can say 'Mary Poppins'."  
"there's still Eris we have to deal with." Dash interrupted.  
"oh." Req had hoped Dash wouldn't bring her up. "Right. W-well, we can just Personality Shift her, too."  
"no!" Dash exclaimed. "just… just let me talk to her. Try to get her to break loose out of whatever programming Discord put in her head."  
"Dash… *sigh* okay."  
"that still doesn't help on how we're gonna get back." Garble asked. "and besides that, you still need to pay for my services, plus extra for this unexpected detour into the Afterworld." everyone groaned in agony when he brought that up. Spike sighed and bonked Garble hard on the head, knocking him out.  
"thank you." everyone said in unison.

"we're leaving now?" Satoshi asked in surprise as everyone started climbing back onto the ship. Spike and Gilda carried Garble's unconscious form onto the ship.  
"yep. Found the way back. Now start the ship up." Req ordered.  
Satoshi looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "did she just order me around?" he asked. Ash rolled his eyes and pushed him up the ramp.

"Do you have to leave now?" Adolf asked Req, Aura, and Bahamut. "you just got here. We got so much to catch up on."  
"I know. And I don't want to leave either." Req said with lament. "but… Adolf, you know that we're not ready to come here yet."  
"I know, sis. I know. But… I'm gonna miss you."  
Req smiled and hugged her brother. "I'm gonna miss you too, kiddo."  
"And hey, It's not good-bye forever." Aura said. "we'll die someday and rejoin you."  
"but it's gonna be a long wait." Adolf sighed.  
"you waited this long to see us again. What's another 80 years?" Bahamut said with a wink.  
Adolf sighed as he pinched his eyes. "figures you would say something stupid like that, Bahamut." the 4 laughed with delight as they said their final goodbyes for the next few decades.

And they weren't the only ones.  
"I can't believe we have to say goodbye again." Dash sadly said to her brother and mother. "I still couldn't believe you guys were dead when it happened."  
"we know Dash, but you know we can't go back." Soarin' said. "we can't leave. No bodies to go back to."  
"besides…" Shine lovingly covered her daughter with her wing. "you have two important people waiting for you back home."  
Dash nodded with a chuckle. She had Scootaloo and Eris and Shadow waiting for her. And besides, it's not like this is going to be a eternal goodbye. She knows where to find them.

The Orion flew up into the air and hovered 1000 feet above the town.  
"so… how do we get back home?" Applejack asked, looking down from over the railing.  
Requiem drew her blade and powered it up. "it's a simple process that can also be deadly." she said. "it requires a god or goddess to do it but the pool that allows those departed to see our worlds can be powered up to allow those like us to pass though it and return home."  
"Oh." everyone said in unison.  
"It can work like that?" Edge asked.  
"yep." Req jumped up onto the outer mast. "in a few seconds, Soarin's gonna ask the pool to focus on Manehatten cause that's where we need to go."  
Nexus Ultimus glowed bright as Aura remembered something that she had just said. "wait. You said it was dangerous. How is it dangerous?"  
Req looked back and painfully smiled. "If you're a demi-goddess, it takes away some of your life."  
"what?"  
A bright green light shone from below. They all looked to see the pool light up and focus on Manehatten.

Begin Song: watch?v=9-ZyTN7eGNg Lasky - Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn Unofficial Soundtrack  
(just like with hunter a couple chapters back. It has sound effects. And again, it helps.)

Req swung her sword to the right. "hope this works." she held her arm out, spinning her sword around as fast as possible. Energy gathered into the blade in the form of ice crystals. Req silently grunted in pain as it did indeed what she said and took some of her life.  
She swung once above her head and shot the ball of 'ice' down to the pool.

The ball hit, causing the pool to glow bright. A whirlpool extended out of the pool and extended wide enough for the Orion to pass though.

"holy crap, it worked." Trixie commented.  
Req held her heart in pain as she looked down at the portal. "Celestia. It's your world. You give the order."  
The princess stared at Req for a moment, a bit surprised that she would ask her, given what she did in the past. She toughened up and nodded. "Satoshi, Take us in! it's time to take my world back!"  
"Roger that." he pressed a button on his little console, causing the ship to shake a bit.

The Orion quickly entered space mode, with the wings successfully reattached by Satoshi. The engines kicked into gear and the ship blasted off. It pulled up and pulled a u-turn before heading down to the portal.  
Everyone in town looked to the sky nervously. Nobody's ever done this before.  
The crazy lady that gave them the directions to the tome melted away, revealing her true for underneath. "Good luck, my darling daughters." the female Alicorn softly said.

The voice reached both princess' ears. They looked at each other with concern then over the side. "Mother?"

The ship turned down and shot bow first towards the portal.  
"better hope this works!"  
The ship spun around and powered up it's main cannons as it shot right into the portal.

End Song.


	114. From Terrifying to Nightmarish

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Discordian Troubles

Chapter 20

From Terrifying to Nightmarish

The train headed to Manehatten screeched to a halt, sending it's passengers, Scootaloo and Babs included, flying forward. The locomotive halted just before it went over a break in the line and over a cliff.  
"whoa." the engineer whistled, looking over the edge. That… would've been deadly. The passengers looked out their windows or the breaks between cars and whistled at how far they would've dropped.  
"AHH! Look at Manehatten!" one of the passengers yelled.  
The entire city was turned into chaos central with buildings as high as the atmosphere and creatures better off in stories floating around. What was even more odd is a continuous beam that kept shooting into the sky. A pulse went up into the air though the beam. When it went into the clouds, it went 'boom' and spread more chaos out into the world. That one turned Feather Top into a giant bird bath.  
Babs's heart sank when she saw her home like this. "Mom…"  
"Wait. Babs. Look. The farm. It's still in one piece." Scootaloo said, pointing to said farm.  
Babs breathed a sigh of relief. "thank goodness." she and Scootaloo exited the car they were on and looked down at the cliff though the break. "Now… how do we get down?"  
Scootaloo thought about it and looked around to try and find anything. Unfortunately, she didn't. "Guess we're gonna have to rough it." she told her.  
"rough it?"  
Scoot's term of rough it is sliding down the side, using your hooves as breaks. "ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow…" they both went ow ow ow as they slid on down. They should've looked around for some shoes.

When the two arrived at the farm, they saw that almost everyone from Manehatten had taken refuge there.  
"wow." they both said, surprised to see the place like this. They moved though the crowd and headed up to the house.

"caring for 50000 people is no easy feat." Babs's mom sighed as she slunk over the kitchen table, her feet aching for relief.  
"tell us about it." the colts and fillies of the CMC said, having been helping her take care of the refugees. Pinkie and Marble are also helping and their hyperness is just what was needed to help perk everyone's spirits.  
"I know it's been tough, but there's was the closest place we could go to, what with Discord having taken out the train tracks." Golden Day said.  
"I'm still surprised he did that." Applebloom said, stirring a pot filled with noodles. "Applejack told me that Discord wasn't like that when he was released last time."  
"Yeah. It was after everyone died that he changed." Sweetie Belle said. "he changed for the worst."  
"he became like Eris." Dinky sighed.

Marble moved though the crowd of refugees that had set up camp and found Diamond sitting around a campfire with several other ponies with Helios sleeping not that far from them. He walked up behind her and hugged her. "Oh. You surprised me, Marble."  
"Sorry. And how can a hug scare you?"  
"it just does. That's the scary part. You don't know."  
Marble rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Listen…" he sat down beside her. "I know that… my initial reaction to you being engaged to Green Block and carrying his baby was a bit… negative-"  
"you yelled."  
"Yeah. I yelled. But… that was because I wasn't sure you were making the right choice, after what he did to me."  
"I remember."  
"but… after some thinking, and some nudging from Pinkie Pie, I decided that I would… give your relationship with him a try."  
Diamond smiled and patted her brothers head. "thanks, Marble." Marble looked up and smiled at her. "and whole knows; you and Block could become good friends."  
Marble's eyes got that fazed look. "I'm giving him a chance. Isn't that enough?"  
Diamond giggled. "yeah. Guess that's enough… Uncle Marble." Marble playfully scoffed. That's gonna take some getting used to.  
Suddenly, a pair of fillies ran by, getting his attention. "Scoots?"

The door to the house slammed open and the two fillies ran in. "We got trouble!" both Scoots and Babs said.  
Nobody asked but their innitial reaction to this was… "SCOOTALOO!" her friends exclaimed. They ran over and hugged her.  
"Babs!" her mother shrieked happily. She hugged her daughter and kissed her over and over and over.  
Babs struggled to get loose of her mothers death grip. "mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom…" she did get loose and wiped her face off. "you're embarrassing me."  
"I was so worried! When you and Scootaloo disappeared, we feared the worst."  
"how'd you disappear, anyhow?" Applebloom asked.  
"Eris kidnapped us." Scoots explained. "She took us to some island to kill us then… something happened."  
"what happened?"  
Marble burst in. "we got trouble outside!"

Lightning fell from the sky and fell around the barn, striking everyone outside, causing them to yell out in pain.  
One such bolt fell towards Diamond but her fiancée pushed her out of the way, making him take the blow instead of her. "Block!" she yelled out. Another bolt fell to her but her brother flew in and picked her up just before it hit her. "Marble! Block, he…"  
"I saw." he replied. They flew into the house and quickly closed the door.  
"what happened out there?" Babs yelled.  
"I don't know…" Marble put Diamond down and quickly pushed the table in front of the door. "but I got a good feeling about what's coming next." he pushed a chair in front of the table as Golden Day walked to the window and looked out. When he saw made all color flush from his face.  
"what's going on?" Pipsqueak asked.  
Golden Day couldn't describe what he was seeing. It was too horrific for him to repeat.

Begin Song: watch?v=YIFo75_3NH4 To Hunt L'Cie - Final Fantasy XIII OST

0:00.  
Outside, innocent ponies were turning into horrifying and dangerous monsters in ways to horrific to describe. And… even if I could, it would give kids nightmares for months to come.  
"My Faust…" Babs' mother gasped when they all saw what was going on outside.  
Another Lightning bolt struck just outside the house and who should come out but Discord himself. But… something was off, really off, about him, and Pinkie was the only one to notice it. "is that… the same pentagram Dark Chrysalis had?" she muttered.

The Pentagram in Discord's forehead glowed yellow, as did his eyes. Whatever Orochi did to him certainly took effect as a loud boom echoed from underneath him, flattening the ground beneath him.  
"it… is all over." he told everyone inside. "everyone on the whole planet have been turned into savage beasts, ready to do my bidding. Your friends are dead, sent to the Afterworld where nobody can return. The only reason I didn't turn you is because I need some witnesses to observe the rise of my new empire! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"  
"he has officially gone insane." Sweetie Belle tried to joke.  
Pinkie snarled and walked out to confront him. "Hey!" her yell got his attention. "I thought you were a spirit who loved to have fun! Where'd that guy go?"  
The Pentagram on Discord's head glowed again. "he… is long gone." he pointed his hand at her, causing lightning to appear in it.  
"Pinkie!" Marble ran out a few feet to get her but quickly stopped and ran back in when Discord blasted her right though the door. She hit the cupboard and fell to the floor. "Pinkie!" Pinkie groaned as she struggled to get up. What happened next, nobody saw coming at all.  
Pinkie placed one of her hooves onto the table to help up when it suddenly, and painfully, split open to look like a the barrel of a rifle, causing everyone to scream. "OH MY GODS!" Pinkie, who didn't feel a thing, looked at her hoof and screamed as well. Soon, all her hooves split open.

1:02.  
Babs's mom quickly put the table cloth over Pinkie as Marble angrily sneered at Discord. "You…" he unfurled his wings and flew on out. "BASTARD!" he tried to ram Discord but was stopped by a invisible forcefield. He screamed as he was sent back into a stack of firewood.  
The Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony snapped his fingers, bringing Marble over to him. "you want to join her?" Lightning appeared around Marble but it didn't hit him. "so be it."  
"DISCORD!"  
Celestia's angry and irritated voice filled the air, surprising him and everyone who didn't change.

The Black Hole that had destroyed the Orion reappeared over the sea when it first appeared. The creatures inside the city stirred and snarled. They had a pretty good feeling of what's going to be coming out of that thing.

Discord, and everyone else, is confused on how that thing reppeared. "How…?" Discord looked to Marble. "This was your doing, isn't it?" he asked the Pegasus.  
"How can I? don't use magic?"  
The Black Hole suddenly exploded in a show of force that nobody on the ground did.

1:30.  
The Orion flew on out of the explosion and quickly pulled up before it hit the water, making a straight bee-line for the city.  
"Impossible…" Discord gasped. "They were dead!"  
Inside, everyone's hopes were brightened. "THEY'RE ALIVE!" they all cheered.  
Discord snarled and tossed Marble to the side. "Kill them."

1:44.  
The creatures in the city moved to attack the Orion. They opened their mouths and powered up what beam attacks they had.  
The Orion was the first to attack as it's cannons fired and hit every creature in the town. It turned hard right and headed straight for the farm.  
The ponies were still in the painful process of transforming so they couldn't do anything about it. Discord still snapped his fingers, however.  
A dragon from Skyrim suddenly appeared and slammed into the ships front. It roared as it powered up it's fire. The Main Cannons fired and sent the dragon out a ways before exploding.  
The ship slowed down and turned hard on it's left.

2:12.  
Req, Jax, and Celestia fell from the ship and straight for the Draconequus.  
Req slashed down at Discord but he quickly dodged to the side. One of Jax's chakrams missed his head when he dodged but she tried to attack him with the other. That also missed. Celestia's magic hit him square in the chest, sending him skidding back a bit.  
"Impossible…" Discord snarled. "…I killed you.  
"believe it. We're back." Jax said as she caught her other chakram.  
"Next time, you might want to be more thorough." Req commented. She spun her sword and pointed it at Discord.  
"Dis… please, stop this." Celestia pleaded.  
That name… he hadn't heard that in a long while. If psychological warfare is their game, then they're going be sorely disappointed. Discord scoffed. "I haven't the time for this. Stay tuned." he snapped his fingers. He, and all the other ponies, disappeared.

2:41. End Song.

The Orion touched down as Req was the first to comment, "is it just me… or did he go even more insane?"  
Marble grunted as he got up. "No. he went insane."  
Derpy was the first on off when she was ran into by a squealing Dinky. "MOMMY!" the two rolled on the ground a ways before stopping. "Mommy, you're alive!" Dinky happily squealed as she hugged her mother tight.  
"Applejack!"  
"Rarity!"  
Sweetie Belle and Applebloom joined in and hugged their sisters.  
"RAINBOW DASH! Scootaloo jumped at Dash, causing them both to fall off the ramp. "You're alive! You're alive!" she cheered as she hugged Dash.  
"Good to see you too, squirt." Dash got up and was able to push Scoots off. "it's so very good do se-" she noticed Scootaloo's cut up hooves. "wh… what happened?"  
Scoots looked at her hooves and went 'oh.' "un…. It's a long story." Dash raised a eyebrow as only a mother would. "it is."  
"and we can't wait to hear it." Manni said as she jumped down to them.  
Scootaloo closed her eyes halfway. "oh. You. Un, Dash. Did you have to bring her back?"  
"Squirt!"  
"what?"  
Dash sighed. "Listen… there's something you need to know." Scootaloo tilted her head in confusion. "Scootaloo… you still have family out there."  
"Yeah. You, Shadow, and Eris."  
Dash shook her head 'no'. "No, Squirt. Biological family." she got up and walked over to Manni. "Manni… Manni is your aunt. Your biological aunt."  
Scootaloo went into shock when she heard that. She still had family? And Manni was it? Is that why she tried to take her all those times? "y-you're kidding, right?"  
"nope. Manni is the only family you have left in this world." Scoots looked to Manni who glanced away. "so… Scoots… you have a choice. You can stay with me… or the only family you have left."  
"Dash…"  
"there's no pressure." Manni said. "We both agreed to fully support what decision you make."  
"So… it's up to you." Dash said.  
Scoots couldn't believe this. Why are they making her choose? She sucks at choosing. "(Dammit, why are they making me choose?)" she doesn't' want to disappoint either of them.

"oh, you have no idea what a relief it is to know you're all alive." Golden Day said with a sigh of relief.  
"You have no idea." Halo said. "where we went was a bit… trippy."  
"where'd you all go?" Applebloom asked, hanging off of Applejack's back.  
"the Afterworld." Req explained. "We ran into a few old dead friends, found a tome that has all the info in the universe, had a rematch with my brother Catalyst which we still don't know how we won, learned about Discord's history, and we now know how to beat him."  
Those who didn't go just stood there, not sure how to react first. "Un…." Dinky shook her head. "if you say so."  
Marble chuckled. "Pinkie would be so lost with this." he then remembered that Pinkie was transforming. "Pinkie!" the foals yelped and ran with him into the house.  
"Oh, crap!" Golden Day winced.  
"What's going on?" Fluttershy asked.  
"eh…"

Marble ran into the kitchen and towards the shifting table cloth that Babs' mother had put over the changing Pinkie. "Pinkie! Pinkie! Are you okay?" the only response was a demonic sounding growl. That growl was something he didn't expect to hear. "P-pinkie?"  
Pinkie got up from the floor and the table cloth fell off. What Marble saw made him gasp. Pinkie asked in a growling matter but that's all that came. Growls. And her looks weren't exactly Pinkie anymore.  
"you flew too fast for us to catch up, Marble." Sweetie Belle said from outside. "what's go-" she and the other members of the CMC ran in and yelled. "P-pinkie?"  
Bahamut came in, confused as all sin as to what's going on. "just what is going on- oh…. Oh my god… is that Pinkie?"  
Pinkie made a confused growl then looked around for a mirror. She looked into it and saw a mutant pony standing where she was. There was nothing that even remotely resembled a pony in this new look. She gasped in fear when she realized that it was her. She looked at what was once her hooves in horror.  
"Pinkie…" Marble softly said.  
"What's going on in there?" Shadow asked.  
Marble glanced to the exit, then back to a horrified Pinkie. "un… I… um… it's better if I show you." he responded. Pinkie backed up into the corner. "Pinkie… they're gonna see this one way or another." Pinkie growled at him and he understood it. "It's okay. I still love you. Although I consider this a test of our relationship."

Marble walked out. "Um… something… happened to Pinkie so you're gonna have to promise not to yell."  
"Yell?" Hiccup asked.  
He nodded to the human then turned back to Pinkie. She slowly walked out, revealing her new form to everyone else. Nobody yelled but they did gasp in fear. Rarity even fainted.  
"that's Pinkie!?" Dash exclaimed. "What in Equestria happened to her?"  
"Discord. Not long after you died, he snapped. Not sure why."  
Pinkie yelped, getting their attention. She used her new reptilian tale and drew a picture into the ground. And that picture was a Pentagram.  
"wait… isn't that the same symbol Dark Chrysalis had on her forehead?" Gilda pointed out.  
"it is." Req said. "whatever happened to her also happened to Discord. That's gonna make our plan even more difficult."  
"gonna make him as sadistic as my dark self?" Chrysalis asked.  
"Or as Eris."  
Eris… Eris… oh, right. They forgot. "Oh, crap. Eris!" Scootaloo and Babs exclaimed. They got the attention of everyone there. "Something bad is happening to Eris." Scootaloo said with worry. "Something really, really bad."


	115. Farewell Squirt

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Discordian Troubles

Chapter 21

Farewell… Squirt…

Begin Song: watch?v=U5GolsN1Y1U Hurricane - Ace Combat: Assault Horizon OST

The Orion zoomed at top speed in space mode over the mountains then over the sea. Straight ahead in it's path was a hurricane, and a powerful one at that. And since they were the only ponies unchanged, they took Golden Day, Diamond, Babs, and Babs' mother with them.

"WHAT!?" Dash yelled out, not believing what she heard.  
"it's true. Eris is going… berserk or something." Scootaloo explained with worry. "I'm not sure why, though. It just happened."  
"how long ago did that happen?"  
"I don't know…. When you guys were killed, I guess."  
"that was 5 days ago." Req said.  
Dash bit her hoof in worry. Please let Eris be okay. "How much longer, Satoshi?"  
"Just need to get though that hurricane." he pressed a button, bringing the wings in. unnatural lighting cracked though the hurricane's walls. "But something tells me that's gonna be a problem."

The ship rolled into the rain wall and slammed right into it.  
The ship shook and swung around in the storms winds and rains.

"I'm starting to get motion sickness!" Gourry yelled.  
"just hang on!" Satoshi struggled to pull the wheel to the right but the wind was really getting in his way. "there hasn't been a storm yet that took me out."

The ship pulled a hard left turn as it was forced to go right by the storm. The engines were at peak capacity, so it gave the ship some boost.  
After much hardship, Satoshi was able to direct the ship out of the storm and into the eye of the hurricane.

Orion broke though the storm wall and fell to the sea floor. It was able to pull up in time and fly back up into the air.

"never thought I'd say this…" Dash groaned. She held her mouth as she gagged. "but I got air-sickness…"  
"oh my god…" Req gasped. Dash looked up at her and then the direction she was looking. What she saw made her gasp as well.

Right in the center of the hurricane was a creature made entirely out of lightning; head, feet, hands, everything. Thing is… it's not lightning. It's pure energy that resembles lightning. And right in the center of it was Eris, who was cowering in the fetal position.  
Dash ran to the bow and yelled, "ERIS!"  
Eris slowly and painfully opened her tear-soaked eyes to see the ship flying right outside and Dash's voice reach her. "D-Dash…" her body glowed bright. She grabbed her head and yelled out as loud as she could.  
Energy shot out of the mass and struck against the ship like lightning.

"WHOA!" Halo ducked, avoiding a runaway.  
"That was a little closer then I'd like." Cynder commented.  
Dash ran over and continued to look over the side. "Eris… what the hell did Discord do to you?"  
"DYAAAAHHHHHH!"  
Another shot came towards them. Satoshi planned for that one and banked the ship to the right. It just grazed the tip of the wing, leaving a small smolder that won't do anything.  
"this isn't good." Trixie gulped.  
"She wasn't doing this last time." Babs said. "all she did was cause explosions."  
"Explosions!?"

Inside the mass, Eris was in unbridled pain and every time she would get used to it, it would increase in intensity. Right now, it's at max level and lordie, I don't want to see what's beyond max.  
Tears of pain fell from her eyes as her power ransacked her body. "Make it stop… make it stop… make it stop…" she snapped her eyes open as it glowed again.  
"MAKE IT STOP!" more energy shot out of the mass, sticking at the masts of the ship.

A part of the mast broke loose and fell to the deck. "Geez!" Garble had to jump to get out of the way. "this is a little too intense for my taste."  
Dash hung onto the railing for dear life as Satoshi pulled the ship though some sick maneuvers. Despite all that was going on, she could hear Eris crying, begging for it to stop. "Eris…" and as it wasn't bad enough, her dicease started to act up, making her hold her chest in pain. "D-damn… not now…" she grunted in pain.

Another bolt hit the ship, sending it into a barrel-roll. That roll sent Dash hurdling out of the ship and into the air.  
"DASH!" Scootaloo yelled out.  
Dash was in too much pain to do anything except fall. Scoots whined in fear and looked back at her wings. She was sure as hell not going to let her die now. Not again. She ran to and jumped over the edge.  
"SCOOTS!" the CMC yelled.  
Mandi ran over to jumped after her but another bolt stuck the ship, sending it into a tail-spin.

"Dash!"  
Scoots fell as fast as he could and caught up to Dash. Dash was able to open one eye in pain.  
"S-Squirt?"  
Both hit against the mass and instantly disintegrated.

"Scootaloo!" Manni cried out.  
"Dash!" the Mane 6 yelled.  
"AHHHHHHHHHH!" another bolt struck out and hit the ship in the hull, breaking though it and striking against the storm wall.  
"Worry about ourselves for now!" Satoshi yelled out. "if they're still alive, they're on their own.

End Song.

Dash and Scootaloo yelled as they fell though the bowels of the mass and to… somewhere.  
"You should've have come, Scoots!" Dash yelled.  
"And leave you alone in pain? Not a chance. You're my mother and my sister and that's reason for me to do this."  
For some reason, Dash felt glad she did that. "Scoots…"  
"da… dy…. DAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"  
The two heard Eris yelled from somewhere but they couldn't find her. "ERIS!" they both yelled out.  
"Ah! Ah. *sobbing* please… make it stop… make it go away…. Please… I don't want this anymore…"  
"Eris!" Dash called out.  
The two reached the bottom and landed on some invisible floor.

Begin Song: watch?v=uKHtJdrRM7c Oh, and One More Thing - ParaNorman Soundtrack

"AAAHHH!"  
A bolt shot out and struck both Scootaloo and Dash in the chests, sending them into some invisible wall. The bolt retracted and hovered above a energy ball with several others as it surrounded Eris.  
Dash fell to the floor and caught Scoots as she fell. More bolts came and hit them, burning them on their torsos. The bolts continued to strike them even after they were down, adding more burns. One of the bolts picked Dash up and pinned her to the wall for a moment before slamming her back to the floor.  
Another of the bolts tangled around Scootaloo's neck and attempted to choke her.  
Eris held her head as she begged for the pain to stop. "Make it stop… make it stop… make it stop… make it stop… make it stop…"

Outside, things weren't going to well for the ship as more bolts struck against it, causing some areas to catch on fire.

Dash grunted in pain as she struggled to get up. She noticed Scootaloo getting choked and ran over to her. She slammed her hooves down into the bolt, causing it do disperse. "You okay, Scootaloo?"  
"no… I'm not…" she rolled over and held her stomach in pain. "I think that messed me up."  
"AAAAHHH! DRAHHHHH!" more sobbing followed after that little yelling display, getting Dash's attention. The energy sphere shone brighter as Eris was put into more pain. "why… won't it end…?" she tearfully asked herself.  
Dash got up and limped over. "Eris!"  
Eris opened her wet eyes and looked over to her. "m-mommy…" Dash gasped when Eris called her that. "Help… me… please, end this…"  
"H-how?"  
Another attack hit Eris, causing her to yell again. When it passed, Eris coughed and was able to glance up at her.  
"mommy… please… kill me…"  
"Kill you!?" Dash yelled out. she couldn't do that. She was still the same baby Draconequus she raised. "I… I can't do that!"  
"mommy, please! Please! Kill me. Please." another attack hit, causing her to yell again.  
A dumbstruck Dash looked to the floor in horror. She can't do this. There was no way she's going to kill her.

Outside, things weren't going so well. More bolts struck against the ship, putting more sections on fire. The force from a explosion sent Lloyd hitting against the railing. It forced one of his blades to fall out and fall into the mass.

Eris yelled again as a dumbstruck Dash continued to look at the ground, this time with tears falling. She doesn't like seeing Eris like this but she can't kill her own daughter. She just can't.  
"Eris… Eris, I can't. because I know you can fight this! You can fight this, Eris. Just try."  
"I can't!" she yelled.  
"Yes you can. You're stronger then this, Eris. I know you are. And not just me, all your friends think so, too."  
"that's right…" Scootaloo groaned as she got up. Her legs trembled beneath her but she kept her balance. "you can overcome this, Eris. You just have to try.  
"I… I can't…" Eris closed her eyes as more tears fell.  
"yes you can, Eris!"  
"I… can't!" another attack hit her, and this time, it was continuous. "AHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA A! AH! AH! AH! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHH!"  
The sphere glowed bright as the powers of chaos began to over take her.  
"ERIS!" Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash yelled out.  
A glint from above got Scoot's attention. She looked up to see Lloyd's sword fall towards them. "oh no…" Scoots gasped.  
The sword fell though the sphere and…

End Song.

Outside, the mass groaned and collapsed in on itself. A moment later, it exploded into a blue sphere.

Begin Song: watch?v=1ycae1FtGmI Green and Blue from Halo 4 - Orchestra Rearrangement by Youtuber Dummeh

SHLUNK!  
Eris's eyes lost all color.  
The sphere disintegrated, revealing that Lloyd's sword fell though and stuck Eris though the chest.  
"ERIS!" Dash and Scoots ran up to her as the sword disintegrated and instantly returned in Lloyd's scabbard before he knew it was gone. Eris fell backwards to the floor but was caught by Dash.  
"Eris! ERIS!" Eris' reply was rasping breathing as her wound began to seep blood. Little sparkles began to float out of her body as it began to fade away. "no. no no no no no. no, Eris. You can't leave me! Please no!" Dash broke down and sobbed into Eris' shoulder.  
The Draconequus' left hand twitched and slowly worked up to Dash's shoulder. "I… it's okay, mommy." Dash tearfully opened her eyes and wiped them. In her arms was Eris back when she was just a baby but she still had her grown-up voice. "we… both knew this was going to end this way…."  
"no. no no no. Eris, you are not going to leave me! Not like this!" Dash sniffled as she wiped her eyes. "I need you, Eris…"  
Eris slowly shook her head 'no'. "no… you didn't need me."  
"What?"  
"you just… needed me… to fill a hole that was left in your heart. But… you don't need me for that anymore…" she looked to a tearful Scootaloo. "you have Scoots… and Shadow… and everyone else… so please… don't be sad."  
"Eris… how can I? you were my daughter." Dash hugged her, never wanting to let go. "I love you so much…"  
Eris slowly and weakly returned the hug. "I love you too… mommy…"  
Dash broke down and continued to cry. She didn't want her to go.  
Eris broke the hug and touched a finger to Dash's chest. Her chest glowed for a moment, scaring Dash. The glow then expanded out though her body, then back into her chest, forming a sphere no bigger then a marble. "what…?" the marble floated out and disintegrated into the air. "what did you…?"  
"A little… going away present." Eris weakly said. "you're… no longer sick… mommy… I took your disease… and got rid of it."  
"Eris…"  
Most of her body had disintegrated into sparkles, leading only the upper torso and head. Eris hugged Dash again. "I'm… never going to forget you, mom."  
More tears fell down Dash's faces. She hugged Eris tightly. "I'm never going to forget you too, squirt."  
Eris lightly smiled and closed her eyes.  
The rest of her body disintegrated into sparkles and faded away, leaving Dash hugging air. Scootaloo broke down and cried her heart out. Dash fell to her knees. Her heart aches. She just saw her daughter die right in front of her and she wasn't able to do anything about it.  
Suddenly, their surroundings began to fall apart. Dash and Scoots looked at each other for a moment before falling into darkness.

3:25. End Song.

Dash and Scootaloo woke up to find themselves on a tropical volcanic island's beach.  
"but… Eris destroyed this place…" Scoots muttered.  
Dash sadly looked away and spotted a lily lying in the sand. It was the same one from the field of flowers they both found. Dash gently grabbed it and held close to her heart. "Oh, Eris…"

Begin Song: watch?v=NukkbchTC-Y Alan Wake - Orchestra Rearrangement by Youtuber Dummeh

The sounds of Orion's propellers filled the air as the ship touched down in the water.

Both Dash and Scootaloo slowly walked onto the ship deck where they were hugged by mutant Pinkie.  
"We were so worried." Celestia sighed. "We thought you were dead."  
Dead… that was a word Dash didn't want to hear for a long while. She broke down into tears and ran into the captains cabin.  
"Dash!" Shadow ran after her, leaving everyone worried and confused.  
"what happened?" Trixie worriedly asked.  
Scootaloo didn't want to say anything. She just wanted this to be over with. But it's good that they hear it now rather then later.  
"Eris… she… she's dead…"  
That news shocked everyone to their core. "no. no, that can't be true." Cadence pleaded. "she was just a kid! No way she can be dead!"  
Tears formed in Scootaloo's eyes. "I don't' want to believe it either, But she's dead!" she fell to her knees and continued crying. "Eris is dead…"  
Not long after, everyone who knew Eris began to shed a few tears, but not on the level of intensity that Dash and Scoots were showing. Those who didn't know her just kept silent.  
Applebloom wiped her eyes when she noticed something in the sky. "Look." she said in awe. Everyone wiped their eyes and looked up and awed as well.

A small beam of light shot into the sky. It spread out, causing the hurricane to disintegrate.  
Sparkles floated down from the sky as gracefully as possible. Req reached out and caught one with her hand. Babs commented earlier that the island that suddenly reappeared was destroyed by Eris. Maybe, this was…  
"a parting gift from Eris…" she muttered. "all of the mean things she did are now being undone." she closed her hand on the sparkle.

Down in the cargo hold, Dash cried her heart out. Shadow wanted to comfort her but knows that she needs to be alone right now. He turned and slowly walked away, leaving Dash to her tears.

1:34. End Song.

Discord felt something bad happen but he didn't care. "So… Eris is finally dead. Hmhmhm. Good." he walked over to a tube and pressed a button, turning it on. "and now they'll be coming after me." a sphere appeared inside the tube. "but I'll have a perfect weapon waiting for them."

The effects of Chaos Eris spread on the world reversed and undone. Cololulu returned to where it was, the effects from the fights with the Reaper were reversed, and other damages were now long gone.

The Orion's creaking and listing on the water was the only thing that could be heard. Nobody had anything to say. Even Pinkie and Marble, the two most hyper characters on the boat, were silent.  
The cabin doors creaked open and Dash slowly and sadly walked out. "Dash…" Shadow slowly walked over and gently hugged her. "are you okay?"  
"yeah…" she said with a croaked voice. "yeah. I… ran out of tears."  
"Dash… I can sympathize with what your feeling." Req said. "when Adolf died, I felt like shit and I wanted to cry all day."  
Dash nodded. "me too." she took a shivering breath and sighed. "I just can't believe that Eris is gone."  
"nobody can." Shadow said.  
Dash felt some more tears coming on but she kept them back. She took a deep breath and gathered herself. "But… I know that crying won't bring her back. And killing myself won't bring her back." She unfurled her wings and flew up besides the wheel. "but I can do one thing. And that's get rid of the monster that killed her."

Begin Song: watch?v=_HBX_Bdo3tA Horizon - Ace Combat: Assault Horizon OST

Yeah. Yeah. They can't bring Eris back from the dead, but they sure as hell can sent Discord to the land of the dead. And it's a good opportunity because he'll be weakened by the loss of his Scion and everyone will use their grief to their opportunity.  
"So where to?" Satoshi asked as he walked up to the wheel.  
Celestia had a good feeling on where he might go. "head to the Everfree Forest. he's likely back where this all began."  
Satoshi nodded and turned on the ship. "Are you sure?" Jax asked.  
Celestia looked at her with confidence, giving the human her answer. "without a doubt."  
Req drew her blade and pointed it to the horizon. "then let's end this once and for all. Satoshi, head for the Everfree Forest."  
"already am."

` the ship rose out of the water, it's engine roaring like a monster. The wings extended out and caught air as the propellers turned on.

"Next stop, final battle town!" Satoshi announced as he turned the wheel.

The Orion turned to the west and headed off to carry everyone to their final battle with a vengeful and now sadistic spirit. The rear propellers retracted into the ship and large starlight engines opened up and took their place. They flared up, giving the ship extra boost.  
Dash walked to the nearest railing and looked back to the island. She then looked down at the lily she still had in her hooves. She gently smiled as she rubbed some sand off of it.  
She placed the lily in her hair. It was a good fit.  
She looked back to the island and calmed herself down with a deep breath. "Goodbye… Eris…"  
She walked away from the railing as the sheild went into place, protecting everyone from the elements. Especially with what Satoshi's about to do next.  
"Here we go!" he yelled out as he pressed a big red button.  
The engines flared and went into full throttle, sending the ship blasting off like a rocket.

Back home, Discord chuckled as the thing inside the tube began to take form. The ground shook and split open beneath him as a spire lunged out and into the air.

1:25. End Song.


	116. Let Chaos Begin

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Discordian Troubles

Chapter 22

Let Chaos Begin…

The last of the spires protruded out of the ground, finishing Discord's new castle. He set it up back where this all began; Celestia's and Luna's ruined hometown located in the Everfree Forest. And it's not like it wasn't lost forever; Halo, Twilight, and the CMC found it while investigating why it became what it was.  
Discord stood on top of his new palace with that tube he was tinkering with and evilly laughed. The Pentagram in his forehead glowed yellow for a moment.  
"Hahahaha! Now when Celestia meets her end, this world will truly once again belong to the Draconequus!"  
"(n-no!)" a voice from inside yelled. "(I'm not gonna let you do this!)"  
Discord felt a attack come from inside his body. And it wasn't that Cosmos jerk. He was still locked away. "Grr… figures you'd try to fight this."  
"DISCORD!"  
Discord anticipated that voice and looked out to the horizon.

Begin Song: watch?v=qT_hU53aZUM Decisive Battle - Ace Combat: Assault Horizon OST

Far off in the distance, fast approaching his new palace, was the Orion. It flew as fast as it never flew before, exceeding it's speed limit exponentially. Everyone onboard was ready to take this bastard out, for the world… and for Eris. Whatever the cost, he was going to pay.  
The ship zoomed over the trees and shot straight for the palace.

Discord laughed at their futility. "They never learn." he snapped his fingers and watched the show.

Towers around the palace lit up and small orbs of light lit up on the tips.  
Laser bolts shot out of the orbs and towards the ship.  
"Nice Try." Satoshi snickered as he pressed the big button.  
The main cannons powered up and fired. The blast cut though the lasers fired and hit one of the towers. It didn't blow up but instead caused it to spark. The tower suddenly blew up on it's own, passing the spark onto the other towers which also exploded.  
"huh. Can't believe that worked."

The Orion rolled to the right, avoiding a attack from Discord himself. The engines flared and the ship shot up into the clouds.  
Discord snarled and used his powers to send the clouds away. It didn't matter to them as the Orion came falling it, firing it's cannons. The shots struck against the palace, destroying a large amount of the structure.  
The ship banked left and turned around the palace before heading back out a ways.  
"ICE BITE!"  
Jax shot a icicle shaped like a sharks mouth towards the Draconequus but he just deflected it like a badass. The attack shattered into bits and melted.  
The Ship slowed down and turned around to face the palace. Though they were at least 5 miles apart, Discord and Celestia stared each other down.

Discord laughed at their futility once again and snapped his fingers again. "game over, Celestia."  
The main tower to his palace opened up, revealing a large cannon inside it. It fired at the ship. Orion strafed to the right, avoiding the blast, and fired it's main cannons at the enemy cannon. It hit, causing it to explode.  
Discord covered himself from the blast and snarled.

End Song.

Begin Song: watch?v=Z2Sdk8OtwUI Boss Fight 2 - Kid Icarus: Uprising OST

The Orion's engines flared and it flew to the tower.  
Discord scoffed and snapped his fingers. Lightning shot down form a cloudless sky towards the ship but they planned for that.  
"WINDY SHIELD!"  
"BARRIER!"  
Both the earth and Slayers members of the group cast protection spells and sent the lighting back to sender. It struck Discord, electrocuting him but he seemed to enjoy that.  
"Hahaha! Is that the best you can do?!" the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony called out. He snapped his fingers again.  
A large sticky tongue shot from below and hit the Orion's bottom hull. Jax looked to see a giant frog holding the ship in place. "Oh, no you don't." she grabbed one of her chakrams and engulfed it in electricity. She pointed it to the tongue. Lightning shot out of her chakram and struck the tongue, sparking down it and electrocuting the amphibian. The frog disintegrated into darkness, letting the ship go loose.

The Ship turned to the right so that it's left could attack when needed. Grappling hooks shot out of two of the cannons and hit the palace's tower. The humans jumped on and skidded on down it.  
"oh no you don't." Discord snared, snapping his fingers yet again.  
A dark portal opened up in their path and fireballs shot out towards them. Everyone pulled their weapons and cut right though them with ease.  
Discord summoned up a blade and had it cut though the rope. The humans were close enough to where they can jump off and landed on top of the palace. The ponies and dragons followed suit and landed right them.

Those not willing to fight or too injured or too lazy to do so stayed back to keep an eye on the ship.  
"Good luck, guys." Sora pleaded, wishing her bum leg was healed already.

Discord appeared in front of the group along with a Cerberus. The 3-headed dog snarled and charged at them. Gourry drew his Sword of Light, spun it around a few times, then cut right though the doggie, causing it to disintegrate into darkness.

End Song.

Discord chuckled as he looked down at the group.  
"well… this was to be expected. Me, Celestia, Luna…" Discord reached into his body and pulled out the black pearl. "…And Cosmos, all together again after 2000 years. Once the best of friends, now the worst of enemies. And all because some clueless princess failed to open her eyes to see who she kissed. Oh, bravo Celestia. Bravo. Really smart."  
Celestia grunted in pain when he said that. "Dis… you don't have to do this, please. Think about what your doing! You're sending the world into chaos all for some kiss."  
Discord scoffed. "not just because of that." he snapped his fingers, summoning up the tube he was with. "so the world can return to it's natural state."  
"Natural state?"  
"yes. As you recall, our parents went to war for complete control over the world and last I checked, the dreadful Alicorns won. I plan to reverse that and bring back the Draconequus! After that, the world will return to what it was supposed to be!" the tube glowed, making him smirk. "and I won't be doing it alone."  
He hovered over to the side, revealing a Alicorn within. Celestia saw it and gasped. "no…"  
Discord evilly chuckled. "Recognize her, Celestia?"  
"E…Erys…"  
"that's right. Erys is to be the vanguard in my war to reclaim the world for the Draconequus." he sat back on a invisible couch. "but… I am surprised you weren't able figure this out in the first place."  
"figure what out?"  
Discord chuckled and snapped his fingers. The tube glowed and copied into 2. One contained the original Alicorn and in the other… was the familiar form of a recently deceased Draconequus.  
Dash gasped when she saw who it was. "Eris!" a sudden realization hit both her and Celestia.  
Discord laughed evilly. "that's right. The baby Draconequus Dash had been raising all this time was, in fact, your daughter, Celestia. And I'm surprised you weren't able to figure it out. They had the same eyes and all. But… you already knew that, didn't you Dash?"  
Celestia turned to Dash. "what's he talking about?"  
Dash opened her mouth but nothing came out the first time. "I… I had a suspicion back at the Tome that Erys did come to our time, just in a different form because Dis said she had plans for her. I had the feeling but I… I didn't want to believe it."  
A dumbstruck Celestia looked away. Why would she keep this a secret? "oh, how sad, Celestia. Even the Element of Loyalty has some secrets and the biggest one was taking your daughter." Celestia snarled at Discord and powered up her magic. "A-bab-bab." he snapped his fingers and summoned up a trigger. "one wrong stop and both Eris's go boom. You think I'm gonna play fair? As if."  
the Pentagram on his forehead glowed, getting Celestia's attention. "Dis, stop this. This is not you and you know it."  
Discord scoffed. He bounced the pearl up and down in his hand. "Dis… died a long time ago." he raised the pearl high, ready to smash it against the ground.  
"NO!"  
Suddenly, a wolf jumped up and bit Discord's trigger hand. "Ugh!" he tried to swing the wolf off but it bit tight. Fenrir bit in deeper, drawing blood and forcing Discord to let go of the trigger. Cobalt swooped in and clutched the pearl out of Discord's hand.  
"Nice going, you two!" Ash called out.  
Discord grabbed Fenrir by the neck and tossed him to the ground. The wolf yelped in pain as it skidded to the group. Cobalt flew in and dropped the pearl into Ash's hand.  
"Good to see you two aren't going to be lazy during our entire stay." he said.

Begin Song: watch?v=G2OGYMSfDfM Zanza - Xenoblade Chronicles OST

"now… how do we release him?" Ash asked, holding the pearl up to the sun.  
Discord laughed. He may have lost the trigger and the pearl but they still can't do anything. "You can't. the prison can only be opened by me. And I'm sure as hell not going to let that bastard Cosmos loose."  
Jax angrily looked to him and summoned her chakrams into her hands. "Then we're gonna make you open it."  
Discord laughed and hovered in mid-air. He took up a battle pose similar to a certain insane clown. "Try me."  
Jax chuckled as one of her chakrams coursed with energy. "I was hoping you'd say that." everyone drew their weapons and pointed them to the Draconequus.  
Discord lightly chuckled. They were really gonna fight him. Well, better then being bored. He snapped his fingers as always.

The ground beneath them shook and split open, causing a rock spire to come out beneath them. They all tumbled over the side of the spire as it continued to grow.  
"Is that all?" Spyro commented. He dug his tail into the spire and shattered it like glass. "Power of earth can really be useful."  
Lina landed on the flattop of what was left of the spire and fired a powered up fireball at Discord. The fire bounced off a invisible barrier and shot back to her.  
Emil cut thought the fireball and made Lina jump off. He jumped after her as another fireball cut right though the spire's remnants, destroying it completely.  
Req flew at Discord from below and swung her sword at him. Discord blocked it with his fingers, elbowed Req in the neck, then kicked her right into the tower.  
Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and Chrysalis combined their magic and sent a powerful spell to Discord. It hit him and continued to go right by him right into the atmosphere. The Spirit struggled against the attack. The Pentagram on his forehead glowed again and Discord countered with a powerful attacked comprised entirely of chaos. It struck the royalty, sending them over the edge in pain.  
"You can not kill me!" Discord bellowed. "I am chaos incarnate." his barrier stopped an attack from Zel and Emil and sent them flying. "there is no possible outcome where you can defeat me." dark clouds began to swirl under him then up to grab him. Discord welcomed it and let it wash over him.  
"This… may be a problem." Trixie gulped.

From a distance, Tsylatac, Orochi, and that girl watched the fight from a distance.  
"I got 20 credits on Discord." Ventus said.  
"15 says that one of them dies." Lucis said.  
"I'll get in on that." the girl added.  
Tsylatac kept quiet and just watched. "you haven't been defeated before and you won't now, will you… Requiem?"

Discord laughed into the air as the darkness took him over. "Darkness and Chaos combined. A potent combination that can rip the very fabric of the universe in two." the Pentagrams glow reached a high point as darkness completely took him over. The wind picked up more, making the ship crash against the tower.  
"this world shall be mine once more, and the universe will soon follow!"

End Song.

Darkness shot out from beneath him, making everyone cover their faces.

Begin Song: watch?v=h7eXKsZv2gI Ibitsu (TV size version) - Tales of Symphonia OVA soundtrack.

0:00.  
Epic freeze frame of the darkness shooting out of Discord and covered the group.

To be Continued…

0:20.  
The battle for Eqrestria's fate begins.  
Will it return to chaos or continue on as it did countless times before.  
And what will become of Eris and Erys?  
Find out in the final chapter of Discordian Troubles.

0:50.  
Anime style stills of past major events are shown.

Discord being released from his stone prison and taking baby Eris with him.

The Orion taking flight to give pursuit.

The girl's little rampage though Manehatten with the sword in hand.

The Reaper and the Orion fighting over Manehatten, ending with Orion being dragged into a black hole.

The group finding themselves in the Afterworld and reunited with friends and family long dead.

The epic rematch with Requiem's twisted brother Catalyst with darkness emanating out of Requiem.

Learning the history of Celestia and Discord though the Tome.

The Orion flying out of the Black Hole and back into battle.

Eris dying and fading away in a tearful Rainbow Dash's arms.

The Orion flying right towards the palace for a final confrontation with Discord himself.

1:35. End Song.


	117. Discordian Troubles

Begin Song: watch?v=Howx4xXD4lo Transforming into a Monster - Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike OST

From the reaches of space, one can clearly see that Equestria was f**ked up. Not just the country, but the whole entire planet. And it was only getting worse.  
In a spot, black clouds formed in the sky, covering a large patch of green.

Dark clouds shot out from underneath Discord, who was laughing up a storm. The clouds washed over everyone and the ship was forced away by the shockwave.

*cut to black*  
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic - Discordian Troubles

Requiem cut though the darkness to see Discord hover up into the air.

*cut to black*  
Final Chapter

The tubes holding both Alicorn Erys and Draconequus Eris disappeared in flashes of white and reappeared in orbit around the planet.

Discord laughed as he felt the power of darkness flow though him. "this power… Hahaha. He was right. The power of darkness is truly amazing! It feels so right and it feels so wonderful! Hahahaha!"  
"He?" Jax muttered. "he who?" she asked Amelia. she just shrugged.  
The dark clouds swirled around until it shrunk to where it resembled a snakes body. The only thing that remained of Discord was his upper body in place of the head.  
"HAHAHAHA! The world will once again belong to the Draconequus! And you will be naught but a distant memory!"  
Dark tendrils shot out of the cloud and slammed into Spike and Chrysalis.  
"Spiky-Wikey!" Rarity exclaimed. A tendril shot to her but Spyro got to her in time before they hit.  
"Hahahaha! Darkness & Chaos. Chaos & Darkness. Such a combination! Together, there is nothing that can stop such unbridled power. I will have to thank him once this is over!" Dash flew up to hit him from behind but was struck by a tendril. "And once this is over, I plan to take a more grown-up Eris as my bride."  
That plan made Dash furious. "There is no way you're gonna touch Eris!"  
Suddenly, her Element of Harmony appeared and blasted the tendril away.  
The other Elements of Harmony suddenly appeared on their respective owners, even Mutant Pinkie's.  
Discord reacted and retreated back a bit. The Mane 6 looked at each other and smirked. "Game over, Discord!"  
"haha. It's only over when I say it is, Twilight Sparkle." Discord's eyes glowed yellow, same with the Pentagram on his forehead. "And it is far from over!" Darkness shot out of the clouds and struck everyone like a locomotive.

*cut to black*  
Discordian Troubles

1:55. End Song.

Begin Song: watch?v=2cuSAINnARk Chaos Vortex - Kid Icarus: Uprising OST

0:00.  
The dark tendrils shot though the air like bullets out of a gun or cannonballs out of, well, cannons.  
"Wind Blade!"  
True to it's name, blades made entirely out of wind shot out of Jax's chakrams and cut though the tendrils but there were so many.  
"Well… least it's not that monster form of Catalyst's." Aura commented, running along the side of the tower.  
Emil agreed with him as he cut though a tendril. They fought two; Chrysalis' and Catalysts, and the earth members of the gang went up against another version long before they all showed up.  
The cannons from the Orion fired automatically at the encroaching Darkness. Her leg may be out but Sora was still capable of using her bow and arrows. She took aim and fired bomb arrows into it. They penetrated and exploded.  
Discord slithered on up the tower to his palace, laughing up a storm.  
Satoshi, his gray brick thing now transformed into a Scythe, ran up the side of the tower and up after him. He jumped off and swung his scythe at Discord. He just retreated back and sent a tendril of darkness to slam him though the tower and out the other side.  
Fenrir ran along side the tower's rim as Cobalt flew alongside him. Both of them seemed to glow a bit.  
Discord snarled as he slammed a tendril into Lloyd when a roar reach his ears. He looked to see a Chimera jumped at him and tried to bite his head off. Discord stopped him and shot him back into the palace.  
"You never told us that Fenrir and Cobalt can merge into a Chimera." Fox panted as he and Ash pulled out their guns.  
"Didn't I?" he asked as he cocked his pistols. He spun them around and fired at Discord. The shots bounced off a invisible barrier but it got Discord's attention. 2 Tendrils shot out and 2 tendrils hit them both.  
Spyro and Bahamut rammed into Discord from behind, making him stagger a moment or two. he grabbed them both and launched them into the tower.  
Magic artillery from Luna and Trixie struck against the dark body, causing some damage though a roar it itself made. Discord snarled and got angry. He snapped his fingers, summoning up a replacement Nightmare Moon. Luna gasped in fear and went wide-eyed. "not again."  
Nightmare Moon roared instead of talked. It powered up a magic attack with it's horn and shot it towards the two. It hit, causing a big explosion.  
"Luna!"  
"Trixie!"  
Discord evilly chuckled. At least one nuisance was long gone.

2:45.  
The darkness that hit the two swirled around like a galaxy before being burst open. Luna and Trixie breath a sigh of relief, glad they weren't hurt, as something shiny and bright flew out of it and straight for Discord.  
Now in full Goddess mode, Requiem is gonna give this asshole the pounding he deserves. …. That sounded a little wrong, didn't it?  
Nightmare Moon roared and shot towards Req like a shrieking missile. Req flapped her wings and streaked though the air, Nightmare Moon in hot pursuit.  
The Unicorns and Alicorns fired at Nightmare Moon but both her and Req were moving too fast to get a clear shot.  
The cannons on the Orion tracked Nightmare Moon and fired. It's shots hit the boogey-mare but it didn't effect her. She continued after Req with blazing speed.  
"Don't you ever give up!?" Req yelled back at her. That's when she got an idea. "Hehehe. That could work."  
Req stopped in mid air and retracted her wings. Nightmare Moon was about to nab her when Req suddenly fell into free-fall. she quickly summoned her wings and flew underneath the shadow serpent.  
"What?" Discord growled. Nightmare Moon shot for the body, which Req was planning for.  
The goddess burst though the other side and sank her blade right into Nightmare Moon's chest. They flew on up into air. Nightmare Moon tried to bite Req but she binded her mouth shut.  
Req spun around like a ballerina and swung her blade, sending Nightmare Moon falling to Discord.  
Nexus Ultimus glowed as Req spun it around in her hands. "Take this…" she swung it down and pointed it at Nightmare Moon. "Judgment Bind!"  
A beam of light shot out of the blade and struck Nightmare Moon. She roared as she was sent into Discord. Nightmare exploded, making Discord lose his focus over his darkness & chaos and fall to the ground below.

4:17. End Song.

Req landed and retracted her wings and panted. "Whoever put that Pentagram on his forehead… really knew what he was doing." she put her blade away and panted some more as she walked back over. "this guy is a hassle."  
"it sounded like you said Judgment Bind." Lina commented.  
"I did. I only used once before. Takes a lot out of me but it's pretty effective with distracting some tougher enemies. We should have ten minutes before he attacks us again."  
Ash reached back into his pocket and pulled out the black pearl. "which should be enough time with how to open this thing. We could use the extra oomph."  
"Okay. So… anybody got any ideas?" Cynder asked.  
They all thought but they couldn't come up with anything. Celestia couldn't think of anything either. At least, until she looked at Riku's weapon. "I never noticed this before but is there a reason why that sword is shaped like a key?"  
"?" Riku glanced down at his Keyblade and raised it. "yeah. It can open any lock, such as doorways to the hearts of any world."  
"Any lock?" that gave Celestia an idea. "think it can open this?" she gestured to the pearl.  
"hmm… maybe. Won't really know until I give it a try."

Riku stood at one of the palace's edge with the Elements of Harmony. As Riku was from a foreign world, he was going to need some help when using his Keyblades power.  
"let's hope this works." Riku muttered to the Mane 6. They nodded to him and he nodded back. He pointed his Keyblade at the pearl, which glowed and had a keyhole suddenly appear on it's surface. The Elements of Harmony glowed and gave power to the weapon.  
A beam of light shot out of the Keyblade and hit the keyhole. The sound of a door unlocking caught most of their attentions. The pearl glowed bright, bright enough to force everyone to cover their eyes. The sounds of glass shattering littered their ears for a moment.  
A few minutes later, the glow stopped and everyone was able to open their eyes.  
In place of the pearl, which had shattered and dissolved into a million pieces, was the unconscious form of one black Alicorn. "Cosmos!" Celestia exclaimed. She ran over to him. "Cosmos! Cosmos!"  
Cosmos grunted as he woke up from what felt like a long, long nap. He opened his eyes to see a tearful but delighted Celestia right over him.  
"C-Celestia…?" he hoarsely asked. "you look… different."  
Celestia smiled wide with a gasp and hugged him. "It's you. It's really you!" she cried once but with happy tears.  
"it worked." Riku cheered. Cosmos looked to see a human high five a mutant pony and 5 others he didn't recognize. He looked around and saw others he didn't recognize.  
"Un… Celestia? Who are these people? And why does Luna look older?"  
Celestia gave a gasping chuckle. "it's a long story. It's just great to have you back."

Begin Song: watch?v=h_4FvRY-eKw Truth in Lies - Wild Arms XF Theme.

0:00.  
A flash of light appeared beside Riku and the Mane 6. "Dammit! I was too late."  
"Dis!" Cosmos exclaimed in anger. Discord snarled as the Pentagram on his forehead glowed. Cosmos got up, only to collapse again.  
Req's blade came down in front him, scaring him. "relax." she said with a wink. "just leave this to us professionals." she walked out a ways and pointed her blade to Discord. "You… you caused all this devastation… all this heartbreak… all because of a miss-placed kiss."  
The rest of the humans got their weapons. The Mane 6 and the Dragons also got ready for a rumble.  
"there is a word for someone like you. It's called a monster."  
Discord scoffed at her comment.  
"be ready, Discord…" she swung her blade and took her battle stance. "for this is the day your reign of tyranny ends!"  
She and the rest of the humans charged at him.

0:36.  
Celestia helped Cosmos up. He watched the fight in confusion, wondering where the humans had come from. "Un… Celestia. Just who are these people?"  
Celestia looked at him and smiled. "friends of ours. Very powerful friends that, without their help, the world would've fallen many times before."  
"Powerful? How powerful?"  
"Very powerful." Cadence commented as she helped Celestia.  
"another Alicorn? Don't remember seeing you before."  
Celestia rolled her eyes. "we'll explain later, now come on." they proceeded to take him to the Orion, which had docked with the tower a few moments ago.

Req yelled as she swung her blade down at Discord. He dodged it and struck her with a blast of chaos.  
Emil slid in between Discord's legs and kicked him in the back. The spirit grabbed Emil's foot and swung him right into the tower.  
Ash took aim and fired non-stop at the spirit. Discord quickly spun around to avoid the Mana Bolts. Discord appeared behind Ash and karate chopped him in the neck.  
A arrow hit him in the shoulder. Sora drew another one and fired again. Discord caught that one and snapped it in two.  
Several magic whips grabbed Discord's legs and tripped him up. Twilight and Rarity pulled their whips, Discord along with it, and slammed him into the tower himself.  
Discord shook his head and snarled. He snapped his fingers, causing the base of the tower to explode.

1:51.  
The explosions spread up on the tower, eventually reaching the top. The tower crumbled and fell apart, the remnants falling to them.

The Orion's cannons fired at the rubble as the Alicorns got Cosmos on board.  
"Ugh…" Garble bit his finger, wondering how to work the controls. "How does that Satoshi guy even work this thing?"  
With her eyes half-closed, Gilda walked up, grabbed the wheel, and spun it.  
The Orion moved back to a safe distance as it's cannons continued to destroy the rubble.

Satoshi jumped thought the rubble and swung his scythe at Discord. It connected with the spirits neck. Satoshi spun around and sent Discord flying down into his palace.  
Spyro, Cynder, and Bahamut fired blasts of fire down into the hole Discord made. All 3 blasts went in, causing a big explosion. Discord reappeared behind the three, grabbed their horns, spun around, and sent them down into the explosion they created.  
Riku, Gourry, and Zel fell from above and stabbed Discord in the back. He roared in pain as he snapped his fingers. A pair of boxing gloves appeared and knocked both of them off his back.  
"Fireball!" Lina, Aura, and Amelia sent fireballs at Discord but they just bounced off. Fox fired up at Discord along with Ash but, like before, they all bounced off. Discord just shrugged them off with a invisible hand like a hand to lint.  
"This… is starting to get annoying…" Aura panted.  
"you think?" Bahamut moaned.  
Discord laughed as the Pentagram glowed even brighter.  
Jax grabbed her chakrams. "that's it. Time for Plan B."

3:13.  
"Plan B?" Applejack asked as a glyph appeared beneath Jax. "What's Plan B?"  
"Just hold him down like we did with Chrysalis while I take him out!" Jax closed her eyes and concentrated on her spell.  
Dash sighed as she lowered her head. "can't she say anything?" she asked. Rarity and Twi just shrugged.

Discord laughed as he shot chaotic fireball after chaotic fireball at the group. "This world is mine and will always belong to the Draconequus, now and forever more!"  
A magic whip shot out of Celestia's horn and wrapped around Discord's neck. Magic whips shot out of the other Unicorns and Alicorns, holding Discord in place. "What is this?"  
"A way to make you come back to your senses, Dis!" Celestia yelled. "I'm sorry it came to this, Dis. But you left us with no choice!"  
"what?"  
The glow from the glyph, caught Discord's attention.

3:43.  
The glyph gained power as Jax's spell finally began to cast.

"Oh Powers of the Infinite Mind that we can only Dream of grasping…"

Discord struggled to get loose. Req, Lina, Amelia, Zel, and Riku added their own magic into the mix, holding the bastard in place.

"Let us break the Bonds of Reality and bring back the ones with Love or separate the Good from the Evil…"

"(You deserve this! We… deserve this!)" that same voice from before said.  
"Damn you." he snarled.

"…let us dive into the stream of Time and Space and do the Impossible!"

Jax's eyes snapped open as a white blade materialized in front of her. She spun around, grabbing it in the process, and pointed it to Discord.  
"it's time for you…"

4:09.  
Jax swung the sword and charged at him. "…to face the truth!"  
Discord struggled again to get loose but the whips and bind spells hand him locked tight.  
Jax jumped into the air, bypassing Discord entirely.  
Jax flipped upside down and landed on the bottom hull of Orion. She jumped off it and swung the blade in front of her.  
Discord roared as he tried to get loose again.

"PERSONALITY SHIFT!"

The blade went right though Discords chest.  
A blast of light shot out from the other side, covering the entire battlefield in less then a few seconds.  
A shockwave shot out and quickly covered the world.

4:55. End Song.

The tubes Discord sent into the atmosphere disappeared as soon as the shockwave finished covering the entire world.

When the light dispersed, Discord was seen unconscious face-down on the palace roof with a equally tired Jax right beside him. And it wasn't the only thing that was different.  
"ha… ha… ha… whew… that's… that's how we get it done." she panted as she slid down the wall and fell asleep upon reach the floor.  
"Yay!" Pinkie cheered as she looked her body over. "I'm back to being a pony again!" she laughed and hugged Marble, who laughed as well. "And if I'm fine, all the other places and people effected by Discord will be undone as well."  
"Like Eris with that island." Babs said.  
"but… aren't there supposed to be 2 Discords now? A good and a evil one?" Hiccup pointed out.  
Darkness seeped out of Discord's mouth and into the air. "not if he was possessed." Req commented. "but still…"  
Discord groaned as he woke up. "ow… my head…" he rolled over and held his head in pain when he noticed everyone standing over him, pointing weapons at her. "who… are you all?"  
"What?" Req and Lloyd looked at each other for a moment before putting their weapons away. "You don't remember us?"  
Another headache hit Discord. "s-should I?" he looked around. "where are we?"  
The Orion flew up and Celestia flew off. "Discord?"  
"Tia! Whoa, what happened to your hair?"  
Celestia looked at her hair and got confused. "It's been like this for 1500 years."  
"1500 years?! We've only been alive for 17 years."  
What? That's the word everyone was murmuring. Luna approached and curiously looked at her sister. "What… year do you think this is?"  
"year? Un… 7547, right?"  
Celestia and Luna looked at each other. "that was 2000 years ago. This is the year 10003."  
"what?"  
Celestia realized what was going on. She chuckled. "I'm afraid your suffering from a case of amnesia, Dis."  
"Amnesia? Guess that explains your hair. So… what happened these last 2000 years?"  
Everyone looked at each other and chuckled. "Un… nothing much. Just a war here, a new species there." Luna said.  
Discord raised a eyebrow in disbelief. "I can tell when your lying, Lulu."  
Celestia chuckled as she helped him up. "We'll explain later. It's just great to have you back, Dis."  
"Back? Was I gone somewhere?"  
Hiccup and Zel looked at each other. "You… could say that." Hiccup said.

"well, I lost." Ventus sighed as he gave up his bits to the other Orochi personalities.  
"So did you, Kyra. Pay up." Aqua said.  
"wait wait wait. I said someone was going to die. And last I checked, they have a choice to make." she said as she sat back.  
"a choice?"

Suddenly, the tubes reappeared where Discord had summoned them earlier. Both Alicorn Erys and Draconequus Eris were still in there.  
"I was wondering where they went." Req said. She summoned her wings and flew up to the tubes. A console appeared in front of her. She looked at it and gasped.  
"Requiem?" Celestia asked as she and Dash walked over. "What's wrong?"  
"Um…" she looked back to them both then to the console. "we have to make a choice."  
"a choice?" Dash asked.  
"remember what Discord said? She said that Eris, the Draconequus, was Erys the Alicorn. And… there can't be two of them in existence if they're the same person so…"  
The revelation hit them both like a bag of bricks. "we have to choose between the two." both Celestia and Dash sadly glanced at the ground, then at each other. "isn't there anyway to get both?" Req shook her head 'no'.  
Dash flew up to the console, not wanting to believe her. Turns out she was telling the truth. There was a switch with pictures of a Draconequus and a Alicorn between the switch. A big red button was below it. That was probably to activate and confirm which one was what they wanted.  
"What's going on?" Luna asked as she and everyone else walked over.  
"We have to make a choice." Req said.  
"A choice?" Aura asked.  
"between Eris or Erys."  
"well, that's simple." Pinkie said. "go with Eris."  
"but if we do, Celestia will lose her daughter for good." Halo said.  
"But Dash already lost Eris and she likely doesn't want to lose her again." Scootaloo yelled. "And I don't know about you, but I'm not keen on losing my sister again."  
Dash glanced back at the arguments then back at the console. She could get Eris back. But… Celestia would lose her daughter forever. And the same holds true vice-versa. Either way, someone's gonna end up disappointed. She took a deep breath and sighed. "I'm sorry…" she said to herself as she flipped the switch in one direction and pressed the big red button.

Dash sat at the edge of a hill, overlooking the flower fields that she, Scootaloo, and Eris found. She looked at the flower she found on the beach back at the island for a moment before putting it back into her hair. Someone approached her from behind.  
"hey there, Rainbow Dash."  
Dash looked back and smiled. "hey there, Erys."  
The maroon Alicorn filly with purple hair walked up to Dash and looked at the flowers. "pretty flowers."  
"yeah. Eris loved them."  
Erys glanced away from the flowers for a moment. "Dash… I don't know if mom or dad told you this but I still have all the memories from when I was Eris."  
"You do?"  
"Yeah. And I thank you for everything you did for me. And I'm sorry for causing all that trouble."  
Dash playfully scoffed as she ruffled Erys' hair. "it wasn't your fault, squirt. It was Discord's. and besides, I don't care if you're my daughter or someone else's, I still love ya squirt."  
Erys smiled and hugged Dash. "I love you too, Dash." Dash smiled and hugged her back. After a few moments, they broke the hug. "So… you gonna come?"  
"Yeah. Just need to say goodbye." Dash walked up to the cliff and took a deep breath. "Eris… it's been a blast… and I'm gonna miss you." she looked back to Erys and smirked. "You ever tell anyone this, I'll deny it." Erys cocked her head to the side, not sure what she was talking about. Dash turned back to the flower fields and took another deep breath.

" the sun goes down, the stars comes out.  
And all that counts is here and now.  
my Universe… will never be the same.  
I'm glad you came. I'm glad you came… "

A single tear fell down Dash's face but she rubbed it away.  
"Dash… that was beautiful." Erys said.  
"Thanks." she unfurled her wings and took to the air. "now come on. We're gonna be late for the party."

Begin Song: watch?v=_cx-IONXyvw Glad You Came by The Wanted

Erys unfurled her wings and joined up with Dash in mid-air. "Then what are we waiting for?"  
Dash smirked like her normal self and Erys chuckled. "okay, squirt. Let's see you pull this move." Dash flew on off to Ponyville.  
Erys chuckled and flew after her. For such a young filly, Erys was pretty fast and caught up to Dash. "haha. That's nothing." Erys joked.  
Dash laughed and Erys joined in.

3 months after the final battle with Discord, the world turned back to normal. And, as you can obviously tell, Dash decided to finally let go of Eris and let Celestia have her daughter back.  
After 2000 years, they were finally together again.  
Cosmos and Dis heard the story of what happened these past 2000 years and couldn't believe it. Dis dismissed it as a poppycock fairytale but the lack of Draconequus' is certainly something to be concerned about. He's currently looking for a way to bring them back without causing a big incident like Discord did.  
Diamond and Green Board got married, much to Marble's slight dismay. The two are planning to move to Ponyville in the coming months, saying it's a great place to raise their coming foal. Pinkie is ecstatic for their return.  
Rainbow Dash and Golden Day partially made up. He still had to make up for leaving both her and Soarin's families but helping out with her own family is a good enough start.  
Scootaloo and Manni are hanging out more, as Manni was the last family Scoots had in the world. And Scootaloo's choice? She went with Rainbow Dash. Manni may be related by blood but she never bother to look for her. Dash is the only mother she needs and both of them couldn't be happier. And to make matters worse, Manni is started to become infatuated with Golden Day.  
Despite Orion being fixed, the humans still can't leave until they get that part that the dragon Oscurita took.  
Speaking of which, where was that guy? He wasn't seen at all during this whole chaos fiasco. And who was the girl they met in Manehatten? Is she in league with that knight they ran into during the Winter War? That was the question of the century but nobody paid it much attention.  
There were plenty of unanswered questions, like what happened to eTu`nes, who the knight is, who that girl was, or what happened to Catalyst during his and Req's rematch. and with no way to get back to the Tome in the Afterworld or to contact Adolf, Soarin' or Shine, they can't transmit the information. Well, whatever the case, they'll meet it head on.

Down in Ponyville, the Electronic Symphony club was in full swing.

All of the cast in this story gathered on the dancefloor and danced to the song that was currently playing.  
Cosmos and Celestia danced close to each other, as did Luna and Trixie, and Armor and Cadence.  
The humans pulled their own individual moves. Some, in Gourry's case, being so, so embarrassing.  
Erys laughed as she danced with the CMC.  
Dash danced up to Shadow and grabbed his hooves, pulling him close. Scootaloo jumped onto Dash's back and laughed. Dash exclaimed, pulled her down, and gave her a noogie.

Back at the flower fields, a single petal touched down on the cliff. The petal was picked up by a invisible hand and hovered in mid-air.  
"bye, mommy. And thanks for everything…"  
The petal floated off and into the air, up to the sun.


	118. Game Night II

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 33

Game Night II

eTu`nes, asleep from what was a GREAT night, talked in his sleep. "mmm… Derpy… did I ever tell you how lovely your eyes are…?" he didn't want to open his eyes but he had to. He can't stay asleep forever. He opened them to find himself back in his room. "uh-oh." he shot up and bit his finger. "That wasn't a dream, was it?"  
He got out of bed and into his bathroom. "oh, no no no. no, It couldn't have been a dream. It was so real." he pinched himself, making sure that this wasn't a dream. Unfortunately, it was. "oh, no." he slammed his head into the sink, cracking the porcelain. "Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap. Oh, man. That means I have to start all over." he glanced out the window, seeing that it was day outside. "*Sigh* guess I better get going. Don't want to be late again. *Sigh* if it was a dream, I can tell her at the dance tonight."  
He walked into his room, grabbed his bags, and walked out, completely oblivious to a note on his door.

Meanwhile, in another bathroom, Derpy was vomiting up a storm.  
"BLAH!" after that volley, Derpy groaned and rested her head. "Oohhhhh, man. I don't remember drinking that much on the camping trip." she vomited again and groaned. "ugh… what exactly happened last night?" she groaned as she rubbed her forehead. "I can barely remember a thing, other then eTu`nes."  
Confident that her stomach was empty of things to blow out, she got up and splashed some cold water into her face from the sink. "he was saying something to me…" she splashed again and turned the sink off. "but… what was it?" her stomach felt funny, like there were butterflies in there. She thought she was gonna throw up again. When the volley didn't come, she walked back into her room and grabbed her bag. "Maybe one of the others knows what happened last night."  
She walked out of her room and closed the door, completely oblivious to a note on her door.

eTu`nes was the first to reach the school and slammed his head into his desk. Seaswirl and Colgate walked in, talking and laughing, when they noticed eTu`nes out on his desk.  
"Un… eTu`nes? You okay?" Seaswirl asked as the two walked over.  
The dragon glanced up at them. "hey, Sea. Col. What are you two doing here so early?"  
"we're to help with the finishing touches for the dance." Colgate said. "what's wrong with you?"  
"just… uh, it was nothing."  
"oh. Well, thank you for that camping trip yesterday. It was just what we needed."  
One of eTu`nes ears perked up. "Camping trip?"  
"yeah. And we should thank you. Everyone who went ended up hooking up with their special somepony." Seaswirl smiled. "me and Roseluck ended up revealing our true feelings to each other and we couldn't be happier."  
"Same with me and Berry Punch." Colgate said with a smile. Both mares suddenly hugged him, making him blush a bit. "thanks a lot, eTu`nes."  
"uh… sure. No problem." he shakingly said. "say, un… what happened yesterday?"  
"well, you went to go search for Derpy when she didn't come back. After 5 hours, we got worried and went to look for you. We found you two fast asleep in each other's embrace. It was the cutest thing we ever saw. We wrote you two notes which we taped to your doors."  
"oh. Well… thanks."  
The two mares walked to their seats, leaving eTu`nes to his thoughts. "(Yes. It wasn't a dream. It was real. Hopefully, Derpy…)" he stopped thinking when he saw Derpy come in. "oh, hey Derpy."  
"Hey eTu`nes." she said in a groggy manner.  
"You okay?"  
"Yeah. Just… have a bit of a headache. Oh. And a stomachache." she rubber her forehead and groaned. "Listen, do you remember what happened last night because my mind is a blank."  
eTu`nes heart sank a bit. "(she… doesn't remember? Anything?)" he rested his head on his desk. "you don't remember anything from last night?"  
"no. I vaguely remember you but that's about it. Next thing I know, I woke up in my room with a headache and a stomachache. So… what happened?"  
If she doesn't remember, there's no reason to talk to her about it. "Nothing… nothing happened."  
Derpy leaned her head to get a better look at his face. Were those… tears? "oh… okay." wonderful why he would be crying, she walked to her desk. eTu`nes wiped his eyes and rested his head. Why doesn't she remember? Why?  
Time Turner came in and walked up to Derpy. "Ah. Derpy. There you are. Listen, I have a friend I would like to show you after school. He would be perfect for you to go to the dance with. He's a excellent dancer with as great a accent as me. Anyway, you'll love Clockwerk."  
"Clockwerk?"  
"my cousin from Clopdon. Trust me, you'll love him."  
Derpy wasn't so sure. Last time she went on a blind date, her date ended up being a really stuffy royal. Think his name was Blue Shift or something like that. Still, she was desperate. "okay. Sure."  
eTu`nes glanced back and sighed. What was he thinking? Derpy deserves to be with someone like her. Like a pony. "(wait a minute. What am I thinking?)" he pulled out a piece of paper and a pencil and began writing.

8 Years Later…

In the 4 months following Discord's defeat and eventually return to his older form Dis, and the return of Cosmos and Erys, things gradually fell back to normal. Well, normal as can be. The humans still haven't found the missing piece to their ship that allows them to travel between worlds and as a result, they aren't able to leave. The only way to get that back is to find Oscurita but he hasn't been seen since the end of the Winter War. Well, whatever the case, the off-worlders have gotten used to living with these ponies, some to the point that they don't want to leave.  
Now, on the day before Winter Wrap Up, it was time to sit back, relax, and do one thing they haven't all done in a long while…

"GAME NIGHT!" Pinkie and Twilight exclaimed, walking out of Gamestop. "and we're gonna kick butt tonight." Twi said with a wicked smile.  
"Yeah. Since we're the only ones who practiced with Marlo 4." both mares evilly snickered. "That NightQueen616 is going down tonight."  
"well, we got some new players joining us. You know that, right?" Twi said.  
"I know. It's a 32 player capacity. There should be more then enough for everyone."  
Twilight thought for a moment, going though the players. There was…  
Twilight as MagicSage112  
Pinkie as PartyPar1yParty  
Celestia as Lightqueen216  
Luna as Nightqueen616  
Lyra as HarpestHand10  
Bonbon as Candymach1ne  
Octavia as Cello121212  
Vinyl as Tempest00000  
Dash as Son1cSpeed  
Rarity as RubyHunter3  
Applejack as FarmH3nd  
Fluttershy as Ramification  
Spitfire as Fire2TheStars  
Gilda as SpeedDem0n  
Shadow as FinalFl1ght  
Halo as GlintoftheNight  
Zilver as GlintoftheDay  
Marble as Degrade123  
And Derpy as MuffinMail68  
New gamers joining them are…  
Armor as Guardman23  
Cadence as LoveisB1iss  
Trixie as BoastfulDuchess18  
Edge as DisguiseMast3r  
Requiem as Godd3ss  
Jax as MagicMast3r  
And Aura as SolSurv1vor  
"hmm… there's 24 for of us playing… and it's a 32 player capacity… yeah, we should be good."  
Pinkie hailed down a cab and got in. "Golden Oaks Library, please." she helped Twilight in, who had trouble sitting down. "Geez, Twilight. You're getting bigger every day. I think your stomach's gonna explode and Starlight's gonna walk out."  
"ugh. You have no idea, Pinkie." Twi looked back at her 11 month belly. "I feel so big, I feel like a whale."  
"She's due any day now, right?"  
"yeah. Just wish she'd hurry up and come already. It's getting difficult to do even the simplest of tasks. I have to have Spike or Halo help me into the bathroom."  
"ew."  
"they don't help with those parts." Twilight sat on her back, giving her feet some rest. "ugh… whoever knocked me up at the Gryphon Kingdom is gonna pay when I find him."  
Pinkie shrugged in agreement. "if you say so. And you're making me second-guess if me and Marble should have kids."  
She was planning on that? "well, don't let me discourage you Pinkie. Except for the last month, it's really quite a time you can't miss."  
"you sure?"  
"Positive." the cab rolled in front of the library. Both mares got off and headed inside. "it's almost as much fun as Game Night. Plus, you get all those goodies from baby showers." Twi reached the door and opened it. "and thanks for that diaper genie."  
"No prob." the two walked in and closed the door.

Luna used her magic to raise the moon. Once her job was done, she unfurled her wings and flew into her room. Not only was her wife Trixie waiting, but also Celestia, Cosmos, Erys, Dis, Cadence, Armor, and Glade. They were showing Cosmos, Erys, and Dis what a game system was.  
"A controller?" Dis scratched his head as he looked at it.  
"yeah. You use it to control the person your playing." Trixie explained.  
"huh." Cosmos gently touched the console, intrigued by it. "how… does this thing even work?"  
Luna and Trixie chuckled warmly. "it's magic." they both joked. "now, what's the game for tonight?"  
"Marlo 4." Armor said, holding up the disc. "it was PartyPar1yParty's and MagicSage112's suggestion."  
"Too bad for them." Luna sighed. "I've played every video game out there and I put a lot of hours in Marlo." she used her magic to grab her controller. "those two won't know what hit her."  
"and now…" Celestia used her magic to hook up a speaker to the console. "…we can talk to each other.  
"just watch and learn, you three." Trixie said with a snicker. "we'll show you how to roll."

Dinky walked though the Orion's hallway to Jax's and Sora's room. She noticed that it was slightly open. There was also some odd sounds coming from within. The filly peeked it to see Jax wrapping a rope tight around her upper arm.  
"(what is she doing?)" Dinky thought, trying to figure out what she would tie a rope around her upper arm.  
Jax grabbed a needle and shoved it right into her arm. She pushed down on the plunger and sighed. "this is not a great way to live a life." she groaned. She took the needle out, tossed it away, and untied the rope. She held her heart in pain just as the stuff she injected in went into effect. "ugh… that was too close… dammit…"  
Dinky watched in worry as Jax suffered from… something. "is something wrong with her?" she muttered to herself. Well, she knows Jax won't tell her what's wrong with her. Instead, she acted like she doesn't know and knocked on the door. "Jax? You in there?"  
"yeah. Just give me a moment." Jax got up and opened her door. "Hey, Dinks."  
"come on. Hurry up. We don't wanna be late for game night."  
"oh, right. I forgot." she walked out and closed the door. "come on. Let's get going." Dinky nodded and followed after her. "by the way, where's Derpy?"  
"in Canterlot on business. She won't be back till tomorrow."  
"oh. I've yet to get my things out from my room at her place."  
"it's okay. I can let you in."  
"oh, thanks."

The humans were spread out among the various pony players. Only Req, Jax, Sora, Ash, Riku, Hiccup, and Toothless are at the library with Twi, Halo, Pinkie, Marble, Rarity, Spike, and Dinky. And this Game Night is also doubling as a sleep-over because the Pegasi have a big thunderstorm planned for Ponyville and Canterlot and nobody want's to walk in 30 mile a hour wind and rain with lightning crashing down.

"where'd this thing come from" Sora asked as Halo hooked up a speaker.  
"from Vinyl. It's so we can all talk to each other while we play." he explained as he hooked it up to the big tv.  
"Oh." Sora grunted as she readjusted in her wheelchair. "sure do wish Adolf can tell Gabriëlle about my bum leg soon. Not having to walk is killing me. Having my leg f*&ked up like this is killing me."  
"he'll tell Gabs when he tell Gabs. You can't rush it." Req said.  
"it's been 4 months! I think Gabs would've visited the Afterworld by now."  
"Maybe he's busy." Ash suggested. "he is, technically, the only god left for Earth."  
"yeah yeah, because he was Anubis. I know."

The door to Luna's and Trixie's room knocked, getting the attention of the duchess. Trixie walked over and opened it up to see a certain mail-mare on the other side. "Derpy? What are you doing here?"  
"I was in Canterlot on business and I lost my Hotel Key. Is it okay if I stay here for the night? I don't want to be left in the rain."  
"of course. Come in."  
Derpy jumped in and shook the water off, inadvertadly getting Trixie wet. "oops. My bad."  
"it's okay." Trixie used her magic to dry her hair. "I know a few get-dry-quick spells." she walked back to the others with Derpy not far behind. "Derpy's gonna be staying with us during the storm. She lost her hotel key."  
"Okay." Luna and Cadence said, not breaking their glance away from the TV.  
Trixie grumbled as she pouted to the left. "sorry about that. Tonight's Game Night."  
Derpy's mouth fell, then she face-hoofed. "Oh, Faust. I completely forgot. Ugh. And I left my controller with my tag back home." she shrugged. "guess I can still watch. What's the game?"  
"Marlo 4."  
"oh. I never played that yet. Tell me what happens; don't care about spoilers."  
"Short version, ancient evil awakens, nearly extinguishes pony-kind, kills Coltana." Luna said as she sighed in.  
"they killed her off? Oh man. She was my favorite character."  
"ours too." everyone said over the speaker, surprising Derpy.  
"hi mommy." Dinky said over it.  
"hey, Dinky."

Game Night is officially underway. It was a free-for-all match on all maps in alphabetical order. Now, they were on Outbreak.

Lightning cracked outside as the storm went into effect.  
"nice work with the storm, Dash. Really workin' out there." Rarity said into the speaker.  
"thanks but it was Thunderlane you should give credit too. Although I think he went a little bit too far." Dash replied though the speaker.  
"I'll say." Scoots and Shadow added.

"Wait! Wait! She's over there!" Erys exclaimed, pointing at Vinyl's character on the tv.  
Luna moved her avatar, took aim, and gunned Vinyl's character down. "Huzzah! Take that."  
"oh, man." Vinyl whined from over the speaker. "darn you, Erys, and your keen eye."  
"Sorry." Erys evilly chuckled.  
"great. some part of her Draconequus self is still in there." Zel muttered.  
Everyone laughed over the speaker, as did everyone in Canterlot. Derpy, however, wasn't laughing. Her mind was, as it did in the weeks after that fiasco with the door, filled with memories of eTu`nes. She had to talk to someone about it.  
"Un… Luna… Trixie… can I speak to you two privately for a moment?"  
"huh?" the couple looked at each other with wry eyes. "un… okay." Luna passed her controller to Erys. "keep kicking butt for me, okay?" she asked her niece.  
"Well do, Auntie Luna." Erys took it with her magic and played for her. For her first time playing, she was pretty skilled.  
Derpy walked into a different part of the room where the 3 of them would have some privacy. "what is it, Derpy?" Luna asked.  
"well…" she scratched her hoof. "have you ever… loved someone but didn't say anything about it?"  
Trixie and Luna looked at each other for a moment. "well, there was Twilight." Trixie nervously chuckled. "but she knew that. And she was the only one I had before I met Luna."  
"and I had crush on someone back before Discord launched his attack 2000 years ago but he ended up moving away before I said anything."  
"Why are you asking?" both of them asked.  
Derpy gulped. "Well… when I was a filly… I met someone who helped me though a hard time. And as we became teenagers, I grew to like him, but… I did something really, really stupid and ended up going with someone else to a school dance. And not long after that… he left. That was 8 years ago."  
"oh."  
"And my friend… I never told Dinky this, but… he was her true father, not the pony who I married."  
"well, why didn't you tell her? Or even told anyone else, for that matter?" Luna asked.  
Derpy glanced away. "well… her father… my friend who left… he was a dragon."  
"A dragon?" Trixie gasped.  
"yeah. I never told anyone because I thought everyone would look at me weird and treat me funny and…" Luna's and Trixie's giggling stopped Derpy's exposition. "What's so funny?"  
"Are you kidding me? You were worried about other people thought?" Trixie giggled. "please. If I listened to other ponies, I never would've married Luna."  
"And look at Spike and Rarity." Luna added. "He's a dragon and she's a pony and they found true love with each other. They're even planning their wedding and having a foal together."  
"I know. I know. Seeing them together made me rethink what happened 8 years ago and… *Sigh* sometimes I wish I can go back in time and fix my mistake."  
Trixie patted a depressed Derpy on the back. "Derpy, you'll find your friend again. If there's one thing I learned, it's that fate works in mysterious ways. Me and Luna met other a feather in the wind and Spike and Rarity met thanks to the Summer Sun Celebration."  
"but… it's been 8 years. What if he doesn't remember me anymore? What if he met someone else? What if he-"  
Luna shut her up. "Don't focus on what ifs. Trust us. You'll meet again and he'll remember you. The question is where he disappeared to."  
"well, will knowing his name help?"  
"Maybe. He has been missing for 8 years so I can't promise anything."  
Derpy slowly nodded. Even if he was dead, it would be great to have closure. "His name was eTu`nes. Think you can find him with that?"  
Luna winked. "I can try."

Req pulled a tray of cupcakes out of the oven and set it on the counter. "these sweets will be perfect for everyone. Be glad Bahamut isn't here. He'd gobble them all up in a second." she happily said with closed eyes to Twilight and Pinkie.  
"I know. I learned that the hard way." Pinkie said, thinking back to one of Bahamut's visits to Sugarcube Corner. "*Shivers* that wasn't pretty."  
The trio laughed and giggled.  
"Hey! What's taking so long?" Riku asked.  
"we're dying from a lack of sweets in here!" Spike called out.  
"Coming." Req and Pinkie replied. They put the trays on a rolling tray and laughed as they walked out.  
Twilight walked after them. A shot of pain went though her stomach, making her stop and groan in pain. When it passed, she got up and shrugged it off. "man. That came out of nowhere." she gently rubbed her stomach for a moment. "Think I ate a bad pie." she said as she walked out.


	119. Starlight

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 34

Starlight

The bell rang and school let out. The teenage colts and fillies happily yelled as they ran from the school.  
Bonbon and Octavia walked out, having a conversation with each other as they left. The gray mare noticed the dragon sitting on a bench, writing something onto a piece of paper. He also did that every time he had free time. Curious, both she and Bonbon walked over to him to find out.  
"hmm… maybe… no no, that won't work." eTu`nes flipped his pencil and erased a sentence.  
"What'cha doing?" Bonbon asked as she and Octavia poked their heads in from behind.  
eTu`nes yelped and quickly closed the paper. "Nothing! what are you two doing here?!"  
"asking you what you're doing." Octavia said. "now, what is it?"  
"it's a private thing, Tavi." eTu`nes closed it and put it away in his backpack. "and I thought you two were gonna help out with the dance tonight."  
"We are. We just need to head home and change clothes." Bonbon explained.  
"well, go ahead. Leave me to my privacy." eTu`nes unfurled his wings and took to the air. As they were earth ponies, they couldn't fly after him.  
"what's eating him?" Bonbon asked. Octavia just shrugged in confusion. "oh, by the way, Lyra got the most cutest little outfit."  
Octavia playfully chuckled. "that's nothing. I got a outfit that will make Vinyl's mouth drop to the floor."

Derpy and Time Turner walked to the train station, T.T. eager to show Derpy his cousin.  
"I trust you, Clockwerk is one of the best ponies you'll meet. He's smart, kind, sensitive, and great with kids."  
Derpy wasn't so sure about this. "I don't know, T.T. the last time I went on a blind date, he turned out to be a total douche bag." she groaned and held her stomach.  
"You okay?" T.T. asked.  
"yeah. Just got one hell of a stomachache. I think I ate something bad last night while we were camping."  
"oh. Well, all we had were fruit and something eTu`nes called Hot Dogs. He said he got those direct from the Gryphon Kingdom."  
"ugh. No wonder my stomach feels bad. I could never stand Gryphon Kingdom food." the two reached the station just as the train pulled in. "I honestly hope that this Clockwerk fella is what your cracking him up to be."  
The train screeched to a halt. "he is. Trust me." the train doors opened and the passengers departed. One of them was a Unicorn Stallion with a orange body and the same Cutie Mark as Time Turner and, in pony terms, is quite handsome. "there he is. Over Here, Clockwerk."  
Clockwerk looked to his left, saw his cousin, and used his magic to grab his bags. "hey, T.T." he walked up to him. "can't believe that my parents sent me here for a couple weeks."  
"you were hanging out with the wrong crowd, Werk." T.T. lightly chuckled as Werk rolled his eyes.  
He noticed the grey mare who was blushing bright red. "Who's this?"  
"oh. Werk, this is Derpy Hooves. Derpy, this is my cousin Clockwerk."  
Derpy gulped nervously as she looked at him with dreamy eyes. "(he's so…. Handsome…)" she dreamily thought.  
"un… you okay?" both Time Turner and Clockwerk asked.  
Derpy continued to dreamily looked at Clockwerk. "What?" she realized what she was doing and shook her head. "yeah, yeah. I'm okay." she looked up at him, trying not to look like a idiot again. "so… you're Clockwerk? T.T. never told me you were so… un… handsome."  
Clockwerk looked at T.T. with a peeved look then bonked him on the head. "not surprising. T.T. was always jealous."  
"you want to come to my place for a bit?" Derpy asked.  
"un… sure. If that's okay with Time Turner."  
"go right ahead." he said with a smile. Derpy and Clockwerk walked off with Derpy talking about Ponyville. Time Turner watched them walk away with a smile. "those two look so cute together."

The door downstairs opened and closed, getting the drakes attention. He hit the letter on his person and headed downstairs. He saw Derpy and that was all he needed. "Hey, Derpy. What are you…" he noticed Clockwerk and got nervous. "un… Derpy… who is he?"  
"oh. eTu`nes. This is Clockwerk, Time Turner's cousin from… where were you from again?"  
"Clopdon."  
"right. This is Clockwerk from Clopdon and he's so… handsome."  
Etu'nes got even more worried. "h-handsome? Well, if you want to say that, I guess…"  
"oh. Clockwerk, there's a dance tonight at the school for Hearts and Hooves day. You want to go with me?"  
The drakes heart sank when Derpy said that. "(please don't say yes. Please, please be a jerk.)"  
"A dance? Hmm… sure. I'd like that. Haven't danced in months so I may be rusty."  
eTu`nes heart shattered when he agreed. Derpy… didn't care about him at all. She likes that new stallion better. He did his best to hide the tears that began to form.  
"eTu`nes? You okay?" Derpy asked.  
"Um… I need to go get something for Roseluck from Canterlot. Be back soon." he ran out, unfurled his wings, and flew up into the air.  
"huh. Rose didn't say anything about needing something from Canterlot." Derpy said. She looked to Clockwerk and he just shrugged.

eTu`nes flew as fast as he could to the outskirts of Ponyville. Tears began falling but he wiped them away. "(why… why would Derpy play with my feelings like this? Doesn't she care about me? Does our night together mean nothing to her?)" he reached back and pulled out the letter he was writing. "(so… then this means nothing if I finish it, will it? … may as well finish it. Let her hear both sides of the story.)"

8 years later…

"haha! Take that, Zilver!" Spike happily exclaimed into the speaker that served as the talking point for the players of Marlo 4.  
"{oh, come on!}" he yelled from the other side.  
"haha. Nice one, Spike." Dinky laughed. The two high-fived.  
Tonight was the first game night the group did ever since Trixie returned to Ponyville 11 months ago. They were all scattered, thanks to a intense thunder storm the Pegasi had put into effect. Twilight, Halo, Pinkie, Marble, Rarity, Spike, Dinky, Req, Jax, Sora, Ash, Riku, Hiccup, and Toothless were at the library, getting their butts kicked by Luna's team.  
"{ugh. I hate this map. Always have, always will.}" Gilda said over the speaker.  
"{or maybe you just suck.}" Octavia commented.  
"{hey! I'm not skilled with the Ragnarok map. Was never good with Valhalla in Marlo 3, either. It was too confusing.}"  
"{Yeah, right.}"  
"{the Marlo 3 version was the better looking, though, right?}" Celestia said. That was something they could all agree on.  
Req and Pinkie walked back in with the goods for their group. Dinky spotted them and acted like her mother for a moment. "mmm… muffins!"  
"{muffins?}" Derpy asked over the speaker.  
Rarity evilly snickered. That gave her a idea to give their team a edge. "yep. Chocolate chip, blueberry, apple fritter…" Derpy screamed in agony, making Rarity snicker again. "if there's one thing I learned about Derpy is that she's a big fan of muffins."  
Pinkie hummed as she passed out the sweets. She opened her eyes and spotted they were short one mare. "where's Twilight?"

Twilight was panting heavily as she leaned in the kitchen doorway. Another pain hit her as she tried to walk out. When it passed, she panted. "damn… another one… man, I must've had one bad piece of pie." she shook her head and headed on out.

A half-hour passed and the storm outside was getting worse. "{Dang! Thunderlane really went overboard.}" Dash said.  
"no argument on our end." Riku commented. "it's raining cats and dogs out there."  
Pinkie zoomed over and looked out. "it's not raining cats and dogs. It's raining water."  
"it's a expression to say how intense it is." a crack of lightning came, scaring Dinky. "and that thunder and lightning isn't making it any better."  
Dinky cowered behind Toothless, scared out of her skin. "You okay, Dinky?" Hiccup asked.  
"y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-yeah." she shivered. "I just hate thunder and lightning, that's all."  
"{it's been like that ever since she was a baby.}" Derpy explained. "{there was a thunder storm the night she was born in Clopdon. The Pegasi there went overboard as well.}"  
"{think one of them is related to Thunderlane?}" Applebloom joked.  
"without a doubt." Spike chuckled. He grabbed his cup and took a sip, a very noisy sip. He looked in and saw that he was out. "oh, man. I'm out of sprite."  
"No prob." Pinkie said. "I'll get you a refill." she hopped on over to the kitchen, as cheerful as can be. She landed on a puddle of water and slipped. "Yeep!" she fell on her back, causing the cup to fall onto her snout. She pulled it off and looked at the floor. She looked up at the ceiling. "huh. There're no leaks. So where…" she heard heavy panting in the direction of the stairs. She looked to see Twilight panting heavily, holding her stomach. Pinkie instantly got worried. "Twilight?" she got up and walked over to her. "Are you okay?"  
"no. no no, I'm not." she grunted in pain as another shot of pain hit. Pinkie got worried as her hyper brain pieced together what was going on. Once it passed, Twilight panted.  
"I think the baby is coming."

*CAR BRAKE SCREEEEEECH*

Nothing but silence fell over them for a moment as everyone just stood still.

*tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick.  
DING*

"THE BABY IS COMING!?"  
"{THE BABY IS COMING!?}"  
Twilight grunted in pain as another contraction hit. That was the answer.  
"Oh my god, she's having the baby!" Riku whined.  
Dinky and Rarity said "What do we do? What do we do? What do we do?" over and over and over as Halo ran over to her.  
"you okay, Twi?"  
"I'm about to push a living being out of my body. What does that tell you?!"  
Halo kept silent. "Un…" he turned to the group present. "anybody know anything about Childbirth?" everyone shook their heads 'no'. "Hiccup?"  
"no dragon on Berk had eggs yet. Well, Cupid did but nobody was around when that happened."  
"Ash?"  
"I may have grown up in a small town but I didn't work with animals."  
Everyone looked to Req. she lived in a small town and she worked with animals. She didn't look but she could sense everyone looking at her. "Un… I delivered a few calves but nothing horse related."  
Twi yelped as another contraction hit. "Good enough."  
Req nervously bit her finger as she thought about what to do first. "okay… okay… just breath… just breath…"  
"I am breathing!" Twi snapped.  
"I'm talking about me." Req took a deep breath but was still pretty nervous. "okay… umm… un… someone go warm up some water."  
"on it." Pinkie said as she zoomed into the kitchen.  
"I'll go clean up whatever mess she'll make." Rarity sighed as she walked after her.  
"Halo, helped her up into her bedroom. I'm assuming she wants privacy, right?"  
"oh, you know me all too well." a desperate Twi said. Halo got up underneath her right legs and helped her up to her bedroom as another contraction hit.  
Spike was freaking out. His 'sister' was having Starlight. "oh, boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy." Marble slapped Spike across the face, knocking him out of that. "thank you." Req walked by and to the bookcases. "what are you looking for?"  
"any books about childbirth. I only have experience with cows and it's different then from horses, right?" everyone blinked and then shrugged. Req rolled her eyes. "thanks a lot." she sarcastically said. She grabbed a couple and walked to the speaker. "Celestia. Cadence. You two have experience with this, right?"  
"{every painful detail.}" they both said.  
"is there… anything I should look out for? So I know when to duck or when to leave or something?"  
"{… hope you brought earplugs.}"  
Req groaned as she hit the books against her head. "gee, thanks a lot."  
"can't you guys just teleport over here or something?" Sora asked.  
"{Dis forgot how to teleport when he came back to our side, same with Erys and Cosmos. And when was the last time you saw me or Tia teleport?}"  
"Good point."

Twilight yelled in her bed as another contraction hit. "OH, MY FAUST!" it passed and she panted. "oh, god I'm gonna kill the stallion who knocked me up."  
"And you're gonna kill my hoof." Halo pulled his hoof away, which Twilight had been holding, and swung it like a fan. "I think you cracked a few bones."  
"oh, I'm so sorry. I'm just about to push another pony out of my body!"  
Halo stayed silent. "no comment."  
Req arrived with the water. "Okay… here we go." she said as she walked up the steps leading up to Twilight's bed.  
"What's the water for?" Halo asked.  
Req looked down at it. "I have no clue why. They always asked for it in the movies." Twilight painfully laughed as she slunk her head back. "b-b-but I think it's to help the baby come out. Either that, or you put it on her forehead."  
"oh, come on!"  
"I'm sorry! I only have experience with cows!"  
"Ah! So you don't know how to deliver a baby?" Twi asked with one eye open.  
"I know the end part; you push, I catch."  
"Oh, come on!"  
"But I'm certain a few things are universal, like timing contractions and such. Speaking of which, how far apart are they?"  
"Un…" Halo looked for the neatest clock and waited for another contraction to hit Twi before counting. When another one hit, he had his answer. "about 1 and a half minutes."  
Req just stood there, counting the numbers in a monotone murmur.. "…and cows… carry the 1..."  
"Requiem!" both Halo and Twilight yelled.  
"What!? I'm dealing with everyone's least favorite subject here." she went back to her math, ending with freaked-out eyes and 'eep'.  
"what? What's wrong?" Twilight panted.  
Req nervously laughed. "you might want to spread your legs."

Everyone who isn't witness the beautiful but gross miracle of nature waited downstairs or back in their homes, anxious about all this.  
"{my baby sister is having a baby…}" a disbelieving Armor said in a monotone. "{… I still can't believe it…}"  
"believe it, Armor, cause it's happening." Ash said as he carved a apple with a knife. "you ever find the bastard that knocked her up?"  
"{no. except for that Pegasus who had the same voice Twili recognized, we had no leads. I expect he's either long gone, or dead.}"  
"{It's probably better that way.}" Aura said. "{Let Starlight believe that Halo is her father rather then that perverted bastard.}" everyone murmured in agreement. Better to live with a good lie then a horrible truth.  
"AAAAHHHH!" Twilight yelled loud and hard, making everyone in the library cover their ears.  
"{What's going on?}" Spyro asked.  
"I think Starlight's on the way."

"GET! THIS! FOAL! OUT! OF! ME!" Twi painfully yelled as she pushed down.  
Req comedically moved her arms from Twi to her hooch. "I think only you ca-"  
"Shut up before I snap your mouth shut!?" Twi yelled.  
"that's the labor talking so I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that."  
Halo nuzzled up next to Twi's head. "You're doing fine, Twilight. Starlight's gonna be here soon."  
Another contraction hit, causing Twilight to push. "NOBODY TOLD ME IT WAS GOING TO HURT THIS MUCH!"

Pinkie impatiently tapped her hooves on the floor. All this waiting was killing her and she was sure it was killing everyone too.  
"Anybody want to play a game?"  
Everyone, even those in other parts of Equestria, looked at Pinkie with 'WTF' expressions. "are you serious?" Sora tonelessly asked. "Twilight is going though hell right now and you want to play a game?"  
"it can make the time go by faster so we don't have to hear as many screams."  
"Exactly what game are we talking about?" she instantly replied.

Req gulped. "uh-oh."  
"Uh-oh?" a tired and worried Twilight panted. "uh-oh? I don't like uh-ohs. What's the uh-oh?"  
Req nervously pulled at her shirt collar. "the baby's crowing but, um… she's stuck."  
"STUCK!?"  
"…yeah…. You're gonna have to push harder."  
Twi groaned as she fell her head back. "oh, Faust! Why me?! Why is this happening to me now?! I should be having Starlight in the hospital with a epidural where they can cut me open if this happens!"  
Halo comforted her with a nuzzle. "you're gonna be fine, Twilight. You and Starlight. You're one of the strongest Ponies I know. You went right into battle with Chrysalis and Discord while pregnant. Last I checked, that is a ballsy move. Granted, it was stupid beyond all measure, but still. Trust me, you're gonna get though this."  
"Halo…" Twi managed a smile. "Thanks."  
Req smiled at the love those two had. And pretty soon, they were gonna have one more. "great. Now, Twilight, you're gonna have to push harder."  
Twilight whimpered and did just that.

"Are you a… ground dweller?" Rarity guessed.  
"Yep." Pinkie replied.  
"{are you… subterranean?}" Zel asked.  
"yes. You're so close!"  
"{Are you a… mole?}" Erys asked.  
"Bingo! You win, Erys."  
"{yay.}"

Another contraction hit and Twilight pushed as hard as she could. "Please tell me she's almost out?!" she pleaded. "Please…"  
"she is…"

"{are you a Pegasus?}" Edge guessed.  
"no but you're so close." Pinkie said. "You all have one question left."  
Everyone thought long and hard for this one. "Oh. Oh!" Sora exclaimed. "Are you a owl?"  
Ash face-plamed. "no…"  
"nope. I wasn't a owl. I was actually a-"

*Whaaaaa! Wha-whaaaaaa!*

The sounds of a baby crying cut their little game short and made them stop what they were doing.  
"is that…?"  
The door to Twilight's room closed and Req slowly started down. She reached the bottom of the stairs and exhaled like she ran a marathon. "guess who's here?"  
Pinkie happily gasped and beamed. "you mean…" Spike started.  
"Yep. Starlight's here."  
Everyone politely cheered and hugged each other. Spike hugged Rarity around her stomach and held her close, both eager to see what creation they're making inside the fashionista. Sora put her arm around Ash's and sighed, wondering if she'll have kids someday.  
"Can we see her?" Dinky asked.  
"no. no." Req sighed. "you can wait until everyone else does. Right now, Twilight needs to rest. She was pushing for 7 hours."  
"7 hours?" Riku exclaimed. "huh. Guess Pinkie's game did make the time fly."  
"I told you." Pinkie laughed.  
Req chuckled. She turned her attention to the speaker. "I don't know if you guys have phones or not but can someone contact Ponyville Hospital, tell them we got a new mother here who needs a room and they should get her as soon as the storm is over?"  
"{we will.}" Celestia said. "{and tell Twilight congratulations from all of us. And also tell her a couple of relatives are anxious to meet the newest edition to their family.}"  
"we will." watching Twilight at work made Req think about her having kids. She's already a great aunt to Jessica's Adolf back home on earth and she was already good with kids; she practically raised Bahamut by herself. Though she is going to ask for drugs when she goes into labor; that's the part she can't stress enough.

Twilight tearfully smiled as she looked down at the sleeping form of Starlight. Her daughter. Her own daughter. 12 months ago, she never would've seen herself with a baby other then Cadence's son. Now… she can't picture her life without Starlight.  
Halo rubbed Twilight's back and smiled as he looked at the sleeping light-pink unicorn filly with a blue-fire style mane. "she's as beautiful as her mother." Twi tearfully chuckled at his comment. Halo glanced over to her and thought for a moment. "Twilight… I know I'm not Starlight's real father… but I'm gonna raise her like she's my own flesh and blood anyway."  
Twi looked to him and smiled. "thanks, Halo." she kissed him on the lips. He kissed back. "You want to hold her?" without a response, Twi passed Starlight over to Halo. He gently took her, not sure what to do.  
"un… hey, Starlight. Um… I know I'm not your father, but I promise I'm going to love you as if you were my flesh and blood regardless."  
Starlight yawned and opened her eyes up to her 'father'. Halo got all teary-eyed. "here." she handed Starlight back to Twilight.  
"Hey, Starlight." she kissed her new daughter on the forehead as only a mother would. "thanks for coming into my life." Starlight yawned and went back to sleep. "welcome to the world… my wonderful Starlight…"

Elsewhere on the planet, someone opened his red eyes.  
"Starlight…"


	120. Something Unexpected

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 35

Something Unexpected

Derpy's friends impatiently waited downstairs, waiting for her to join them. They were all dressed in wonderful and gorgeous dresses that Rarity herself would faint at.  
"Come on, Derpy. We're waiting for you!" Roseluck impatiently exclaimed.  
Time Turner and Clockwerk arrived, each in a handsome tux. "Hello, Idaho." Raindrops playfully and seductive chuckled, seeing her boyfriend in that wonderful looking Tux. "don't you look snazzy."  
"Thanks." both of them said. When one heard the other say that, they looked at each other with grumbled faces.  
"And who's he?" Lyra asked, gesturing to Clockwerk.  
"oh. This is my cousin from Clopdon. His name is Clockwerk. He's here for a couple weeks and I thought it would be nice if he and Derpy went to the dance together."  
"together?" Octavia and Bonbon said together. They looked at each other with concerned looks. It was no secret that eTu`nes had a thing for Derpy; that little embrace they found the two in practically sealed it. But… they were the only ones who saw them in each others arms and hooves so this is going to be a problem.  
"Come on, Derpy!" Berry yelled.

Derpy heard them but she couldn't reply as she was throwing up again. When she stopped, she groaned. "oh… note to self; Never eat Hot Dogs eTu`nes gets from the Gryphon Kingdom ever again."  
She got up and walked on out.

"what is up with that girl? She's been in that bathroom ever since we got back." Lyra said, sitting on a laz-y-boy.  
"well, I've been feeling crummy too." Bonbon said. "I think it was those Hot Dogs eTu`nes brought. I think they were filled with meat."  
"that would explain it." they all said.  
They all chuckled, leaving Clockwerk confused. "and… eTu`nes is…?"  
"A dragon." Vinyl said. "and Derpy's best friend. They met when she ran away 11 years."  
"why did Derpy run away?" Lyra, Bonbon, Octavia, Vinyl, Colgate, and Berry nervously scratched their chins and coughed. "oh."  
"b-b-but it was a good thing. eTu`nes was near death when they met. She nursed him back to health and they've been best friends ever since."  
"oh. Oh, you know, I think I met him when I arrived. He was the only Drake I saw so it had to be him. Thing is… he was acting weird when Derpy asked me to the dance with her and I think he had a letter hidden on his person."  
Octavia and Bonbon know what was going on. They were going to explain everything when Derpy started down the stairs.  
She looked… absolutely stunning. Words can't do justice on how beautiful she looks. Lyra did a wolf-whistle and Colgate and raindrops went 'Wa-ha-ha-how!'  
Clockwerk was completely mesmerized by her beauty. "w-wow. Derpy, you look… stunning."  
Derpy blushed at his comment. "You really think so?"  
"I know so. You're stunning, beautiful, gorgeous- I'll just come right out and say it; you're hot."  
Derpy blushed a even deeper red. "you just toying with me?"  
Time Turner got up next to Clockwerk. "Clockwerk is known for his honesty. Trust me, if he does lie, it's usually a very bad one that doesn't make much sense."  
"yeah, yeah, yeah. All well and good. Now can we get going before we're crossed off the guest list?" Berry said.  
"oh, right." everyone quickly left and headed for the dance. Derpy was still wondering where eTu`nes disappeared too but she didn't have much time to think.

4 hours. The drake had been working on his letter for 4 hours.  
"no, no, no." He angrily growled. He flipped to the eraser and angrily erased a sentence. "Dammit." his feelings were all in a jumble since Derpy asked Clockwerk instead of him to the dance. "ugh. Damn Clockwerk." he threw his pencil away and groaned as he fell back. He pinched his eyes and sighed. He puffed out a exhale and looked to the night sky.  
"wait, night?" eTu`nes screeched in fear as he bolted up. "oh crap. The dance!" he looked at the letter. "eeegh… that's gonna have to be good enough." he folded it, put it in a good hiding spot on his person, and took off for the school.

Vinyl bobbed her head up and down as her turntable played a dubstep song with a deep bass. It made the gym room shake and everyone jump involuntarily. Octavia walked up and turned it down.  
"Whoa. That was unexpected." Clockwerk said, holding onto his seat for dear life.  
"yeah." Derpy replied, sitting in another seat. Both were nervous to make the first move. This was the first dance they've been to so they don't know what to do.  
Octavia butted Vinyl away from her turntable and put on a slow-dancing romantic song.  
Derpy heard it and reacted, "oh, I love this song. So romantic and…" she dreamily sighed. Clockwerk looked to the dancefloor, then to her. He lightly smiled and walked over to her. He took one of her hooves and brought her to the dance floor. "what are you doing, Clocky?" she asked.  
"having a dance with my date. I was quite the dancer back home."  
"oh, no. no no." she let go and walked back to her seat. "I-I can't dance. Never have."  
Clockwerk chuckled and used his magic to bring her over. "if I can go on a blind date with someone my cousin set up…" he grabbed her waist and pulled her close. "…you can dance." he winked at her, making Derpy melt in his arms.  
Before Derpy knew it, she was dancing and she was a natural. She never knew she could dance like this but… there was something about Clockwerk that made her a natural. She doesn't know what it is; could be his charisma, could be his dashing good looks. Who knows? All she does know, or rather remember, is being lost in his embrace.  
Lyra looked around the dancefloor from her seat, spotted Derpy dancing with Clockwerk, and tapped Bonbon's shoulder. "what?" Lyra pointed and Bonbon looked. She saw Derpy dancing with Time Turner's cousin and gulped. "uh-oh." she softly muttered. "hope eTu`nes doesn't come." Octavia thought up the same thing.

eTu`nes landed outside the school gym. He could hear the music playing inside. He took a deep breath and brought out the letter. "okay, eTu`nes. You can do this. You can do this. Just go in, tell Derpy your true feelings… and hope she chooses you." she took another deep breath and headed to the door.

Derpy and Clockwerk lost all meaning to the world around them and, without any thinking or anything, kissed right on the lips.

eTu`nes heart shattered when he saw the love of his life kiss that new pony. Bonbon and Octavia noticed him and gulped, fearing a yell-out in front of everyone.  
Derpy and Clockwerk broke their kiss and just looked at each other. That's when she noticed eTu`nes turning and flying out the door. "eTu`nes?" she muttered.  
"eTu`nes?"  
"He was standing right in that doorway and then he just…. Left." Derpy broke her embrace with her date. "You don't mind if I go after her, would you?"  
"no no. go right ahead."  
"thanks." Derpy galloped out the door and after the drake.  
"This isn't going to end well." Bonbon whimpered to Octavia. She whimpered in agreement.

8 years later…

A half hour after the storm ended, the paramedics came and took Twilight and Starlight to the hospital. Halo went with them but everyone else stayed behind; Twi needed to get some rest, anyway. She just went though 7 hours of torture just pushing the little tyke out of her. Doing it without a epidural can be pure hell. I know from experience- A friend of mine went though it once; my ears hurt from all the yelling she did.  
The next day, everyone went to visit the new mother and her new creation.

"Aww… she's so cute…" Amelia, Sora, and Rarity said in unison, looking at the sleeping Starlight from behind the glass. Starlight wasn't the only foal born that days as she had several roommates. "Twilight is so lucky to have such a cute baby."  
"come on, guys. Let her sleep. She just got evicted from her old home." Req joked as she pushed the 3 into the waiting room.  
"oh, come on Req. we barely had a chance to see her." Fluttershy whined.  
"I know that but she and Twilight need to rest; this was a traumatic experience for them both. Twi just went though 7 hours of pain and Starlight was forcibly evicted from home for the past 11 months. You just have to learn to be patient."  
The ponies whined and lowered their heads in sadness.  
"just wait a few hours. You'll see them soon."  
"But Celestia, Luna, Trixie, Halo, Cadence, and Armor are seeing her now." Cynder whined.  
"because they're her family. And I'm not gonna argue with the ultra-powerful rulers of a nation. I learned my lesson the hard way." she groaned, rubbing her back.

"how do you feel, Twili?" Armor asked her tired sister.  
"tired, for one." she replied with a light chuckle. "and it wasn't exactly peaches and cream; it hurt. Badly! I thought I was going to split in half."  
"we know." Celestia and Cadence said in unison, knowing full well what she went though. They went though there's without epidurals, but that was their decision. Twi had no choice because she was stuck in the library because of that storm.  
"but… seeing her cute little face… knowing that I created something so beautiful… I would go though that all over again."  
Glade stirred in her mother's hooves, making Cadence chuckle. "I think Glade is keen on seeing his new cousin."  
"I don't blame him."  
The door to Twilight's room opened and Req stepped though. "sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt."  
"it's okay, Req." Celestia replied. "do you need anything?"  
"yeah. I need to talk to you and Luna for a minute."  
"Talk?" the sisters looked at each other and shrugged.  
They walked to the door just as the nurse came in. "someone woke up and wants her mama." Redheart said. Luna and Celestia saw her in passing and went 'aww'.  
Redheart handed Starlight to Twi. "Aww… she's so cute…" Trixie and Cadence said in unison. Cadence held her son up to get a good view. "Glade, this is your new cousin Starlight." Glade stared at starlight with a interested look. He touched her nose and spoke in baby talk. "Aw…" all 3 females exclaimed.

"What is it, Requiem?" Celestia asked as she, Req, and Luna reached a secluded part of the hospital.  
"well… I'm curious… how rare are Alicorns?"  
"Alicorns?" Luna and Celestia look at each other. This was what she took them away from Twilight for? "um… 2000 years ago, there were plenty. But, though Discord and the passage of time, we've been greatly reduced. Cadence and Glade were the most recent ones in 200 years." Luna explained.  
"Okay. Okay. And… you can only get Cutie Marks when you find your special talent, right?"  
Celestia nodded. "indeed. It took me and Luna quite some time before we found that our talents were the sun and the moon. But… why do you ask?"  
"well…"

"Oh, she's so cute!" Fluttershy said, holding little Starlight in her hooves. "you must feel so lucky, Twilight."  
"I do. She's quite the miracle."  
"so, any advice for anyone who's going to have kids?" Trixie asked.  
"ask for drugs when you go into labor. I cannot stress that part enough."  
"yeah. We heard." Riku said, sticking his pinkie finger into his ear.  
"I don't know why Req was trying to delay us seeing her. She's just so cute." Amelia said.  
Twi quickly came up with some explanation. "I think it's because her mother barely had any time to hold her since you guys came in."  
"well, that will do it." Aura said.  
Everyone lightly chuckled. Spyro and Cynder lightly shivered then looked at each other. "Anyone else feel that?" he asked.  
"feel what?" Armor asked.  
Cadence felt it too and shivered, same with Glade, Cosmos, and Erys. "I just did too." they all said.  
"feel what?" Fox asked.  
Erys and Cadence looked at each other. "Um… Twilight… did you ever take the blanket off of Starlight?" Cadence asked.  
"no." Twi used her magic to pull Starlight back over to her. "I don't want her to catch a cold. Why?"  
"just curious."  
Now that made her curious. She and Halo looked at each other for a moment. Twilight used her magic to take off the blanket that surrounded Starlight. Not long after that, the ponies all gasped when they saw what they saw.  
"She's a…"

"Alicorn!?" Luna and Celestia said in unison.  
"I saw wings along with that horn. Last I checked, that means Alicorn, doesn't it?" Req explained.  
Celestia couldn't believe what she was hearing. A Alicorn born outside the royal family? "such a thing has never happened before in the history of my and Luna's rule. If Starlight is a Alicorn, there must be a reason why."  
"that's not the weirdest part." Req said. "she was born with a Cutie Mark."  
"She was?" Luna asked.  
"yeah." Req paused for a moment and reached into her pockets. "shaped… like this." she pulled out a pocket watch and showed it to them. "that knight from the train at the beginning of the Winter War had one like this, too."  
"huh…" Celestia and Luna were not sure how to process this. Something like this has never happened in their world before; a pony, a Alicorn at that, born with a Cutie Mark and a Alicorn outside the royal family. Such a thing was next to impossible.  
Req put the watch away and leaned on the wall. "So… what are you two going to do?" the sisters looked at each other. How were they going to handle this?

"She's a Alicorn?" Twilight gasped.  
"And with a Cutie Mark?!" the other ponies exclaimed.  
The off-worlders weren't exactly certain why they were freaking out. "so what's the problem? She's a Alicorn born with a tattoo on her butt. What's the problem?" Fox asked.  
"WHAT'S THE PROBLEM!?" Twilight yelled in Fox's face, making a whole lot of wind and messing up the fur on his face. "nothing like this has ever happened before in the history of Equestria. For the past 2000 years, Alicorns were born only into the Royal Family. Cadence and Glade were the most recent ones. The last known Alicorn other then the princess' was 200 years ago. And no pony in history has ever, ever, ever been born with a Cutie Mark. Something like this is clearly a anomaly and if Celestia finds out, she'll-"  
"I'll do what?" Celestia asked as she walked in.  
"uh-oh." Halo quickly said.  
"Un… Princess Celestia. Un… um…" Twi didn't even bother to hide it. "you know, don't you?"  
Celestia nodded. "Requiem told me." Req nervously smiled and lowered from view.  
"You knew?!" Twi snapped.  
"un, yeah. I was the one who delivered her, after all. And besides, what was I supposed to say? 'hi there. Here's your baby. By the way, she's a Alicorn with a Cutie Mark.' how was I supposed to word that?"  
She had a point there. Still, Twilight was very nervous. "um… princess?… what are you going to do?"  
"I don't know. Something like this has never happened before. I… suppose that-"  
Twi's mind raced as she thought back to that door of fear back in the Afterworld. Her nightmare had Celestia taking Starlight away from her for failing to stop Discord. The reason may have changed but the outcome is looking the same; the princess taking her daughter. She didn't even bother to hear the end. "you're not going to take Starlight away from me!"  
"What?" Celestia said in shock. "I wasn't-"  
"I know you will. That fear door back in the Afterworld showed me you were gonna take her! Well, I'm not going to let you do that! Starlight needs me and I need her! If you want to take her, you're gonna have to do it with force!"  
Celestia was surprised to hear her make such a accusation. "Twilight…" Twi looked away, holding Starlight close. Everyone felt out of place and slowly made their way to the door. "…you know I would never do that. When did you ever hear of me I was just going to say we should keep her under surveillance."  
*Screech* "surveillance?" Ash asked.  
Celestia nodded. "something like Starlight has never happened before and such a anomaly must be kept a eye on."  
"humph. So she's a freak of nature?"  
"no no no. she's something new and- oh, dear how do I word this right? We just want to keep an eye on her, make sure she's not in any danger to herself or anyone around her. You understand that, don't you?"  
Twi blinked once then looked down at her daughter's sleeping form. "well… as long as you don't take her away…"  
"I would never do that to you, Twilight. You're my most precious student and my niece-in-law. Why would I take my new grand niece away from her mother? Speaking of which, how did I get my reputation of being cold-blooded?"  
That was a good question but Twilight ignored it. "who knows?" she played off. "could be any number of reasons?"  
Luna playfully looked to her sister. "I can think of one giant grey thing." she chuckled. Trixie and Cadence giggled as well.  
The humans were now completely lost as Lloyd scratched his head with his sword. "un… does this mean Twilight is keeping Starlight?" he and Gourry asked. Emil and Lina groaned and face-palmed. "what?"


	121. The Truth Comes Out

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 36

The Truth Comes Out

eTu`nes flew far from the school, wanting so hard to forget Derpy kissing Clockwerk. Tears fell from his face as he flew over the town. "why…?" he said all choked up. "I thought we had something special."  
"eTu`nes!"  
The drake slowed down and looked back to see Derpy flying after him. He ignored her and kept on flying. "eTu`nes!"  
"Leave me along!" he painfully yelled, trying to hide his heartbreak. He flew faster but Derpy wasn't giving up.  
She flapped her wings faster and was able to catch up to him enough to where she could grabbed his legs. "I'm not leaving until you talk, eTu`nes!" eTu`nes snarled like the dragon he is and landed near a tall building that looked like a carousel. Once Derpy let go, he started walking away. "Hey!"  
"Go! Away!" he snarled. He felt something fill up inside him, something monstrous.  
"Not until you tell me what the hell is going on, eTu`nes? You know, you've been acting weird since the camping trip and I think it's time for you to come clean."  
"Go Away! I won't repeat myself again!"  
He started walking away. Derpy got in front of him and stopped him. "What's going on, eTu`nes? Why are you acting like a grouch?"  
eTu`nes angrily formed a fist. "You want to know why?"  
"Yes!"  
"Fine! It's because of that bastard Clockwerk."  
"Clockwerk? What does he have to do with anything? What, is this because I went to the dance with him instead of you?"  
"It's because you kissed!"  
Derpy was still confused by what he meant and it showed. "What? Because we kissed?"  
"Yes!"  
"but I don't understand. We're friends. Why would you be upset over a kiss?"  
"Because I love you!"

Begin Song: watch?v=cvs5bVqzLzQ Sorrow - Xenoblade Chronicles OST

eTu`nes just heard what he said but couldn't take it back. It was out there. And Derpy heard it.  
"w-what?" she shockingly asked. "you… love me?"  
The drake glanced away. "Yes. I love you, Derpy. I've loved you ever since we came back from Feather Top but… but I just couldn't say it." Derpy had no idea. After all this time, he never said anything about this. True, he acted weird but he always acted weird. "At least… until the camping trip."  
"the camping trip?"  
"I told you my feelings back up on top of the waterfall and we had… and incredible night together but… you don't remember anything! Do you have any idea how that made me feel when you said you couldn't remember a thing?!"  
"eTu`nes…"  
"And now here you are, kissing some out-of-town pony you only knew half a day! You barely know him! Why did you kiss him?"  
"I… I don't know. I just… lost all control over myself. He was just so handsome and dreamy and…"eTu`nes heard enough and glanced away in a huff. "eTu`nes, I didn't mean to hurt you. It's just… I just think of us as friends."  
"Friends?"  
"I love you, but not in that way. And besides… a pony/dragon relationship would weird everyone out and I don't want that kind of ridicule."  
The dragons heart sank when he heard that garbage. "What? That's why? Because of what someone else will think of you?" eTu`nes anger well up inside him until it burst. "ARE YOU INSANE!?" that sudden yell made Derpy fall back a bit. "you're risking hurting my feelings all because your worried everyone will look at you weird!? How stupid is that?"  
His eyes glowed yellow, scaring Derpy. "eTu`nes… you're scaring me."  
"What, like how you're scared how everyone will look at you? I poured my heart and soul out to you and there you go, breaking it like some… some slut!"  
"eTu`nes!"  
"no no no. you are going to sit there and listen! I love you and you go out with that bimbo! I gave you my soul and you crushed it like a nut!" small beads of darkness began to float from his back. "you care about nobody but yourself, Derpy, and you don't care whose feelings you have to destroy!"  
"t-that's not true… I… I…"  
"there. You see? You can't even say it!" he scoffed. "it's just as I thought." he turned and left. "I don't even want to see you again."  
Derpy gasped. "you can't mean that." eTu`nes continued walking. She got up and walked after him. "eTu`nes, stop and listen to me." she grabbed his hand, unleashing something inside him.  
"LET ME GO!" he slashed at her face with his claws. He hit, making her fall back. The glow in his eyes disappeared and the beads of darkness dispersed as he realized what he had done. He looked at his claws, which had blood on them. Derpy's blood.  
Derpy just laid there in stunned silence. eTu`nes… struck her… he hit her. She felt her cheek and felt something wet. She moved her hoof to see blood on them. He… attacked her. She looked to see eTu`nes shivering in fear, looking at his blood covered claws. "e-eTu`nes, you…. You…"  
eTu`nes shakingly looked at her. "Derpy, I…" he didn't think. He just ran.  
"eTu`nes!" she called out but he was long gone. Tears began to form in her eyes. "I… I didn't…" she spotted a letter from where he stood a couple seconds ago. She grabbed it and read it.

'I love your squinted eyes and golden mane, your amusing smile and clumsy motions.  
I wish to be grass under your hooves when you trot across a meadow covered with brilliant dew.  
I wish to be wind in your wings when you soar up upwards to the bottomless blue sky.  
I wish to be a soft cloud under your shapely stature when you sleep in evening beams of the sun.  
I love you… Derpy…'

Tears fell down onto the paper as Derpy broke down and cried. "eTu`nes… I'm so sorry…" she fell over and cried her heart out. Her best friend was gone. Her first friend… was gone. Her stomach hurt again, adding more tears. And he said they had a intimate night together. Unless dragon anatomy says otherwise, that only meant one thing.  
"eTu`nes… I love you too…" tears continued to fall. she just had to scream so she let loose. "eTu`nes…"  
"COME BACK!"

8 years later…

Derpy stood in the same spot as from that fateful night 8 years ago. She played it in her mind, over and over, wondering if there was something she could've done different. "eTu`nes… I don't know where you are now or even if you're still alive, but…" she pulled out the letter from him and looked at it. The tear stains were still there and she began to add more. "please… come back to me… I miss you so much… and I want you to meet your daughter…"  
She wiped her eyes and put the letter away. Even after 8 years, she regrets what she had done. She turned to head back to the library when she saw Jax run by with tears in her eyes. "what happened to her?" the mare asked herself. There was only one way to find out so she ran after her.

End Song.  
2 hours earlier…

The group was hard at work, setting up the library for when Twilight comes home with little baby Starlight. Derpy and Edge put up a banner that made Sora question it.  
"It's a boy?" she commented.  
"they ran out of it's a girl." Derpy nervously chuckled.  
Pinkie noticed this and grabbed a marker. "I can fix that." she hopped up and, with one swipe, wrote 'not' into it, making it 'it's not a boy'.  
"wow. Very 'Friends'-ish." Bahamut commented.  
Spike looked out the window and saw her coming. "She's coming. She's coming!"  
Everyone quickly went into hiding.  
The door opened and Twilight & Halo came in. "Wait. Why is it dark?" Twi asked. As if she even needed to ask. "*sigh* Spike." she walked over to the light switch. "Ever since he started going out with Rarity, he's be-" she flipped it and…  
"Congratulations!" everyone cheered.  
Twi was happily shocked to see that her friends went out of there way to do this. "Guys… you didn't have to do this." she said with a laugh.  
"Told you. See ya." Jax with a snip as she began to walk away.  
"Jax!"  
"What? I'm just playing with ya."  
Halo noticed the sign. "it's not a boy?"  
Everyone looked up to the sign and nervously laughed. "Un… it was Derpy's job to get it?"

A few minutes later and this 'welcome home' party for Starlight that Pinkie thought up is in full swing. There were games and other entertainment for everyone. Unfortunately, they were all baby related so some got bored really fast.  
"well, I just put Starlight to bed." Twi said as she approached Req, Halo, and Cynder.  
"Did you ever figure out what her cutie mark means?" Cynder asked.  
"no. it could be anything. But… why would it be a… a… darn, what was it called again?"  
"Pocket watch?" Req said, holding hers out.  
"yeah. That's it."  
Req looked at her watch, trying to figure out why Starlight would also have it for a Cutie Mark, when it hit her. "Wait… maybe it has something to do with time."  
"Time?" Halo asked. She and Twi looked at each other and burst out laughing. "Hahaha. Don't be silly. There's been no pony capable of manipulating time."  
"there was Starswirl. He made all those spells and turned the Princess' immortal, didn't he?"  
"and there are a number of time manipulators. Spyro could, once upon a time, and I heard Riku say that he once fought a manipulator of time." Cynder said.  
Twi chuckled. "I'm positive that is has nothing to do with time."  
"are you sure?"  
Twi was going to answer, then thought about it. She wasn't really sure. Something like Starlight never happened before so… maybe… "well…"  
Req quickly looked around and grabbed a cup of punch. "only one way to find out." she said as she headed on up.  
"What are you doing?" Twi asked.  
"just a little experiment." she walked up on. Twi, Halo, and Cynder nervously looked at each other. Even Aura felt concerned. The 4 walked up after her to make sure she doesn't do anything stupid.

Derpy looked at the time. "Um… listen, I have to get going." she told Edge.  
"should we get going too, mommy?" Dinky asked from on top of Sparkler.  
"No no. you two stay here and enjoy the party. This… is a private matter." she turned and headed out the door.  
"Private?" Dinky and Sparkler repeated.  
"speaking of private, can anyone wheel me to the bathroom?" Sora asked.  
"I got it." Ash said. He grabbed Sora's wheelchair and wheeled her on down to the restroom. "you do know you're doing the private stuff yourself, right?"

"What are you planning, Req?" Twi asked as she, Halo, Aura, and Cynder followed her into Twi's room. Req was looking though the bookcase for something Twi won't miss as much.  
"just a little… something. Aha!" she grabbed book titled 'Harry Cloper and the Half-Blood Princess. She took the same cup of punch she took.  
"Req…"  
"what?" she asked, accidentally spilling the punch onto Starlight, making her cry.  
"Req!"  
Req winced. "oops." nobody noticed it but Starlight's horn glowed. Next thing they knew, the event they just saw began rewinding. The punch went back into the cup and Req spoke backwards as she put the book back. The horn stopped glowing and Req went back to doing her thing. "…just a little… something." Req said in the same way she just did.  
"Whoa whoa whoa! Did you see that?" Cynder exclaimed.  
Req stopped and looked back. "See what?" she honestly had no clue what they were talking about.  
Aura tried to find a way to explain it. "un… you… spilled punch on Starlight and then… I don't know. You seemed to reverse."  
"reverse? Like… rewind?"  
Twilight walked over to Starlight and looked at her. "I hate to say it… but it looks like you were right. She has control over time."  
"I was right? Holy Crap." Req chuckled. "I was just making a wild assumption. Didn't expect me to be right."  
But that, however, made Twilight worry. Starswirl the bearded may have been able to manipulate time but that was though decades of practice. Starlight was born able to do it at will. Faust knows what will happen if anyone horrible finds out.

Jax's faced winced in pain as she had to go to the bathroom really badly. "Oh, screw Sora. She's been in there long enough!" she whined as she ran to the restroom. "oh, gods. I'm gonna explode." she turned into the kitchen and ran to the bathroom. As she ran though it, she saw Sora kissing Ash and… *Screech* wait, what? Jax backed up and looked in a mix of horror and anger.  
"no…" she gasped. "no… Ash… is my crush… he's mine…" without even thinking, she ran out the backdoor as fast as she could.

Derpy stood in the same spot as from that fateful night 8 years ago. She played it in her mind, over and over, wondering if there was something she could've done different. "eTu`nes… I don't know where you are now or even if you're still alive, but…" she pulled out the letter from him and looked at it. The tear stains were still there and she began to add more. "please… come back to me… I miss you so much… and I want you to meet your daughter…"  
She wiped her eyes and put the letter away. Even after 8 years, she regrets what she had done. She turned to head back to the library when she saw Jax run by with tears in her eyes. "what happened to her?" the mare asked herself. There was only one way to find out so she ran after her.

Before she knew it, Jax found herself at Eternity Hill. The hill got it's name as across from it was a poem that read 'you will be in my heart eternally, my one and only love'.  
"that's a load of crock." Jax sobbed. "Ash… is supposed to be with me."  
Derpy approached Jax from behind with a worried expression. "um… Jax? Are you okay?"  
"no! I'm not!" she snapped. "just… just go away!"  
"not until we talk."  
"no."  
Why is Derpy suddenly feeling a case of déjà vu? "Jax… what's going on?"  
Jax groaned. "My god, you're annoying!"  
"what?"  
She angrily looked back at Derpy. "you… you just have to put your nose in where it doesn't belong. You just have to get into other peoples business. Well, guess what? Nobody likes that! And, on top of that, nobody likes you!"

Begin Song: watch?v=GOJJ5vTSTeE Anger, Darkness of the Heart - Xenoblade Chronicles OST

Derpy found that hard to believe, she dismissed it with a scoff. "Okay, Jax. I think you're a little tired so why don't you just calm down an-"  
"I'm not kidding! Nobody Likes You! They never have!"  
"not true. I have friends an-"  
"And what? I talked to Colgate and Lyra and the others. They were only friends with you because they felt sorry for you. That and they were afraid of that dragon you called a friend? How is he by the way? Oh, wait. You don't know. Because you caused him to run away!"  
"that was a…"  
"Face it, Derpy! Nobody has ever liked you or even loved you! You caused your best friend to run away and I heard that your husband disappeared! That's because he was sick and tired of you!"  
"That's not-"  
"and your daughters? I talked to them! They would rather have a Diamond Dog be their mother then you!"  
That part, even if it was true, hit Derpy like a bag of bricks. "You're lying! Sparkler and Dinky love me and I l-"  
"No they don't! Sparkler hates you because you spend more time with Dinky anyway and because she feels that you're responsible for her parents dumping her when they moved! And Dinky? Dinky hates you for leaving her in Canterlot during the war where she could get injured to the point of near death and having dragon wings grow in her body because that drek Oscurita infected her with some disease!"  
"j-jax, I… I…"  
"Face it Derpy! You're a parasite that only lives off of other's affections for you! You're the reason why your friend and your husband ran away! And pretty soon, everyone you know will hate you and want to leave you as well! Face it, Derpy! NOBODY LIKES YOU!" a few small streams of darkness came out of Jax's back but she didn't notice it.  
Derpy just stood there with a shocked expression. Was it true? Was there something about her that made everyone despise her? She didn't think it all the way though as she burst into tears and ran away from Jax.

Once Jax had calmed down, she saw what she had done and held her head. "Oh, no. Derpy… I didn't mean any of that. I was just…" she sat down in the grass and sighed into her hands. "what have I done?"  
"my my. And I thought I was cold."  
Jax gasped in fear when she heard that voice. She looked back and saw the crazy man with the freaky hairdo and the multiple personality disorder standing behind her.  
"it seems Derpy isn't the one that drives away friends and loved ones." Glacies chuckled.  
"You again!" she grabbed her chakrams and pointed it to him. "I thought we left you to die on Symphonia! What are you doing here!?"  
Glacies walked to the side of the hill where the poem was in clear view. "To once again make a offer."  
"Offer?"  
"yes. Join with me and together, we can make wondrous changes to this pitiful realm of reality."  
"Pfft. As if I'm gonna join you. You nearly killed my sister in Flanoir so what makes you think I'm gonna help you?"  
She turned to leave when, "Because I just learned of your disease." Jax stopped in mid-step. Glacies lightly chuckled. "that's right. I know of the incurable illness that's slowly but surely killing you. You may be able to delay with those shots but sooner or later, you are going to run out and not even Requiem will be able to bring you back from the Afterworld. There's no physical way if the body is dead." he offered his hand to her. "join with me and my compatriots and we can cure that illness."  
Jax would be lying if she said she didn't consider it. She barely had any time left to try and find one herself and even a goddess couldn't cure her. She stared at the hand, then up to Glacies' face. It was a tempting offer, but… "no."  
"no?"  
"I'm not going to abandon my friends just because some crazy man with the most odd hair-cut ever is offering to cure something that even a Goddess couldn't. if there is a cure out there, I'll find it my own way. Whoever your compatriots are, tell them that they can stop trying to convert me to your side. Cause it's not going to happen!" she turned and stormed off, leaving Glacies to stew in anger.  
One flash of dark fire later, the knight appeared beside him. "She didn't take it?"  
"Nope. She's as stubborn as a mule."  
"are you surprised? She is not one to betray her friends lightly. Well, other then now. So what now?"  
"Don't worry. I'll get her on our side soon enough. I have a couple more plans I want to put in play before I give up. Besides, I still have to finish up with this pitiful world. Chrysalis and Discord may have weakened it but it hasn't fallen yet. What of you? I understand you had some help with altering the fabric of this world as well."  
Tsylatac pulled out the pocket watch and flipped it open. He just stared at it before closing it. "hard to believe he let this thing go without a fight. Stupid doctor." he put it away.  
"So when should we expect HIM to arrive?"  
"for us, a few days. For him, he has to wait 17 more years for her powers to mature."  
"he's gonna be in for a long wait."  
"Indeed."  
The 2 disappeared in flashes of dark fire.

End Song.

Jax woke up the following day with a rotten taste in her mouth. She tried to find Derpy to apologize but she couldn't find her. She figured she went home to cry it out. At least, that's what she hoped.

Jax left the Orion, feeling terrible about what she did yesterday, and headed to Derpy's place. She headed in and saw Dinky crying into Carrot Top's lap. Sparkler rubbed her sister's back as Time Turner just looked on with a somber expression. "What's wrong with Dinky?"  
Sparkler sadly stared up at her then handed her a note. Curious, Jax read it.

'dear… everyone…  
I recently realized that I'm just a burden to you all. That… that you all hate me. I didn't mean to but…  
Whatever I did to make you all hate me, to turn me into someone you hate… I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry.  
I… I just don't know what went wrong.  
Carrot Top. Time Turner. Please take care of Dinky and Sparkler for me and tell them… tell them that their mother is sorry.  
Good bye forever…  
Derpy Whooves…'

Jax put the letter down and sighed.  
"We looked all over town but we couldn't find her anywhere." Time Turner said. "she just… disappeared. I'm not sure why she thinks we hate her, though."  
Jax knew. She knows why Derpy thinks that and she felt terrible for it and it showed on her face. Carrot Top noticed it. "Jax?"  
"I un…" she was about to tell them the truth but didn't. "I need… I need to fix something." she quickly ran out the door, leaving the 4 of them confused.

Jax ran as fast as she could out the south exit of town and out into the wilderness. "Derpy… where did you disappear too…?" she asked herself. She jumped over a boulder and kept running, unaware of 2 small masses running after her.

Derpy flew up to the top of a mountain with only a saddle bag and a sad expression. Far off in the distance was Ponyville, which she could barely see.  
"bye, everyone." she sadly said as she walked into a cave at the top of the mountain.  
Little did she know that fate had her choose that cave for a reason- a 8-year old reason that will answer a lot of questions.


	122. A Shocking Truth

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 37

A Shocking Truth

eTu`nes collapsed and coughed as he pulled himself out of the water. He rolled over onto his back and coughed.  
1 year. It had been 1 year to the day when he yelled at Derpy and… hit her. After he left, he couldn't bare to return to apologize to her. He couldn't bare to return at all. He just knows that if he does return, all his friends -all his former friends- will yell at him and possible beat him for harming Derpy. And he would let them. He deserved it. The love of his life and he hit her; no no no. he clawed at her and drew blood.  
After that, he had just been wandering Equestria, trying to find a new place to call home but everyone was scared by him. He had a frightening look so he can't blame them. And he sure can't return home to the Badlands. He may be bigger and stronger then he was 10 years ago but his parents can still beat him to death. Now… he doesn't know where he was. He just flew across a very large river, ending with him crashing near the shore because some Gryphon thought he was a free seagull dinner and tried to shot him down with a harpoon.  
He lifted his left arm and looked at the bracelet Derpy made for him when they were kids. It was the only thing he had left of hers; the reminder of the times they spent together.  
"Derpy… I'm so sorry…" he weakly said before losing consciousness.  
The last thing he heard was the sound of crunching sand coming his way.

The drake groaned as he woke up. Above him was a white ceiling and he was on a couch that felt familiar. "Ugh… where…. Where am I?"  
"Back in Feather Top." eTu`nes recognized the voice and turned to his left. "it's been a long time, eTu`nes." Shine Dash said with a smile.  
"Shine." eTu`nes shook his head, trying to clear it. "What am I doing here?"  
"I found you lying unconscious on the beach."  
"Oh. How long was I out?"  
"About 2 hours." eTu`nes got up and got out of the bed. "what are you doing here?"  
eTu`nes sadly glanced up to her then sighed. "I… I did something really really stupid. I…" he looked at his claws. The blood may be gone but he still felt it there. "I… hit Derpy."  
"you hit Derpy?" Shine gasped.  
"it wasn't on purpose. I just… I just lost all control. I couldn't control myself and I… I hit her. That was a year ago. I've been wandering ever since."  
"oh." Shine got up from her seat. "why didn't you go back to Ponyville and apologize?"  
"I tried to but… I couldn't make myself do it and face all that aberration from all my friends. I can't face Derpy."  
"oh. Are you sure? Cause she misses you quite a lot."  
"how are you so sure about that?"  
Shine got up, went into the kitchen, and returned with a letter. "because 10 months ago, I got a letter from Derpy, asking if she knew where you were. I couldn't read some of the words because they were stained by tears." eTu`nes took it and read it. "she just wants you to come home."  
He couldn't believe it. Derpy misses him after what he did to her and wants him to come back. He really missed her. But he… He exhaled and lowered his head. "I don't know what to do, Shine. I want to go back but… but after what I did…"  
Suddenly, the door burst open and 3 familiar faces poked in. "eTu`nes!" Lightning, Gothic, and Zatch all exclaimed.  
"Ah! You 3?"  
"Pfft. 'You 3'. he's acting like he doesn't remember us." Lightning laughed.  
"no. I was just caught off guard." Lightning quickly ran in and hugged him.  
"it has been too long. Where's Derpy? Are you two still together?" eTu`nes looked away with a somber look. The hyper Lightning quickly got tame. "oh. What happened?"  
"me and Derpy… we had a fight and I… I ended up hitting her."  
"you hit Derpy?" Gothic exclaimed. "What is wrong with you?"  
"I don't know. I wasn't thinking, okay? I just… snapped and… I hit her."  
Zatch felt like it was his turn the speak. And he was the most calm and collected member of the group. "did you apologize to her?"  
"if I did, I wouldn't be here, would I!?" eTu`nes yelled. He heard his yelled and calmed down. "sorry. I… I just couldn't face her after that. I… I left- ran away."  
Shine sighed as she thought about what to do with him. "eTu`nes… you should go back to her."  
"didn't you hear me, I can't! I just… I just can't face her. I… can't."  
Shine wasn't so sure. Something else was holding him back. "are you sure you can't? or is it because you don't want to because of guilt?"  
"I…" eTu`nes wasn't so sure anymore.  
"eTu`nes. You can't run away from this forever. Sooner or later, you are going to have to confront it. But I'm not going to force you to do it now. You decide when you think you should talk to Derpy."  
He knew that she was right. She was gonna have to go back there someday but… he's been gone for a year. Will she even remember him? Well, there was only one way to find out. "when does the next train to Ponyville leave?"

The train to Ponyville pulled in to the sleepy Ponyville 4 days later. The cargo car opened and eTu`nes snuck off before taking to the air.  
He may have been gone for a full year but Ponyville remained the same. While most ponies would have trouble with the dark, he was able to quickly find his way back to Derpy's house.  
He landed just outside the door and took a deep breath. He raised his fist to knock at it but… but he couldn't. some part of him still felt guilty for doing what he did to Derpy. "*sigh* I… I can't do it."  
He walked off the porch and past a window. He glanced in and saw Derpy sitting in front of a fire. He stopped to take a good look at her. She changed; her hair was longer and the spot where he hit her was healed. Other then those, this was the same old Derpy.  
"Derpy…" he placed his hand on the window and sighed. "I'm sorry for… for hitting you." he turned to leave when something caught his eye.  
Clockwerk entered the room with something wrapped in a bundle. Derpy tenderly took it with a smile. She moved part of the blanket aside, revealing a newborn baby Dinky.  
That was the final nail in the coffin for eTu`nes broken heart. "she… had a baby… with him…?" he asked as if a relative of his just died. "she… never really… cared about me…"

Derpy cooed at her baby daughter when she heard the sound of wings flapping. Just the sound alone made her think back of her childhood friend. She looked to the window to see no one there but she felt like… "(eTu`nes? Was that you?)" she thought to herself. Dinky cooed in her mother's hooves, making Derpy come back to reality.

7 years later…

Jax ran as fast as she could though the woods south of Ponyville. She went over her apology in her head one more time.  
"(Derpy. I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said. I was having a rough day. Can you forgive me?)" it was short but to the point and she hopes Derpy will accept it.  
She sensed someone running after her from behind and she thinks it was that crazy man that approached her yesterday. She grabbed her chakrams and spun back to find two ponies cowering in fear.  
"Dinky!? Sparkler!? What are you two doing here?" Jax yelled as she put her chakram away.  
"Following you." Sparkler said. "when you read that letter mom left, you looked as though you knew something about it."  
Jax grimaced and glanced away. "I…"  
"Well?"  
"I yelled at Derpy!" Jax exclaimed. "I told her that nobody loved her and that they were just pretending for her sake. And I… told her that you two never cared about her either."  
"What!?" Dinky yelled. "She's my mother. Of course I love her."  
"Why would you even say such a thing?" Sparkler asked in disgust.  
"because I was having a hard day yesterday. I… I just needed to vent and Derpy was the unfortunate victim. I feel bad for it and now I'm trying to find her and apologize. You two head back to Ponyville and wait there."  
Jax turned to leave with both Sparkler and Dinky stopped her with their magic. "Not a chance!" they both said. "we're coming with you."  
"but there's no telling what monsters we'll find in the forest." Jax said.  
"we don't care." Dinky said. "that's my mom out there. I don't want to lose my mom."  
Jax sighed, knowing full well what Dinky is talking about. She went though that kind of situation at one point. "okay, fine. You can come. But I'm not gonna be held responsible if anything bad happens to you."  
"we know." Sparkler said as she ran ahead. Jax and Dinky ran after her.

Derpy lament fully sighed as she leaned up against the cave wall and slid down it to the cave floor. She pulled out a picture of her family from her saddle-bags and silently cried. "I'm sorry, Dinky. But… Jax made me see the truth. I don't know why you hate me but I will always love you regardless." Derpy sniffled and put the picture away before getting up.  
If this cave was going to be her new home, she may as well see what was in it. She walked deeper into it, hoping that she wasn't going to run into a monster. "such a damp cave." she muttered. "hope there aren't any Ursa Minors or dragons or whatever this place calls home."  
Derpy yelped as she tripped on a rock and fell. "Ow." she sniffled. "can anything else in my life go wrong?" she grumbled as she got up. When she looked at what she tripped on, she grossed out.  
She tripped over a pony skeleton; a torn apart pony skeleton.  
"Oh. Oh, Faust." she almost threw up but was able to hold it down. "who… could've done this to a innocent pony?" fortunately, the guy has, or rather had, clothes. She went into his pockets to find the poor saps wallet. She found it and pulled it out. She opened it up and…  
The wallet fell out of her hooves as light left from her eyes. She fell to her knees and shivered.  
"-nestly don't think she's gonna be all the way up here."  
"you never know till you try."  
Derpy recognized those voices but she didn't move. She couldn't move. She was in too much shock.  
Jax, Dinky, and Sparkler walked deeper into the cave to see Derpy shivering right over the skeleton. The first reactions was, "Mommy!" they ran over to her and hugged her. "We were so worried we weren't gonna see you again!"  
"Dinky… Sparkler… what are you doing here? I thought you all hated me." she asked, still shocked by what she had found.  
"there is no way we would hate you, mom. We love you too much to do that." Sparkler said.  
"but Jax said…"  
"yeah. I'm sorry for saying that, Derpy, but I had a rough day yesterday and I… I took out on you. Can you ever forgive me?"  
Derpy snapped out of her shock trance and angrily looked to her. "Are you kidding me? You told me that everyone, even my own children, hated me. How could you have been that stupid!?  
"I wasn't thinking. If you want to punch me, go ahead and punch me."  
Derpy looked away from Jax. "even if I could, I wouldn't. I'm not a fighter. Besides…" she looked to the skeleton.  
The trio finally noticed it and went 'WHOA!' "Geez, what happened to this guy?" Sparkler reacted.  
"got ripped apart, by the looks of it." Jax said after a quick look. She found the wallet and picked it up. "poor bastard was named Clockwerk." Dinky and Sparkler gasped at the name but Jax didn't hear it. "hate to be the one to tell his family about this." she tossed the wallet to the ground and saw the 3 with shocked expressions. "what's wrong?"  
"Clockwerk… was my husband…" Derpy said.  
"And… my dad…" Dinky said in the same tone as Derpy.  
"oh. Oh, I'm… I'm so sorry." Jax looked to the skeleton and sighed. "well, someone really hated him."  
Dinky, with tears falling from her eyes, hugged Sparkler. "Dad… dad is gone…" she cried.  
Derpy sadly looked to her and sighed. "Dinky… I should probably tell you the truth right now." she sighed.  
Dinky sniffled and wiped her eyes. "t-the truth?"  
"what truth, mom?" Sparkler asked.  
Derpy closed her eyes for a moment. She never expected it to come out like this. "Clockwerk… isn't your real father."  
That revelation hit Dinky like bricks. "w-what? T-that can't be true."  
"it is. Dinky… your real father, he… he's the one that gave you those wings that are growing inside you."  
Dinky looked at her back. Those dragon wings she had originally thought was the result of a disease from Oscurita were budging at her back. But, with what her mom said… "My real dad… is a dragon?"  
"whoa." both Sparkler and Jax said. That was something they weren't expecting.  
"yes. His name was-"  
A warm wind journey though the cave and hit them. The thing is, it came from inside the cave. "oh, that can't be good." Sparkler gulped. A large yellow eye opened wide and stared at them. A scared Dinky ran behind her mother as Jax got in front of her with her chakrams.  
The eye moved as a head came into view. It softly growled as it stared at all 4 of them. It may have been 5 months since they last saw him but he wasn't leaving Jax's head anytime soon. "Oscurita."  
Oscurita softly growled as he looked all 4 of them over. He recognized the human but not the foals. When he reached Derpy, however, that's when he went wide-eyed. He couldn't believe it. It was really really her. He reached out to grab her but Jax stood between them both, making him mad. Oscurita roared loudly at them, making the foals roll back.

Begin Song: watch?v=MNktcna0Tso Escape the Dragon - Shrek Soundtrack

"Run!" Jax yelled. The ponies instantly listened and ran for the exit. Oscurita roared yet again as he got up, crumbling the cave as he went.  
Some of the stalactites almost pierced right though them, making for some close calls.  
"that dragon is angry." Jax said like a diva, using a barrier spell to cover her and the others.

Sparkler used her magic to grab her mother's saddle bags as she was the first out of the cave. Dinky was next, then Derpy and Jax. Jax jumped to avoid the cave-in behind her just be mere seconds.  
The 4 skidded to a halt as they came to the edge of the cliff.  
"That was close!" she panted.  
Dinky glanced up to the top of the mountain. "it's worse."  
A blue beam of light cut in a circle at the tip top, making it explode. The flaming rubble rained down towards them.  
Jax quickly grabbed her chakrams and cast, "Ice Shelf!" 3 boards of ice suddenly appeared in front of them.  
"What good will these do?" Dinky yelled.  
Jax jumped onto one. "get us out of here fast enough." she said. She pushed off the cliff and slid on down the side. The 3 ponies looked at each other nervously before jumping on. Derpy took one for herself as Dinky and Sparkler shared another.  
The flaming rocks crashed into the mountains, some almost taking them out.  
Jax quickly turned around and summoned up a barrier spell to cover them all. It worked but Jax felt tired, which normally wouldn't happen after a spell.  
"that was odd."

Large black wings shot out of the smoke as the shadow-less Oscurita rose out of the fire and roared. That human is gonna pay for what she did.  
With one flap, he was up into the air and flew down in pursuit of them.  
He flew right over the 4 of them, glancing back as he went away. Though he may have been 'gliding', the force of his wind was enough to send them yelling off their boards and roll down the mountain.

The 4 reached the bottom and groaned. Jax shook her head and looked up to see the dragon circling the mountain. They should have enough time to make it.  
"Quick! Run to the ravine!" she yelled out before running. The ponies quickly got up and ran as well.  
Jax tossed her chakram ahead, casting 'Ice Shelf' again, creating a bridge that lead over the ravine.  
Oscurita saw the bridge and snarled. He quickly turned around and flew to the head of the ravine. He flew right into it with no problems.  
"AH!" Dinky yelled, seeing the dragon fly right though the ravine.  
"Not good. Not good. Not good." Jax repeated as she ran as fast as her legs could.  
The 4 made it to the bridge and ran across it as fast as they could.  
Oscurita turned on his side and extended out his wing, making him look like a shark.  
"Not looking forward to becoming shark bait!" Sparkler yelled.  
Jax screeched to a halt, powered up her magic, and threw one of her chakrams. The ring burst into flames and shot fireballs into the valley walls, cutting off the dragons line of sight.  
Jax ran to the other end of the bridge as the dragon came though the other side of the dust cloud. It couldn't see where it was going so it crashed into the wall. The vibrations made Jax stagger and fall, as did the ponies. fortunately, it was off the ice bridge.  
The bridge collapsed on the dragon, covering it in ice. The ravine walls also collapsed, covering it in dirt.  
"that… was lucky." Derpy panted.  
"yeah. We should have a few minutes before he gets out." Jax said.  
The 4 quickly got up and ran for home.

End Song.

A beam of blue light shot out of the ravine. The valley exploded like a carpet bomb, sending a lot of fire and smoke into the sky.

The smoke could be seen all the way from Ponyville and the vibrations from the explosions reached there as well.  
"What was that?" Emil asked.  
"Probably some earthquake." Edge said as he bit into a dandelion sandwich.


	123. Oscurita Revealed

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 38

Oscurita Revealed

A blizzard raged all around eTu`nes as he struggled to get though it, or even keep awake.

7 years… 7 years have passed since he last saw Derpy… with her child. With Clockwerk's child. Once he saw that kid with Derpy and Clockwerk, he just… he lost all meaning for the world. He didn't care for anyone or anything anymore. He had just been wandering the world for 7 years, not once returning to Ponyville. That place has too many bad memories.

In the mountains serving as the border between Equestria and the Badlands, the drake collapsed in the snow. His eyesight began to fade as he tried to get up. He was too weak from malnutrition so he couldn't get far, causing him to collapse again.  
The snow began to cover the fading drake as he tried to keep his eyes open. "this… is how it… ends…? Hehe… I didn't expect to go out like this…" he weakly looked over to his left hand, at the bracelet Derpy made for him when they were both kids. "Derpy… I'm sorry… for… every…thing…" his head went limb and he lost consciousness.

He could've been hours, days, weeks; he doesn't remember how long he was in that snowstorm. He just remembers a sudden blast of heat.  
A glyph appeared beneath eTu`nes and melted the snow away covering him. He was still too weak to try and do anything except just lie there.  
"wow. How the mighty have fallen." the voice made eTu`nes open his eyes. They were still very blurry but he could make out something. It was a species he never saw before.  
"w-who are… you?"  
The person walked over and revealed himself. Whoever he was, he had the weirdest hair-do. "we go by many names but you may call us Orochi. And we know a whole lot about you, eTu`nes." Glacies said.  
The dragon was surprised to see that someone he had never met before knew his name. "how… do you… know me?"  
"we know everything about you." Aqua said. The sudden change in voice threw eTu`nes off. "we know that, 2000 years ago, you were a biological experiment sent the future by Discord so you could help him take the world back from the Alicorns."  
"A… Biological… Experiment…?" he had trouble believing that.  
"yes." Lucis said. "except… the thing is… when you were created, you were designed to be heartless; soulless. but when you were reborn as eTu`nes, you somehow got feelings. Granted, they didn't come until you met a certain gray mare."  
A gray mare? Derpy?  
"but… one has to wonder…" Ventus said. "how could a mare barely breaking 6 be able to make a 2000 year old bio-weapon feel feelings, even make him fall in love? That is most certainly the question."  
It wasn't a question. eTu`nes was certain of that. His feelings for Derpy were real, even if he was a experiment. But… lamenting about that isn't going to help him out of this situation. He felt his life fading away.  
"oh great. The new guy's dying." Tenebrae said.  
Glacies chuckled and bent down. "the entire thing is moot at this point. We can help you reunite with your lost love…" Reunite with Derpy? He better not be lying; he looks like one of those people who is a compulsive liar. "but…" oh, there it is. There was always a but. "… if you promise to help us with something."  
He had a bad feeling about this. Something about this guy, or guys and girls, rubbed him the wrong way, but he wasn't exactly in a position to negotiate. He was dying and his heart longed to be back with Derpy. He had no choice but to agree, but he had to move quick. He felt his life fading further and further.  
"So… do we have a deal?" Glacies asked, knowing full well the drakes answer.  
eTu`nes arms buckled as he struggled to get up. "we… have a…" his vision blacked and he fell into the snow.  
"that'll work." Fulmen said. With a sneer, she snapped her fingers.

Begin Song: watch?v=HIrjgE2-C-s Tragic Decision - Xenoblade Chronicles

Darkness slowly swirled around eTu`nes. It wrapped around his legs and arms and rose him up into the air. The sky above turned dark as clouds appeared. Beads of energy came down from the clouds and struck against the dragon, engulfing him in a aura.  
"pretty soon, you will be the same dragon you were 2000 years ago." Glacies said. "the same power; the same cynicism- you will be as you were."  
Exactly as… I was…? eTu`nes was able to briefly open his eyes and stare at the bracelet. "I just want…. To be with… Derpy…"  
The darkness and energy engulfed him complete.  
Orochi raised his arms with a dark intent. "now rise… mighty Oscurita!"

The powers of darkness flowed into eTu`nes body, changing him from the inside out. As long as he is with Derpy, he doesn't care what happens to him.

His arms, chest, and legs beefed up. It's arm claws grew larger and sharper, as did it's claws on it's feet.  
It's wings crew larger then his entire body and stretched out. Claws came out each of the muscle's.  
Horns grew out of it's head, then grew back. A 3rd horn pierced out of the back of his head.  
His tail grew longer; as long as his body, and ended with a small but deadly black blade.  
His scales grew larger and tougher, some even extending out to look like armor.

The dark clouds that appeared above both eTu`nes and Orochi spread out, causing a massive storm that effected the city not far from them, causing lightning storms and bad earthquakes and change quite a number of lives, 2 in particular.

The new and improved eTu`nes shattered the darkness around him with a flap of his new gigantic wings and roared loud into the sky.  
He stopped and looked at his new body. Standing at 250 feet tall, he was certainly a monster of power but… some things didn't change. His childhood bracelet grew with him and his memories hadn't faded away. But he also felt a uncontrollable rage inside him; a rage he had to let loose.  
"Hahaha! Welcome, Mighty Oscurita!" Glacies gleamed. "Welcome back to what you once were!"  
Oscurita snarled at him, causing Glacies to laugh. "I understand well. You want to see if this new body is well worth all this trouble?" he disappeared and reappeared right beside his face. "well… I can think of a couple of abusive parents that could use a beating."  
Oscurita knew exactly what he was talking about and smiled evilly, showing his teeth. Time to go back home.

Deep in the Badlands, in a volcano inhabited by a number of dragons, a couple of the worst parents ever just got word that their long lost son was coming home after 20 years.  
"ha! That annoying little drek!?" eTu`nes father laughed. "I was so certain we killed that little nuisance."  
"Apparently not." his wife, eTu`nes mother, snickered. "the little bastard's still alive.  
The father pounded his fist into his other hand. "well, I hope he's ready for a whooping he won't forget."  
The 2 walked out of their cave to reunite with their son when a dragon came yelling it. He crash-landed into the ground and died in a pool of his own blood.  
"what in the world?" a shadow fell over them, causing everyone in the volcano to look up and gasp in fear.  
A 250 foot dragon towered above them and roared at them. Orochi suddenly appeared in front of the dragons and chuckled. "I'm sure you remember my associate… eTu`nes…"  
"e-eTu`nes?" the mother gasped.  
Oscurita powered up his beam attack and let loose with it, killing everyone and destroying the mountain.  
A flaming rock shot away from it and off into the distance, unknowingly about to change one fillies life forever.

Oscurita flapped his wings and took to the air. He figures that as long as he does what this… Orochi fella tells him to do, he should be reunited with Derpy. That hopeful dream is what will drive him to do such terrifying acts.

End Song.

15 Months Later…

Begin Song: watch?v=uXTi7O4zO7w The Hunter - Assassin's Creed Revelations OST

"RUN FOR IT!"  
Derpy, Dinky, Sparkler, and Jax ran for their lives as creatures of shadow pursued them. These monsters were all designed after wolves of both earth make and the local Timberwolves.  
One ran along the trees and pounced down to them. Sparkler saw it and used her magic to turn it into a kitten. "When did you…" Dinky began to ask.  
"I've been training under Twilight."  
A couple of wolves ran out of the ground and almost caught up to them. Jax grabbed one of her chakrams, spun around, and shouted, "ILLUMINATION!" a sphere of very bright light appeared, blinding the wolves. The 2 that jumped right in front of it, however, weren't so lucky and were disintegrated.  
"Guess those things really hate light." Jax glanced up at the trees and saw more Shadow Beings jumping along the branches after them. She powered up another spell and let loose a 'Wind Blade!' blades of wind shot out of her chakrams and cut though the trees like butter. They also cut though the shadow beings just as easy, killing all but 3 who happened to be in the ground at the time. She had no clue how to deal with those. They already saw her bag of tricks.  
"Duck!" Derpy yelled. Jax didn't question it and just did. A low-swinging tree branch struck the 3 shadow beings and disintegrated them.  
"Nice shot." Jax commented.  
"Thanks!"  
Their little celebration was short lived as the ground began to shake and a explosion echoed. The force ripped off tree bark and sent the 4 of them rolling into a tree.  
Oscurita rose out of the fire and smoke and roared loudly; loud enough to be heard all the way in Canterlot.  
"let's save the chit-chat for later." Jax said just before running. The ponies quickly followed after her.  
Oscurita spotted them and followed. He didn't need to run. A few steps and he'll be right on top of them.  
"We'll never outrun him!" Dinky yelled.  
"Just keep running!" Jax replied.

Oscurita took a few steps and kneeled down to grab them but snatched nothing but air. Somehow, they had disappeared. Angered that he lost her again, he roared loudly into the sky. This time, he was heard all the way in Manehatten.

End Song.

Oscurita looked around, trying to find where they had all disappeared too. His feet slammed into the ground, flattening trees and sending animals running. Truth be told, the 4 are hiding in a old run down barn that had been overgrown by the flora.  
Jax peered out the decimated window to see if the giant was still around. The ponies were huffing and puffing.  
"how… much longer… are we gonna… have to do this?" Sparkler panted.  
"I don't know." Dinky wheezed. "I just don't want to run anymore."  
Jax, also tired, walked away from the window. "well, we have to think of something cause I don't know any teleportation magic."  
"And don't look at me." Sparkler said. "I'm just a newbie."  
Derpy, who was looking around all this time, found a tarp and pulled it. Underneath it was a small wagon that's worse for wear but was still useable. "will this help?" she asked Jax.  
Jax looked over, saw the wagon, and walked over. "yeah. Yeah, this could work." she grabbed her chakrams and cast 'Recover', restoring the wagon to it's former glory.  
"y-you know, I have to ask…" Sparkler started as Jax jumped onto the back. "why do you always use those rings to cast your spells when Lina and cast hers with her hands?"  
Jax stopped what she was doing and looked at her hands, or rather the gloves that covered them. "long story." Jax continued looking though the wagon as Sparkler and Derpy looked at each other with a bit of worry. "Aha!" she tossed the reins over the front of the wagon. "think you two can pull this thing?"

Oscurita stepped onto a river, quickly boarding it up and causing a small flood. He had just found her now she escaped. Again. What was he doing wrong?

Begin Song: watch?v=fZAb15-815g On the Run - Assassin's Creed: Revelations OST.

The door to the barn burst open and the pony-drawn wagon came running out. It sharply turned to the right and followed the path out of there.  
Oscurita heard the boom, looked down, and saw them make their get-away. He quickly bent down to try and grab them but Jax put a little spell into play that is making it go faster.

"we should reach Ponyville in no time with this!" Jax exclaimed, standing at the helm, holding the reins that are connected to Derpy and Sparkler. Dinky was riding shotgun as she was too small and too weak to do anything.  
Oscurita's hand reached down to grab them but Jax had a little trick waiting to go. Angelic wings appeared from the wagon and flapped, giving extra speed to the wagon and making the drake miss. "Nice try!" Dinky yelled out. She closed one eye, pulled down another, and blew a raspberry at him.

Oscurita flapped his wings and took to the air, creating a large gust of wind that almost sent them flying forward. Jax cast a barrier spell that blocked the majority of it but still lurched them forward a bit.  
"This could be a problem." Sparkler said.  
"you think?!" Jax said.

Oscurita came roaring out of the sky and headed straight for them. He fired his beam multiple times to the sides of the wagon, trying to get them off course, but they were persistent.

Explosions came raining down all around them, some even a little close for comfort.  
"This guy means business!" Dinky yelled.  
"I noticed!" Jax exclaimed. She passed the reins to Dinky, who wasn't entirely sure on what to do with them. Jax cast a spell that was sure to give them some time.  
"RAGING TEMPEST!"  
A large tornado appeared in the dragons path, too wide for him to fly around and catch up to them. Instead, he fired his beam attack into the center of the storm. It heated up and broke apart. He flew right though it as if nothing happened.  
Jax couldn't believe that he destroyed her spell. "now that's not fair."  
The dragon flew right over them, creating a large gust of wind that nearly turned the wagon on it's side. Jax and Dinky leaned on the other side to prevent it from falling, however. The dragon's tail snapped down at them but Derpy and Sparkler quickly moved the wagon to the right to avoid it.  
They moved right into another forest, which Jax recognized. Yeah, this was where she fought all those changelings when she and her friends first arrived on the planet. She quickly looked and found the cave she had fought them. It was still caved in put she knew how to fix that.  
"Turn right and head straight for that rubble." she told the 2. They weren't so sure that this was a good idea but she was the fighter of the group. They turned the wagon right and headed straight for the cave-in.  
Oscurita turned around and headed straight for them.  
Jax powered up a spell and tossed both her Chakrams to the rubble. "Rock Crusher!" the rings glowed brown and burrowed right into the rocks, decimating them on impact and making a path deep into the cave.  
They ran in just in the nick of time. Oscurita slowed to a halt, knowing full well he can't claw after them. He landed and roared in to the sky.

End Song.

"there's that roar again." Applebloom said, helping her sister pick down apples with Helios. "what is it?"  
"I don't know." Applejack said, leaning on the crystal dragon. "but something tells me it can't be good."

Derpy and Sparkler panted as they pulled the wagon deep into the cave and stopped. "that… was too close…" Sparkler panted.  
Jax jumped down and sputtered like a horse. "what I want to know is what his beef is with Derpy." she looked to the confused mare.  
"Me?"  
"yeah. When he saw you in that cave, he tried to grab you. When I got in front of you, he went berserk. I think he knows you."  
Derpy glanced to the entrance. "but I don't know him. At least… I don't think so."  
Dinky leaned on the back of the wagon. "So, what now?"  
Jax sensed that the creep was still out there and would try to get at them again. He would likely try to claw his way though the mountain. It would take a while but they don't have that kind of time. She grabbed her chakrams and rolled them in her fingers. "I have an idea."

Oscurita bent down to peek into the cave and find them. He didn't have to look long as they came straight for him.

Begin Song: watch?v=N2c7H4ZCQxg Chase the Target - Assassin's Creed Revelations OST

"ILLUMINATION!"  
The ball glowed it's brightest yet, blinding the monster. It reared back in pain as it wiped it's eyes. The wagon rolled out from underneath it's feet and turned a hard right, heading straight for home.  
"I can't believe that worked." Derpy commented.  
"believe it, Derps. Just keep running, I'll deal with our pest." Jax said.  
Oscurita's vision came back to him. He quickly took to the air and found them quickly enough. He flew down after them.  
Jax spotted him, powered up a spell, and tossed her rings. "Ragnarok!" small star-like projectiles shot out of the chakrams, dozens at a time, and struck against the monster. The attacks just bounced off and he kept flying after them.  
He turned into his side and tried to grab them.  
"Whoa!" Jax and Dinky ducked, avoiding the monsters claws. He tried to snatch them again; same result. "This guy really wants you, Derpy!" Jax yelled as she sent a fireball the monsters way.  
"but why? What could I have done?"  
"who knows. Just drive." Sparkler said.

Oscurita halted in mid-flight and re-thought his battle strategy. A head-on attack won't work. So maybe a side-attack will.

The wagon crossed over a river that had quickly tried up. They all recognized the land. They were nearly Fluttershy's cabin.  
"Yes! We're almost home free." Dinky cheered.  
Jax looked back to see the monster had given up it's pursuit. "Where'd he go?" she muttered. The monster was no where to be seen "I think we lost him."  
"Sweet." the 3 ponies said.  
It wasn't sweet for long as Oscurita came flying in from the side, scraping his tail behind him. He flew right over them and slammed his tail into the wagon, causing it to tip and topple over.

Oscurita stopped, turned around, and flew back at them. Before they could get a chance to get up, he nabbed them up, along with the wagon, and flew high into the air.  
"Hey! Let us go!" Jax yelled. Oscurita ignored her.  
He turned and flew back to the mountains they had just come from. They reached a nearby mountain with a cave at the top. They all yelled as they were shoved into the cave.  
He looked in and roared loudly at them.  
He climbed to the top of the mountain and roared again.

End Song.

"there it is again." Req muttered. "I feel like I heard it before but I can't place where."  
"I don't know." Twi said with a noticeable shiver. "but… it scares me."

Jax groaned as she got up and dusted herself off. She looked to the cave mouth to see the dragon staring right at them. "Get out of here!" she yelled at him. He ignored her but did move his head away. "Geez. I'm really starting to hate this dragon." she muttered.  
"Now what do we do?" Dinky whined. "we're trapped up here and I don't want to become lunch."  
Derpy was sure as hell not going to let Dinky become that dragon's dinner but what can she do? She's just a mail mare.  
Sparkler looked at the wagon. It was still in good shape but with that dragon out there. "Jax? Don't you have anything in your bag of tricks that can help us get out of here?"  
Jax thought about it. There was a idea brewing in her head but it was a bit… risky. But, they are being held captive by a crazy dragon so might as well try something. She grabbed one of her chakrams, walked to the back of the wagon, and attached it to the thing.  
"what are you doing?" Dinky asked. Jax's response was placing the filly in the wagon.  
"you two might want to get in as well." she told the mares. Confused as all hell, they did just that and climbed on.  
Jax jumped onto the front and snapped her fingers, causing the wings to appear. "what's going on, Jax?" Derpy asked.

Begin Song: watch?v=x76CZIUmDKM Majestic Wings - Kingdom Hearts 3D: DreamDropDistance OST

Jax just chuckled and pretended to be a announcer for a ride; "ladies and gentlecoats, welcome to the ROCKET…" the chakram she hooked onto the wagon glowed red. "…ride. Please keep your hooves and legs inside until the ride becomes to a full and complete stop. Thank you."  
"What?" all 3 of them asked.  
The spell went into effect with enough force to send all 4 girls backwards in their seats. The wagon shot out of the cave like a rocket and flew on out.  
Oscurita was surprised to see a wagon do something like that. Regardless, he snarled and took flight after it.  
The wagon shrieked as it fell from the sky, bypassing one slope of the mountain and landing in the middle of the second. Jax pulled at the reins to keep it in place.  
"This is insane!" Sparkler yelled.  
"I didn't say this was a good idea!" Jax replied.  
The wagon reached the trail of the second slope and bounced off that. They all screamed as they completely overshot the last slope and landed right on the ground.  
Oscurita fired his beam at them. It hit the ground and trailed up behind them. The beam left explosions in it's wake; explosions that reached up into the air.

The plumes of fire could be seen from Ponyville and Canterlot, making everyone there wonder what the hell is going on.

"Woo-Hoo!" Dinky cheered as the wagon flew over a quarry and kept on chugging. "This is Fun!"  
"I'm gonna throw up." Sparkler moaned.  
"Just hang on!" Jax yelled. "we're almost-"  
A beam attack hit the ground to their right, sending them into a wicked spin. "ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah." the spinning stopped and they continued on their way, their eyes spinning like crazy. "is the world going counter-clockwise or is that just me?" Jax dizzily asked. The monsters roared snapped them back into reality.  
Another beam attack fell and struck the ground in front of them, making a crater. The wagon bounced over the rim and continued on.  
"ah, right. That's it." Jax yelled. She got up and grabbed her other chakram. She walked to the back of the wagon and powered up her signature spell just as the monster began to power up another beam.  
"INDIGNATION!"

Beams of blue light and electricity could be seen over the horizon's hill, making the ponies in Ponyville wonder what could be causing those.  
"that's certainly new." Bahamut said. Fenrir and Cobalt nodded in agreement.  
A lightning attack hit something, causing a roar and a explosive smoke storm to shoot over the hill. The smoke cleared and the outline of a wagon could be seen.

The girls yelled as the wagon flew over the hill and landed on the other side. Straight ahead of them was Ponyville.  
"How do we stop this thing?" Dinky asked.  
That was something Jax hadn't thought of. "Stop?"  
The 4 calmly looked at each other then screamed loudly.

The wagon hit a exposed rock. It leaned on one side and fell over completely. "Jump!" the 4 jumped up and ran backwards on the tumbling wagon a few ways before jumping off it to the ground.  
The wagon rolled on it's side and hit up against the town hall, shattering it into kindling. The chakram rolled away from it and far from Jax. The sage spotted it a ways away from her and made a run for it.  
She dove for it, grabbed it, and tossed it with all her strength to the hill they had just come over. It took a full 10 seconds to get there but it got there in time.  
Oscurita flew over the hill with anger in his eyes. The ring hit a sore spot on his wing, making it yelp. It crashed just outside Ponyville and rolled into a nearby mountain not far from the town.

End Song.

Jax panted as she got up. Her Chakram reappeared in her hands and she slowly exhaled.  
"Jax!" she heard her friends yell. Clearly, it all happened so fast, they didn't get a good glimpse of the thing that she hit. "What the hell are you doing? What's going on?"  
Jax made a duck-face then pointed to where Oscurita hit.

Begin Song: watch?v=QxVjQizdPNw A Little Help - The Avengers Soundtrack

0:00.  
Oscurita rose from the dirt, shook it off, then roared at the town. The less brave citizens yelled and ran for cover. The others just yelled: "Holy Crap!"  
"that's the thing that shot you guys down!?" Hiccup exclaimed.  
"he looks s-s-s-so much s-s-scarier without all that shadow covering him." Fluttershy whimpered, hiding behind Edge.

Oscurita looked at them all and snarled but, inside, he felt sad that his old friends were running away from him; not that he can blame them.

Derpy looked the beast over, trying to find out if there was some reason why the monster was so keen on getting them-on getting her. Something about him felt familiar but she wasn't sure why. When she reached his left arm, however, that's when it hit her.  
Hanging off his wrist was a bracelet very similar to the one she had given to a old childhood friend of hers long ago. She couldn't believe it. After 8 long years, he was back… but as a giant mosnter trying to kill her friends.  
"e- eTu`nes?" she soullessly gasped. Dinky and Sparkler overheard her then at each other.

0:44.  
Oscurita, or rather, eTu`nes, roared and fired his beam right at the humans.  
"Move!" Aura yelled. Everyone did. It hit the ground where they were, causing a explosion that covered the entire street in fire.

"Jeez! This guy means business!" Fox exclaimed.  
"Yeah?" Lloyd held up his blades. "well, so do we." he jumped up to the top of town hall then up at the monster. He swung his blades at his head… only to have them shatter into pieces. "uh-oh."  
Oscurita gave a guttural roar and swatted him out of his face like a fly, sending him though someone's roof.

"Seraphim Blade!"  
The sword beam attack hit Oscurita in the back but it just bounced off. "What?" Req gasped. Oscurita snarled and wracked her out of the sky with his tail.

4 different kinds of fire came from Spyro, Cynder, Bahamut, and Aura. All struck the beast but they all just bounced off. The monster laughed in his own way and flapped his wings, sending the 4 crashing into various houses.

Riku and Emil jumped down off of Toothless and landed on the monster's head. They slammed their blades down into it's head but they all just bounced off. Didn't even leave a scratch. "uh-oh." they both said.  
Oscurita snatched them from his head and tossed them into Sugarcube Corner.

"oh, Lords of the great winds! Heed my call and come to my aide…" Jax's voice echoed though town, getting the monster's attention. That human… she has caused him nothing but trouble. He roared and flew up into the sky.  
He rolled upside-down and fell to Ponyville's outskirts. He pulled up at the last minute and grabbed Jax while she was in the middle of casting her spell.  
"Hey! Let me Go!" she yelled. She used her chakrams to try and break loose but his scales are TOUGH!  
The dragon flew high into the air, as far as the clouds. He brought Jax to eye level and roared right in her face. He spun around multiple times as fast as he could then tossed Jax back to the ground.

2:30.  
The force from his throw was strong enough to where she couldn't move. Jax crashed into a stall in the market's, causing it to go boom.  
"Jax!"  
Oscurita powered up his heat beam again. This time, that bitch was going down for good. He reared his head back and fired.

The beam moved too fast for anyone to try and stop it and Jax was too wounded to try and move. All she could do was watch as death knocked on her door.

The beam hit, destroying that stall and all the others around it in the explosion that followed.

3:15. End Song.

"Jax!" her original friends yelled out.  
"Sis!" Sora yelled.

Begin Song: watch?v=3qnQpjmp2Dc Rinzler Recompiled - Kingdom Hearts 3D: DreamDropDistance OST

Oscurita's eyes shone though the smoke from his explosion. One flap of his wings and they were sent away. He landed on the ground and roared yet again.  
Any sadness her friends felt turned into anger; anger at Oscurita for killing Jax. Sora was the angriest one. She pulled out her bow and took aim. "You Bastard!" she fired at his eye. It hit but bounced off. Geez, can nothing harm this guy?  
He turned in her direction and roared at her.  
"Sora!" Ash yelled. He ran to her but doubt's he can make it in time.  
The dragon powered up his beam attack yet again only to be met with explosions at the back of his head. It didn't harm him but it caused him to stagger.  
"Hey ugly!" Satoshi called out. The monster turned and bared his teeth when he saw the Orion. "Remember us?" Oscurita roared and flew at the ship.

The first thing Jax saw when she woke up was hardwood floors. She looked up and saw that she was in the Town Hall. "how did…" she remembered what was going on and got up.  
The blast from Oscurita got her good. She felt woozy just from standing. Her head bled and her left side bled but she didn't have time to worry about that. "but how did I get here?" she heard pained but soft groaning coming from beneath her. She looked and saw something that made her gasp.  
Derpy laid there, all burned and bruised. She had taken the majority of the blast when she rescued her. "Derpy…" she closed her eyes, not wanting to see Derpy in this state.  
Oscurita's roar echoed inside. Jax angrily opened her eyes, which had turned as black as night.

Oscurita rammed the Orion into the same mountain he himself rolled into and prepared to deliver the finishing blow. He opened his mouth and prepared to fire his beam attack straight at Satoshi.  
Suddenly, white wisps whipped though the air and straight for Ponyville, confusing them both. Suddenly, Satoshi remembered where he saw those from. "Oh no…" he gasped.  
Dark clouds began to convulge onto one spot; the area just above Town Hall.

"Oh, Infinite Void from which we came… Eternal Force that that consumes all…!"

"that spell…" Sora fearfully said. Ash gulped in fear and held her close.

"Unlimited power which no mortal can hope to Wield… a force not even the heavens can permit to grasp…"

"Jax, Stop!" Req yelled as she flew towards Town Hall as fast as possible.  
A massive, Canterlot sized ball of pure, unbridled darkness appeared above Jax.  
"Let us Destroy these fools who dare to call you their master! Send all back to the cold, black abyss from which they crawled out of, with a part of me as the cost!"  
true to the spell, a bit of her life went away. There goes 5 years she'll never get back.  
Satoshi kicked the ship into full-gear and got away from Oscurita as fast as possible.  
Her eyes had now turned completely black as she let it completely take her over.  
"ETERNAL… ULTIMATE… CHA-"  
Suddenly, her vision went black.

The spell misfired and shot up into the air as a fully unconscious Jax fell off of Town Hall, hitting and bouncing off a storm drain. Dash and Fluttershy quickly caught her and set her down gently.

The spell reached the atmosphere and detonated. It expanded outward even more then what it originally was, sucking in everything around it like a black hole. The force could be felt all the way at the ground as everyone struggled to stay put, even Oscurita.  
The spell eventually stopped absorbing everything and went thought a internal storm for a few minutes. Once that was done, it contracted to the size of a atom.  
It exploded outward as powerful as a supernova. The explosion was able to reach the ground but only enough the scratch it. And by scratch, I mean a large freakin crater.

Oscurita was shocked to see something of that power and magnitude, as was everyone in Ponyville and Canterlot who saw it.  
He scoffed and headed back to the town. His eagle like vision looked it over, finding Jax easily. He prepared to kill her when he saw the badly burnt Derpy.  
Seeing Derpy like that made him go wide-eyed in horror. Did he… do that? He harmed Derpy again? He couldn't take it anymore. He unfurled his wings and took off, leaving Ponyville behind.

"Stupid Jax." Req angrily muttered, hovering a few feet above the ground as Jax lay unconscious. "you know what that spell does to you…"

End Song.


	124. Divided We Fall

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 39

Divided we fall

Clockwerk left his work at Time Turner's clock shop and headed for home. He used his magic to pull a teddy bear out of nowhere. "Dinky is sure to love this." he said as he continued.

When he and Derpy's friends found her bleeding and eTu`nes no where to be found, they all figured that he had turned back to his draconic roots and attacked her. Derpy, however, knew the truth but didn't tell them. And when they took her to the hospital, only Clockwerk was present when she found out she was pregnant with Dinky. Clockwerk figured that that eTu`nes bastard had his way with her, then hit her, then left, making him angry. Derpy didn't even bother to tell him the truth about the camping trip and…  
Feeling guilty for letting Derpy chase after eTu`nes that lead to this whole mess, Clockwerk moved to Ponyville to help Derpy care for Dinky. He wasn't there when she was born- he was busy finding a place to stay - but arrived to see a very happy Derpy hold her new daughter. She always said that that was the happiest day of her life and she meant it. A couple of months later, Derpy and Clockwerk married… on the same day eTu`nes came back to town and saw the 3 of them together.  
That wasn't the only thing that happened in those 7 years.  
Octavia and Vinyl are having a… well, one would call it a comical relationship, with Tavi being a stickler for rules and Vinyl being a free-spirit. Some of Vinyl's… things, such as a breakfast in bed, are just one of the things that makes Tavi love the mare even more.  
Lyra and Bonbon ended up marrying right out of high school and moved into a apartment above a abandoned shop. Bonbon always dreamed of opening up a candy store but Lyra thought it was a bad idea. This is what Lyra always did; shoot down Bonbon's idea so that she can surprise her when she reveals it to her. That was the case here. When Lyra showed the candy store that she and a couple of her friends built in secret- Lyra kept it secret by having a tarp over the windows and saying it was for poker- Bonbon was ecstatic. She hugged her wife just outside the store just as it started to rain. They went inside to get it ready for a clear day tomorrow.  
Berry and Colgate moved to Canterlot for a few years, where they had a daughter via artificial insemination named Berry Pinch. After a while, they missed their own home and, seeing how foals act here, came to the conclusion that Canterlot isn't a good place to raise Pinch. They moved back to Ponyville, where Berry got a job at her uncle Motif's bar and Colgate opened a dentistry.  
Seaswirl and Roseluck opened up a flower shop and went to work filling Ponyville with tons of flowers. Like all couples, they had their fair share of arguments but nothing that could break them up. Their biggest one was whether or not they should have kids; Seaswirl is for it but Roseluck is against it. It also doesn't help that they found out they're both infertile. If they want a kid, their only choice is adoption and that's a option they both aren't big fans of.  
Time Turner and Raindrops had a off again/ on again relationship though the years. They wanted too many different things. They never fully broke up; they loved each other too much for that. But at one point, they both decided they wanted some time to think. So, Time Turner moved in with his sister Carrot Top and Raindrops moved in with Seaswirl and Roseluck. And as of the events of Discordian Troubles, they are back together.  
A couple of years before the events of now, Derpy and Clockwerk moved out of her parents house and into Carrot Tops apartment. They also adopted the recently orphaned Sparkler, who lost her parents in a train accident, into their family. Her parents were friends with Derpy's parents and she didn't want her to be all alone. Dinky was happy to get a older sister but Carrot Top wasn't keen on having her apartment fill up this fast.

Clockwerk jumped over the train tracks and continued for home, humming the show's main theme when a shadow covered the moons light. Clockwerk stopped and looked up to see a massive claw come down and grab him.

The unicorn was thrown into a cave, where he landed and broke his neck. He was still alive but couldn't move. "OW!" he yelled. "who…" a familiar face came into view. He only met the guy in one day but he recognized him. "eTu`nes? What are you… why am I… what are you doing?"  
Oscurita growled then lunged at the guy, mouth wide open.

"My my. You had a lot of pent up rage for that pony, didn't you?" Glacies asked as Oscurita rose out of the cave and wiped blood away from his mouth. He growled at him and took off to the air. "Okay. Now that you had your revenge, I would like you to help me with something."  
Help? What kind of help? He wouldn't know for at least a few months.

5 months later… just at the beginning of Friends from Unexpected Places…

A small flash of pink light sparked though a small part of the sky. It sparked again. It hit and expanded, forming a large pink tunnel large enough for a ship to pass though.  
"we're not going to make contact with the locals?" Bahamut asked as he looked down to the ground. "it would make getting supplies a whole lot easier."  
"Are you kidding?" Satoshi asked. "after the fiasco on the last few worlds we visited, keeping this a secret is a good thing."  
The dragon shrugged. "if you say so. Such a shame too. The countryside looks pretty."  
"well, you'll see it when we find a place to set down far from populated centers." Req said.

Oscurita and Orochi watched the ship exit the tunnel and fly out. Over those 5 months, Oscurita had grown more aggressive and more violent thanks to the darkness inside him. Only Derpy remained on his mind now and that was thanks to the bracelet he still had.  
"see that ship?" Glacies asked. "that ship belongs to a goddess that has really gotten on our nerves these past few years." he looked to the dragon. "You are to take a component of that ship and steal it. I don't care if you have to destroy the thing; just make sure they're stuck here." if Oscurita could talk, he knows what his question would be. "the reason why is because I want to have some fun with them before I kill them."  
Oscurita snorted and spread his wings. "Wait wait wait." Tenebrae said. He snapped his fingers, engulfing the monster in a cloak of shadow. "if they don't see you, they won't try to find and kill you." makes sense, in some weird way. "and you can summon up monsters of various shapes and sizes out of it. It can be very useful." he's right. It could be.  
Oscurtia flapped his wings and flew at the ship, unknowingly about to set into motion a chain of events that will change Equestria, and the Universe.

Present Day…

The dark knight appeared on top of the mountain that had served as Nightmare Moon's fortress when she rose to power 1100 years ago, and where the group had to find a reversal spell to turn the ponies, who had turned human thanks to Trixie's obsession over a certain lavender mare, back into ponies, that had led to the short but violent return of a Luna-less Nightmare Moon.  
He reached the center of what was once her fortress and summoned his sword and pole-ax. He powered it up, rose it up, then stabbed it into the ground.  
Spires of rock and shadow shot out of the ground, clearing out the rubble in record time. Once all that was gone, he descended down a flight of stairs and cleared out a caved-on door the same way he did with the entire palace, though smaller. He walked into the room and found what he was looking for.  
"you will work just fine. You need some repairs but you'll work just fine."  
The twisted but still workable remains of the gryphon robot twitched as a pair of it's gears tried to turn. The knight disappeared in a flash of dark fire, bringing the robot with him.

The princess' saw the spell Jax cast go into effect and activate above the planet. Such destructive power… why didn't the humans tell them about that? Celestia was furious by that destructive secret they were keeping and turned to a stunned Armor. "Summon the Royal Guard!" she ordered in a forceful tone that few rarely saw. "we have to go to Ponyville!"

Jax woke up to find herself back on in her bed on the Orion.  
"(was that… all a dream?)" she asked in her mind. She tried to get up but felt a very, very sharp pain though her sides. That kind of pain only happens whenever she casts THAT spell. "(wait… now I remember…)"  
She remembered seeing Derpy all burnt to a crisp and getting angry, angry enough to cast the most destructive spell in existence; even more destructive then Lina's Giga Slave. Then she remembered blacking out and the spell harmlessly going off high above the planet. "(that's 5 years I'm not going to get back.)" she sighed. Every single time she cast it, she lost 5 years of her life. With this failed attempt, that's 20 years gone.  
"I… have really have to stop casting that spell." she sighed with a groan. "add that with the disease and I'm on the fast-track to death." she remembered that Derpy was badly injured and headed out the door.

The ponies, including all of Derpy's friends, waited out in the lobby, waiting to hear whatever news they could. The humans were elsewhere in town, checking to see if the monster had left any Shadow Beings behind.  
"mommy…" Dinky said with watery eyes.  
Her sister hugged and comforted her. "it's going to be okay, Dinky. Mom will be fine, you'll see." Sparkler said in a comforting tone.  
"but mommy…"  
"Will be fine." Colgate said. "she's been though worse then this." she winked with a smile, filling Dinky with some confidence.  
Nurse Redheart walked out of the operating room. All the ponies got up to hear the news. "How is she?" Rarity asked.  
"You're lucky you get her hear when you did." Redheart said. "we were able to heal her burns and she's currently in intensive care." the ponies breathed a sigh of relief. "but…" that was something they were hoping not to hear. Redheart sighed sadly; she hated this part. "she was horribly burned and will likely lost a good chunk of her skin. She also broke her wings, which were broken in multiple locations, including the base. Her eyes took the worst of it; they're burned out beyond repair."  
Nopony could believe what they were hearing. That wasn't living. "I'm sorry." Redheart said before going back to her duties.  
Dinky broke down and cried into Sparkler. She comforted her and just let her cry.  
"poor Derpy…" Pinkie said, her mane going flat as it did every time she got depressed. "what did she do to deserve this?" nobody could answer because nobody knew.  
Dinky stopped crying and wiped her eyes. She remembered that her mother was trying to tell her something back at the cave before Oscurita came after them. Something about her true father. "Uncle Turner…"  
"oh, I know Derpy." he sympathetically said. "this is heartbreaking."  
"Actually… I want to know…" Know? Know what? Dinky sighed before asking, "who's my real father?"  
"What?" Time Turner playfully laughed. "isn't it my cousin Clockwerk?"  
Dinky shook her head 'no'. "we found his body in a cave."  
"His body?" Time Turner gasped. He didn't know his cousin died. "oh… he died?"  
"and mom began to tell me that someone else was my true father and that he was a dragon before we got interrupted by Oscurita."  
"A dragon?" Spike and Rarity said in unison. She looked like a normal filly, minus the bulging in her back where her draconic wings were growing. Well, that's some glimpse as to what their foal will look like.  
"a dragon?" all of Derpy's childhood friends said. "That's impossible." Berry laughed. "Derpy never knew any dragon."  
"Yes she did." Dash said, not knowing of what happened the last time the two were with each other. "that eTu`nes guy. They were childhood friends, weren't they?"  
"eTu`nes?" Sparkler asked.  
All of Derpy's childhood friends ran their hooves across their throats, telling her to shut up but she didn't listen. "Derpy's first friend ever. They were inseparable; true BFF's. although, he disappeared 8 years ago so I have no clue what happened to him."  
8 years ago? A dragon? It didn't take much to connect the dots; even Starlight was able to figure it out. "eTu`nes… is my father?" Dinky concluded. Even Derpy's friends were a bit confused, and a bit non-surprised, to have heard that. But… why keep that a secret.  
"he is?" Dash replied, not really sure if that's true or not. "guess all the evidence points to it, but I'm not sure if eTu`nes is your real dad or not."  
It does. Dinky was sure of it. But… why would her mom keep this a secret? Was she ashamed that eTu`nes left before she was born, or that she couldn't accept it? Derpy knew the truth but she was unconscious and badly wounded.

The humans headed to the hospital to check up on Dinky. Not one Shadow Creature had been spotted so they were in the clear.  
"*sigh* what a day." Req groaned.  
"no argument here." everyone replied.  
As they approached it, they saw Jax run into the hospital. Req and Sora had something to say to her, something that included some corporal punishment.

Jax ran in though the doors and panted. All the ponies yelped at first, fearing it was a monster.  
"Jax!" Dinky ran over and hugged her. "It's horrible. It's just horrible." she cried.  
"what's horrible?"  
"it's Derpy." Applejack started as the rest of the humans walked in. Req had something she had to tell Jax, and that involved violence. "she's-" before A.J. could finish, Req punched Jax right in the face, making her crash right into a table. Any ponies nearby jumped up from their seats and to the other side of the room.  
"What was that for!?" Jax yelled.  
"For putting your life, and everyone else's life, in danger! Again!" Req yelled. Jax wiped blood from her mouth. "Didn't you learn your lesson the last time you used that spell on Berk!?"  
Jax didn't reply. She kept silent, giving Req her answer. "*sigh* I guess you didn't. you always are going to be stubborn and selfish, aren't you?"  
"Guys. Guys. Stop fighting!" Twilight used her magic to pull Req to another part of the room. "This is a hospital and Derpy is critically injured! If you two want to fight, do it outside!" Jax and Req looked away from each other. "now, who cares if she used that spell or not!?"  
"we do." Sora exclaimed with concern for her sister. "every time Jax uses that spell, she dies a little."  
"Dies?" Fluttershy gasped.  
Jax sighed. "I… lose 5 years of my life every time I use that spell. I used it 4 times, including this failed attempt."  
"so…" Spike did the math in his head. "you lost 20 years?"  
"Yep. Gonna die in my sixties."  
"oh." Twi sadly said. She shook her head. "b-but other then that, who cares if you cast that spell or not? It didn't do any harm, except for the recently mentioned, so who cares?"  
"I do!" Celestia angrily said. The guards came in and pointed their weapons at the humans; all of them. She and the rest of the royalty walked in. Erys headed over to the CMC, being as confused as them.  
"Whoa! What's this for!?" Aura exclaimed.  
"For lying to us." Celestia angrily said. "you know, I didn't believe my sister when she thought there was something off about you, but now I figured out why she had those suspicions."  
"Suspicions?" Ash said. "but we told you everything; we told you the truth. What could we have done to deserve this kind of treatment?"  
"I did a little research when you all first arrived on Equestria." Luna started. She used her magic to summon a book. "do you know why Humans haven't been seen on Equestria for over 10000 years?"  
"because they disappeared?" Lyra said all ecstatically. The princess' angrily looked at her. Lyra gulped and sank into her seat.  
"Actually, she's partially true." Celestia said. "Jeria banished the humans, Zax included, because they were too destructive and power-hungry!"  
"what?" Sora exclaimed in disbelief.  
"the humans that once belonged to this world became corrupt and tried to destroy the world using forbidden, destructive spells and were there-fore banished from Equestria! And that spell we just saw fit the bill of world-destroying."  
"but I r-"  
"Shut it!" Celestia snapped at Jax, surprising the ponies. "you put my subjects, and your friends, into danger because of that spell! What do you have to say for yourself!?"  
What could Jax say? She could barely remember anything that happens when she casts that spell. Celestia took that to mean something else. "fine. The silence explains it all." she looked to the guards and nodded. "by my royal degree as Princess of Equestria, I hereby banish the humans from the world!"

Begin Song: watch?v=TyXaS4OO5VM Once We Part Ways - Xenoblade Chronicles OST

The whole world seemed to stop when she said that. Even her relatives were shocked to hear her say that. "Auntie Celestia, you can't be serious." Cadence said.  
"surely you jest." Cosmos said.  
"I'm afraid not." Celestia harshly said.  
Satoshi scoffed. "un… in case you forgot, we can't leave thanks to that dragon thing that just attacked the place took the component needed to leave this world."  
Celestia scoffed back at him. "not anymore." she used her magic and very aggressively teleported herself and all the humans away from the hospital, leaving only the ponies behind.  
"She's flipped her gourd." Halo exclaimed.  
"even I'm surprised by her behavior." both Luna and Cosmos said.

Celestia and The humans all reappeared in front of the Orion, the bipeds completely confused by what is going on. Celestia used her magic again to make a metallic spear 30 feet in length appear. "isn't this what you were looking for all these months?"  
"That's… how did you find that?" Satoshi asked, not believing that that was it.  
"One of my guards found it after the Winter War ended." she used her magic to attach it to the metal spear to the front of the ship. "Now leave."  
"Leave!?" Req scoffed. "are you out of your mind?! You still have that giant rampaging dragon running around. Did you see what it did to Ponyville?"  
"Did YOU See what you almost did to Ponyville?!" the princess exclaimed. "You nearly turned it into a crater."  
"That was my stupid decision. I wasn't thinking clearly." Jax said, hoping to take the blame off her friends. Speaking of which, the pony folk ran up.  
"I don't care! You put my subjects- your friends - in complete danger! I'm not sure if I should let you stay on my world any longer!" she sensed them coming. "You have 5 minutes to leave or else…"  
"Princess!" Twilight exclaimed. "What are you doing? These are our friends! You can't just send them away because of some accident."  
"That accident nearly got you all killed and scared my country. I won't stand for it!"  
"p-princess…" this was a side of her Twilight and never seen before… and she was afraid because of it.  
"You can't be serious. What about that dragon? You saw what that thing is capable of! If you banish us now, he'll kill you all!" Sora said.  
Celestia didn't want to hear any of it. She used her magic to raise the humans into the air, then slammed them down onto the deck. "I won't repeat myself again."  
The humans had nothing more to say. The ponies tried to take a crack at this. "Sister, think about what you are doing. If you banish them, you're inviting that monster to destroy us all. Surely you don't want that."  
Celestia ignored her sister. "2 minutes left."  
Knowing that they weren't going to change her mind, the humans and ponies all gave up. This is not how they wanted to say goodbye- if anything, this was the worst goodbye any of them ever did. "can we at least say good-bye?" Bahamut depressingly asked.  
"no. one minute left."  
Both groups depressingly sighed. This was the worst.

Satoshi walked up to the ships' wheel and saw that a light that had been off ever since they came was back on. Not wanting to do it but having no choice, he pressed it.  
The spear sparked with pink energy. It focused on the tip, where it gathered. A few seconds later, a beam shot out of the spear and into the sky. It struck thin air and expanded, causing a tunnel to appear.  
The Orion lifted off the ground and up into the air. "Celestia, please reconsider." Jax pleaded. "You won't stand a chance against that thing."  
The ponies were hoping she would but Celestia didn't want to hear any of it; her mind was made up. "Get! Off! My! Planet!"  
Well, it's official. They can't change her mind. Satoshi sighed as he put the ship into gear.

Orochi watched the ship fly up to the portal from far away with Oscurita.  
"heheheheHAHAHA! This is perfect!" Aqua cheered. "with those humans gone, taking this world will be a piece of cake!"  
Oscurita lightly growled, making Tenebrae take over. "and remember, Oscurita- eTu`nes." he looked at Orochi when he heard his old name. "You better not mess up. Or else Derpy will become lunch. And trust me, we tasted horse and we love it."  
Oscurita angrily looked at him with a snarl. The darkness inside him turned his anger into rage. "Good. Now use that and we won't fail." Glacies said.

The Orion flew up into the air and headed straight for the portal. Jax looked back at the hospital as they left and sighed. "Sorry, Derpy…"

The ship flew into the portal and disappeared. A few seconds later, the portal broke apart and dispersed.  
That was it. They were all gone. After a year together, they were gone. And the ponies couldn't believe that. They all went their separate ways to try and find a way to hide from that monster for when it comes back.  
"I hope you're happy, Celestia." Twilight angrily said. "Because of you, we're all gonna die." she headed for home, leaving Celestia all alone.  
The princess looked back at her student and, while with a sad expression, smiled. "Don't worry, Twilight. We won't die." she looked to the sky. "I'm sure of it."

End Song.


	125. Final Light

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 40

Final Light

Catapults and cannons were rolled into position for when Oscurita returns but with the humans long gone, this is a losing battle and they all know it.  
"was it really wise to send them away, Celestia?" Cosmos asked. "we could've used their help. They had some powerful magic that could have helped."  
"yeah, and we saw it." Celestia replied. "we saw it almost destroy the town and the planet. I don't trust anyone that would put our world at risk."  
"Really? We saw destructive magic from them before. Why choose now to crack down on them?" Celestia kept quiet. "Celestia…"  
"what do you want me to say, Cosmos? I want to protect my people but those humans…"  
"Would've saved us." Twilight said as she walked up.  
"Twilight…"  
"think back, Princess. What would've happened when Nightmare Moon was revived? Or if all of us were still Human ourselves? Or with the Winter War or Discord? Celestia, without the humans, we would've lost against our foes long ago. And I would've have the best things in my life right now. Nobody would. Cosmos would still be trapped, I wouldn't have had Starlight, and Canterlot would still be under Dark Chrysalis' control. Face the facts; we own the humans everything. And they didn't ask for anything in return. Are you sure you were looking out for Equestria's best interests? Or yourself?"  
Celestia kept silent. She looked up to the sky and saw dark clouds forming overhead. That monster was already coming back.

Oscurita stood on top of a mountain, eager to get this over with. He looked at the bracelet and growled. He spread his wings and took to the air.  
Orochi, or rather Tenebrae, shot shadow's up into the sky, forming dark clouds that floated over the town. "this is gonna be one hell of a show." Ventus said before he disappeared.

A heavily bandaged Derpy slept in her hospital bed, unaware of what was going on around her. She didn't even feel that her daughter was there.  
"Mommy… please get well…" Dinky softly said. For once, she wasn't crying. She placed flowers right next to her and kissed her on the forehead.  
Carrot Top walked in to see Dinky over her mother. "Dinky? Are you okay?"  
She looked back and acknowledged her. "Hey, Aunt Top."  
"we should really be going. They're evacuating the town."  
"I'll leave when they take mom." she said.  
"Dinky…"  
Dinky stood silent for a moment before asking, "Carrot Top? Why didn't mom tell me that eTu`nes was my dad?"  
C.T. thought for a moment. "well… truth be told, I didn't know. I was as surprised as you were. But… if I were to guess… I think Derpy thought you couldn't take it; that you would freak out or something."  
Dinky chuckled. "that's the thing." Dinky chuckled. "for a time, I had a feeling that da… that Clockwerk wasn't my real dad. I had no evidence; it was just a feeling. Guess that turned out to be true."  
"well…" Carrot Top sat down next to the filly. "you know that Clockwerk loved you, right? Even if you weren't his daughter, Clockwerk still loved you. Hopefully you'll remember that."  
"I know. And I will."  
Suddenly, the hospital shook violently. Carrot Top held Dinky close as they rode it though.

Outside, a intense beam of blue light came down from the clouds and struck the ground just outside Sweet Apple Acres. The beam began to move and surround the town in a wall of flame.

Time Turner and Sparkler ran into Derpy's hospital room and saw C.T. and Dinky already in there.  
"What's going on out there?" Carrot Top asked.  
"what else?" Time Turner asked. "Trouble."

The beam finished encircling the town in a ring of fire.

"this? Not good." Halo said.

Begin Song: watch?v=oaaOUlBhQ-c Monster X Appears - Godzilla: Final Wars Soundtrack

Thunder rumbled though the clouds. A loud roar echoed though it, a roar that everyone in Ponyville recognized all too well.  
A part of the clouds parted.

Oscurita descended from the clouds as dark and as demonic as can be.

"oh… crap…" Zil gulped.

The monster from hell touched down inside the ring as gently as he could. His eyes glowed yellow as darkness took him over. He opened his mouth and powered up his beam attack.

"still glad you sent the humans away now, sister?" Luna angrily asked her stunned sister.

Oscurita reared back and fired his beam attack.

End Song.

Begin Song: watch?v=ACn4dolmFq0 The Worlds - Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep OST

A eternity. That's what it felt like since the earthlings had been in the Between-Realm. That's what Gabriëlle called the lanes that connected each world to the other and nobody could think of a better name so they're sticking with Between-Realm. It was nothing special to look at; just a pink, organic looking tunnel. You may feel like you're not moving but, in truth, you're traveling at 1000 Miles Per Hour.

The shock of leaving was still hanging over the group like a dark cloud. Celestia's sudden outburst for something that happened 10000 years ago, that they weren't even a part of. Okay, they agree that Jax casting that spell was stupid- not stupid, retarded - but it was no reason to shout like that. She rarely uses it, plus this one missed.

Jax depressingly sat at the aft section of the ship, sitting over the edge, watching as the tunnel flew by.  
"I think Jax feels bad about what happened." Cynder said.  
"you think?" Emil angrily retorted.  
"Emil!"  
"sorry. Just a bit on edge. I don't like leaving friends to deal with a monstrous threat by themselves."  
"and you think we like it?" Req asked.

Jax sighed deeply, looking away as someone sat down next to her. "You okay, Jax?" Amelia asked.  
"no. I just can't believe that Celestia would just… snap like that. She never did it before."  
"I think that spell you tried to pull would be reason enough."  
"yeah, but still…" Jax leaned forward and rest her hand on her hand. "why would she even care? We weren't even here."  
"well… sometimes the past can affect the present. Sometimes in large ways, sometimes in small. Sometimes in ways we would never imagine."  
"yeah. Sometime the past can…" Jax stopped in mid-sentence and thought about it. Oh! Stupid. Why didn't she piece it together before?  
Derpy kept talking about this eTu`nes guy who's been missing for 8 years, That Oscurita fella didn't appear till after they all arrived on Equestria, and that jerk from Symphonia was on this world as well. And Derpy said that this eTu`nes guy had a bracelet, and this dragon had a bracelet. Well, there's a reason why she didn't piece it together; it was too convoluted to piece together without a little nudge.  
"That's it. That's it!" Jax exclaimed.  
"What's it?"  
Jax got up and ran over to the pilot. "Satoshi, turn this ship around! We have to go back!"  
"What?" Satoshi exclaimed.  
"Are you crazy, Jax?" Aura asked. "Celestia isn't exactly in a keen mode so if we go back, she's gonna get angry and kill us."  
"I'll take care of it." Jax said. "just turn the ship around. They're going to make a HUGE mistake." nobody thought this was a good idea. They could get into a lot of trouble with Celestia.  
Sora thought for a moment. Jax never acted like this around any equine. Did something happen to her back there? "…. Do it." she said.  
"What?"  
"I think Jax is right. something bad is going to happen- All our new friends are going to get killed because of some thing that happened 10000 years ago! Req, you agree with me right?"

End Song.

Of course. Everything is placed on her. What a shock. She looked up at Jax, who looked back with her with genuine concern. She thought for a moment then nodded. "Turn us around, Satoshi. Take us back to Equestria. I'm not going to let our friends get killed at the hands of some beast."

Begin Song: watch?v=-lK5wulOmGE To The Last Battle - Xenoblade Chronicles OST

0:00.  
Jax happily gasped as she smiled wide.  
"I was actually hoping you would say that." Satoshi said as he spun the wheel.

The Orion stopped in it's tracks, turned around, and headed back to Equestria.

0:13.  
"Fire!" Celestia ordered.  
The catapults and cannons fired at the giant dragon, hitting with explosive forces.  
"Did that do it?" Luna asked as she ran up.  
One flap of his wings and Oscurita cleared the fire away. He was unscathed but he was mad. He roared down at them as he brandished his claws.  
"nope."  
Oscurita brought his arm back then slashed down at them, cutting though the air itself. That same attack cut though almost all of the catapults and cannons, destroying all but 3 of each.  
Oscurita slashed again with his other set of claws, destroying quite a number of buildings.  
"This guy means business!" Shadow yelled. Oscurita attacked again and one of the attacks headed straight for Dash. Shadow pushed her out of the way in the nick of time.  
"Thanks Shadow."  
"te nada."  
Oscurita roared and stretched his wings wide. He rose up into the air as his eyes glowed yellow.

"now this is a show." Ventus chuckled as he tossed some popcorn into his mouth. A whooshing sound came from behind him, making Glacies take over. "is HE there?"  
"not yet, but I found his little deally. I expect he'll arrive in the hour." the Black Knight Tsylatac said.  
The two looked to the rampaging giant dragon they had let loose. "Considering the world isn't destroyed, of course." Ignis chuckled.  
"and what of the key? Did you obtain it yet?" Fulmen asked, taking over.  
"Not yet. I think I'll wait until they're all tired, then take it."  
"Good thinking." Terra said. "just go easy on them. We want to have our fun as well, you know."  
"I am well aware of your definition of 'fun'." Tsylatac said before disappearing in dark fire.

Oscurita roared and stretched his wings wide. He rose up into the air as his eyes glowed yellow. He shot up into the air then flipped upside-down, flying to the outskirts of town. He turned down, flying down like he was in a dome.  
He flipped right-side up and flew over the city at supersonic speeds, causing roofs to break off of houses and ponies to be sent flying into buildings.  
The royalty stood their ground but the force from the wind was a bit much.  
The dragon stopped, turned around, and flew back the same way he came. The force from this hurricane-gust tore the paint and bark right off of houses and trees.  
He halted, turned around, and fired his beam attack into the middle of town. It hit the town hall, making it explode into nothingness.  
A magic whip wrapped around his arm. This little whip belonged to one stubborn Alicorn of the Stars. He even tried to pull him down. What a laugh. Oscurita just jerked his arm towards him a little bit. To Cosmos, however, he was pulled half-a-mile into the library.

"we have to evacuate the citizens, sister." Luna said to Celestia.  
"Where? That ring of fire is making it impossible for anyone to leave.  
A explosion happened not far from them and twilight crashed into the ground right in front of them. "Twilight!" Celestia exclaimed. She and Luna ran over to her and helped her up. "Are you okay?"  
"yeah." Twi groaned and held her side. "I think so."  
A shadow cast over the 3 of them. They looked up and saw Oscurita standing right over them, looking right down at them. He snarled and powered up his beam attack.  
"Help!" Twilight yelled.

2:02.  
Against all odds, despite what Nurse Redheart had just said about her being blind for the rest of her life, Derpy opened her eyes. They weren't all derped up anymore; they were back to normal. Of course, she can't tell but if anyone looked at her, they'd see it.  
She got up out of bed to see her family staring out the window, watching the fight go down in town. She looked out the window to see Oscurita rampaging, destroying everything in sight.  
"eTu`nes…" she softly said with her eyes watering. She looked down at his left hand… and at the bracelet. Even after all this time, he still had it.  
Without her family knowing until she was long gone, Derpy walked out the door.

2:28.  
Oscurita stood over the princess' and twilight, looking right down at them. He snarled and powered up his beam attack.  
"Help!" Twilight yelled.  
Oscurita reared back to fire when a explosion hit him in the back of the head, making him fire the beam straight beneath his feet. It exploded but, like with everything else, it didn't effect him.  
Something streaked along the sky like a meteor, flying far from Ponyville before making a u-turn and heading back.

"Impossible." Glacies said.  
"They're back!" Pinkie cheered.  
Oscurita snarled as angrily as he could.

2:42.  
The Orion flew at top speeds, making a bee-line for the demon dragon.  
"We're Back!" Satoshi exclaimed before hitting the big red button.  
The main cannons fired, striking the monster in the chest. That actually left a scratch. And damn, that hurt.  
The ship flew past it's head, dropping it's anchors. The anchors wrapped around the monsters neck. They constricted, gagging him as the ship flew away from Ponyville. They both passed though the ring of fire, causing it to dissipate into nothing but air.  
Satoshi turned off all propellers except the center mast and let the ship spin. The dragon spun with it, moving as fast as the vessel.  
"3...2...1..." Satoshi clicked down on the same button as the anchors.  
The anchors detached and the monster fell to the ground. It crashed into a gorge, causing a large plume of dirt to explode up from it.  
The wings retracted into the ship and the Orion went after the beasty.

"They came back! I can't believe it, they came back!" Pinkie cheered. Her cheer was short-lived as Celestia spread her wings and went after it. "HWEEEEEEEEEE! I forgot!"  
"what are we waiting for, then?" Edge asked with a wink.  
The royalty, the Mane 6 and their families, and a few of the guards ran after Celestia and the Orion.

3:40. End Song.

"this… could be a problem." Tenebrae droned.  
"Plan D?" Aqua asked.  
"Plan D." Glacies said as they disappeared in a flash of dark fire.

The ponies ran though the woods and came out at Ghastly Gorge to see this following scene.  
"Grave!" Jax, Riku, Req, Lina, Amelia, and Zel yelled. Spyro slammed his tail into the ground. The ground closed up on Oscurita, who was struggling to get up from the crash. Once closed, the lines welded together, making it absolute.  
"And that's how we do it in the land of Oz." Jax smugly laughed as she twirled her rings in her fingers.  
"Jax!" the CMC suddenly hugged Jax, catching her off guard.  
"Hey, guys. What's up?" she said like nothing had happened.  
"What's up?" Trixie exclaimed. "you get banished and all you can say is what's up!? Don't you know what will happen when-" Celestia landed in front of her sister-in-law, shutting her up.  
"here we go." Ash sighed.  
Celestia walked over to Jax as angry as can be. The CMC let go and backed away. "un… please go easy on us." Hiccup pleaded. "And know that some of us were against coming back and… I should shut up now."  
Celestia approached Jax, who was fully prepared for her fate. Celestia raised her hoof and…..  
Patted Jax on the shoulder. "What kept you? Half of Ponyville got destroyed."  
"I know. But I had trouble convincing my friends to come back; it's more difficult then you can imagine. What with them all worried about…"  
As Jax and Celestia continued talking, both groups looked up with dumbstruck eyes and mouths agape. Cynder and Erys looked at each other with those same expressions. What the heck is going on?  
"Wait! Whoa! Time out!" Spike exclaimed, breaking up the conversation. "What are you two talking about? Did you two plan this?"  
Celestia and Jax looked at each other. "Yep."  
Spike's mouth dropped then he face-palmed. "un-freakin believable." he said as he fell backwards.  
"wait wait wait. How did you two plan this? We spent almost all day together." Req said.  
Jax chuckled and put her hands behind her head. "well… when I woke up from the battle, I want into Celestia just as she and her family arrived in town. She was angry that I cast such a destructive spell. I plea bargained, she forgave with a price, we made a plan where we humans were 'banished'. We danced, we kissed, we schmoozed. we carry on. What do you say? Come on."  
"that… is… utterly devious." Lina chuckled. And she saw devious. Hell, she is devious.  
"It was my idea." Celestia said. "we're just thankful that Luna, Cosmos, Trixie, Erys, Armor, Cadence, and Dis weren't there when we made the plan. Otherwise, we would've been found out."  
"but that book…"  
"oh, that was real. But it happened a long time ago and I know you all wouldn't do that."  
Jax snickered. "I should probably audition for a play. I was very convincing."

Begin Song: watch?v=0Fpyi2iTQrQ Battle for a Future to Believe in - Tales of Xillia OST

"Oh, I could just hit you!" Sora exclaimed. Nobody was aware that the ground where they sealed Oscurita was starting to break open.  
"for what? Being a talented actress?"  
"No, for not filling us in."  
The cracks got even bigger. "hehe. Well, that would've ruined the plan and we didn't want that."

The ground burst open in a torrent of fire, opening the gorge back up and widening it. Oscurita rose up like the devil he was and roared loudly into the sky.  
"And we didn't want that to happen either."  
The voice. The owner of that voice made his rage run even deeper. The darkness inside has officially taken him over. "you… Miserable Little Human!" he said.  
"AH! He spoke!" Emil yelped.  
"You… You will pay for interfering with me!" the dragon snarled.  
Jax scoffed and grabbed her chakrams. "Try me…" he spun them around her wrists before grabbing them and taking up her battle pose. "eTu`nes!"  
Oscurita snarled as his eyes went wide. She knows. She knows and must be killed. "DIEEEEEE!" he punched at her with his bracelet hand. It connected, causing a lot of dirt to kick up, but not with Jax.  
The nimble spell caster ran up the beasts arm, Ranga Blades coming out of both rings. She jumped up and yelled as she slashed down at his face. It didn't wound him but it did harm him. He yelled out in pain, franticly flailing his arms about. He swat Jax out of the sky, only to have her caught by Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.  
They let her go and turned to her friends. "Keep him off of me!" Jax ordered.  
"Why?" Spyro yelled.  
"just do it! I got a idea." She replied. Jax spun around like a ballerina and let the chakrams go. They spiraled around her as a glyph appeared beneath her.  
They weren't exactly sure what was going on with her but they do know they aren't going to let some monster kill their friends.

Derpy ran though the woods as fast as she could, hoping to reach eTu`nes before they did something monstrous to him. Her wounds pain hit her, causing her to yell and fall over. Blood slowly seeped out of her wounds but she's not going to give up.  
"no… not again…" she painfully vowed as she got up. "I lost him 8 years ago… I won't lose him again!" she said with gusto. There was a faint twinkle in her eyes as she said that.  
"Derpy! Derpy!"  
"Mom! Mom, where are you!?"  
She heard her friends and family call out to her. She was glad they still cared about her but she had something else to deal with right now. She just hopes she's not too late.

"Burst Rondo!" Zel and Amelia yelled. The attack struck Oscurita in the side, making him yell in pain.

How is this possible? Nothing could wound him before, so why is it now that he's starting to get injured and feeling pain?

Magic artillery fired from the Alicorns and Unicorns, striking the bastard in the body and head.

Of course. Magic. Before, they were relying on nothing but brute force. It was always magic.

"Seraphim Blade!" the sword beam shot out of Req's blade, striking him in the back.

But that spell was used in the last battle and it didn't harm him. It must be their resolve. The last time, they were caught completely off guard and couldn't gather their resolve.

Spyro, Cynder, and Bahamut flew up above the beastie and fired fireballs down at him. The fireballs fell like rain, hitting him everywhere.

Resolve or not, it's going to take more then some puny spells to take him down. Luckily, Jax figured that to be the case and powered up the only spell that could end this once and for all.

"Oh, powers of the infinite mind that we can only dream of grasping…"  
The wind picked up around her in the form of wisps.  
"Let us break the bonds of reality and bring back the ones we love or separate the good from the evil…"  
The glyph glowed even bright as a blade began to take shape.  
"Let us dive into the stream of time and space and do the impossible!"

Jax opened her eyes as a white blade materialized above her. She jumped up, grabbed it, spun around, and landed in a epic pose.  
Oscurita took notice of this, figured it was just another attack spell, and fired his beam attack at her. Jax dodged to the right and ran right for him.  
Oscurita fired again and again and again but Jax was too fast.  
The human jumped onto a exposed rock and headed right for him. Oscurita snarled and opened his mouth wide.

A certain grey mare ran out of the woods and into the clearing of the fight. She saw the dragon and couldn't control herself.  
"ETU`NES!"  
That yell distracted Oscurita long enough.

"PERSONALITY SHIFT!"

End Song.

To Be Continued…


	126. Eternal Darkness

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 41

Eternal Darkness

Begin Song: watch?v=vwfUsm8G8Zg The Promised Future - Final Fantasy XIII-2 OST.

0:00.  
Oscurita roared as he fired his beam attack at Jax, who charged at him with a electric-style blade. She jumped off a exposed rock and up at the monster.

A certain gray mare ran out of the woods and into the clearing of the fight. She saw the dragon and just couldn't control herself.  
"ETU`NES!"  
That distracted Oscurita long enough.  
Jax flipped a few times and held the blade over her head as she fell to the beasty.  
"PERSONALITY SHIFT!"

0:18.  
The blade struck the monster in the shoulder and went to work.

A outburst of energy shot out from the point of impact and engulfed the entire battlefield, forcing everyone to cover themselves.

The monster roared painfully as it felt itself getting ripped apart. The blade dug into it's shoulder, creating a noticeable wound.  
"Come on! Work!" Jax exclaimed. The other 3 weren't this much trouble with the spell.

Light expanded out of the point of impact and covered both of them.

Jax yelled as she fell back to the ground and landed on her back in a painful way.  
The light dispersed. Oscurita fell back and crashed into the gorge, causing a landslide that covered it.  
A much smaller version fell out of the light and crashing into the ground, rolling into the same rock Jax jumped off of.

0:56.  
Derpy gasped in both fear and hope. It was really him. "ETU`NES!" she yelled as she ran over.  
"Derpy? Derpy, wa-" Celestia stopped Dash in her tracks.  
Derpy ran over to the dragon, who not once tried to move or do anything. She grabbed him and tried to shake him awake. "eTu`nes! eTu`nes, please! Wake up!"  
Nothing.  
Tears began to form in her eyes. She didn't want to lose him again. "eTu`nes… please… wake up."  
Still nothing. He was long gone.  
Derpy broke down and cried. "eTu`nes… please… don't leave me… Please…"  
All the humans and ponies felt uneasy. They sure didn't want this to happen. Hell, they didn't even suspect it.  
Derpy's friends and family came running out of the woods to see Derpy crying over the body of the dragon.  
"eTu`nes?" all her friends said in unison.  
With a heavy heart, Jax got off the ground. "How did you know?" Dash asked.  
Jax pointed to her left hand, or rather her bracer. "The bracelet. Derpy said she gave it to someone she truly cared for. And… that monster had the same one."  
"wait, eTu`nes was that monster?!" Lyra said.  
"*sigh* yep."

Derpy continued to cry, not caring if her tears fell onto his body or not. "don't leave me again… please don't…"

eTu`nes hand twitched, moving a few pebbles underneath it. He moved it and grabbed the nearest hoof and held it tight. Derpy felt that and stopped crying.  
eTu`nes slowly opened his eyes. For the first time in 8 years, Derpy was right there with him. "I am never going to leave you again…"  
Derpy gasped and started to cry again. This time, they were tears of joy. "eTu`nes!" she hugged him and continued crying.

The all breathed a collected sigh of relief.  
Jax sniffleed and wiped her eyes. "Are you crying?" Marble asked.  
"n-no. I, un… I think a rock got in my eye…" she said, all choked up. Twi and Sora looked at each other and chuckled.

"What ridiculous sentiment."  
That voice came out of nowhere, surprising them all. Jax and eTu`nes recognized it.

2:12.  
In a flash of dark fire, Orochi appeared above them, as foreboding as ever. He descended from the sky but continued to hover over them.  
"You!?" Req exclaimed.  
"you know that guy?" Applejack asked.  
"we ran into him a couple times on Symphonia and once on Berk." Sora explained. "But why…"  
"I should've known that he would be held back by that dumb mare." Tenebrae said. eTu`nes snarled at the true monster, who wasn't even a teensiest bit afraid. "but… one has to wonder how a biological experiment incapable of feeling anything got those in the first place." he looked to Derpy. "That is the question."  
"What do you want!?" Celestia demanded.  
Aqua sat back as lazily as possible. "oh, nothing much. I just want some fun and you ponies were such the perfect sports."  
"What are you talking about?" Chrysalis asked.  
"haha! Do you even have to ask? Who summoned those monsters that seem to not belong on this world; like the Red Death and Godzilla? Who turned Discord into the power-hungry fool he was? Who loaned a certain queen Oscurita so she could take over the world? Who? Tell me, who?"  
Derpy got angry and yelled up at him. "You turned eTu`nes into that horrible monster!?"  
"Last I checked, you had a hand in this, you retarded mare." Ignis said. "Who broke his heart? Who lead him on, thinking that you loved him back when, in truth, you didn't care diddly squat? Who's the idiot who taught him such a stupid feeling that can hold you back such as love?"

2:52.  
"Now you just shut up!" Jax yelled. Orochi looked at her, not really caring.  
"Love doesn't hold you back! It can empower you and move you though even the most hard of times! True, there are downsides but that doesn't mean you can just abandon it! Love can even turn a sadistic biological experiment into a loving friend. But that's something you are never going to realize, is it?"  
Glacies chuckled. "correct. We will never be foolish enough to be straddled by something as useless as love. We're not that stupid."  
Jax sighed in defeat. He really is never going to learn. "fine then. We'll show you how powerful love can be." she and the rest of her friends took up their battle poses.  
Glacies just chuckled at the useless display. "you are never going to learn." he turned around and snapped his fingers. "they're all yours, big boy." he said before disappearing.

3:29.  
Darkness shot down from the sky and into the gorge.  
"this can't be good!" Spyro yelled.  
"Is it ever?"

Oscurita flew out of the gorge and into the air. It spun around a few times before stopping in a epic pose. He opened his eyes and they glowed yellow with a frightening drone.  
It spun a few times in mid-air then flew back down into the gorge.

He came up in front of them all and roared loudly.

From a nearby mountain, Orochi ordered the monster.  
"Kill them."

3:56. End Song and Begin Song: watch?v=BRyMeFv1g0g Invisible Depths - Final Fantasy XIII-2 OST.

0:00.  
A powerful gust of wind came from his wings, despite the fact that he wasn't flapping them at all. Everyone struggled to stay still but were ultimately picked up by the wind and blown away.  
The new Dark Oscurita roared into the sky.

Dark clouds formed all over the area, darkening the ground. Tornados descended by the sky and crashed into the ground. Lightning shot out of the clouds and the tornados as rapidly as a machine gun.

The groups crashed into the middle of the town, some even rolled into some houses. A tornado came down right on top of them but Req was able to disperse it with a quick swing of her blade.  
"This happen on one of the other worlds you visited?" Halo asked.  
"First for us." she yelled back.  
Another tornado came down, and then another, and then another. 10 tornados are now surrounding the town, blocking off any route of escape.

0:50.  
Oscurita fell from the clouds and landed with enough force to cause a earthquake.  
"And here's ugly, right on cue." Ash said as he drew and spun his pistols.  
Oscurita roared and snarled. Parts of his body began to bulge and pulsate.

2 more arms erupted out from his body beneath the ones he already had.  
In a violent fervor, his tail split into two in a such a violent and disgusting manner, Kratos from God of War would be impressed. They quickly healed over and formed two tails.  
Two more legs erupted out from behind his.  
His back bulged and split open in a sickening crack. Two, no four more wings came out and stretched out.  
His chin split open into another mouth, complete with teeth and a roar of it's own.

The transformation was so bloody and grotesque, even Lina threw up. And she had the strongest stomach out of all of them.

"my Faust…" a grossed out Luna gasped.  
"I know. It's never a pretty sight." Jax said.  
Dark Oscurita looked to them, roared out of both mouths, and proceeded to punch them with his two right arms.

1:38.  
The fists hit the ground but they didn't hit anyone. Req, her blade spilt into two, ran up the bottom arm and headed straight for the guys head. Oscurita removed his arms from the ground and attempted to swat her off.  
The goddess jumped up, stabbed both blades into the bottom of the upper arm, flipped around, landed on top, and continued to run.  
"DIAMOND RAIN!"  
True to it's name, diamonds and other assorted gems rained down from the sky and continually struck the monster. Once that spell was cast, Jax moved to a different one.  
Req jumped up off the arm and yelled as she brought her blades down on the monsters face. They hit and struck blood, or the dark equivalent of blood. The bottom mouth tried to turn her into a late-night snack but she used a little bit of magic to prevent that.

Toothless flew higher then the monster, then dive-bombed. He fired 3 fireballs- 2 to the eyes, the other to it's nose. The eye balls hit and caused it to become temporarily blind. The nose one didn't work so well. It was worth a shot. The Night Fury pulled up and flew away.

Riku pulled out his baton and formed the Lightcycle with it. He jumped on and revved it up. It screeched out behind the monster then ran up it's leg. Oscurita noticed this and moved his legs. It got him off the leg. Riku jumped off his bike and slammed his Keyblade into it's tail.  
"DARK FIRAGA!"  
The spell shot out of the Keyblade and hit the muscle inside the tail, causing an excruciating amount of pain. Unfortunately, Dark Oscurita is one of those people that really, really, REALLY likes pain- finds it a turn on, really.  
"Okay. That didn't work." Riku said. He pulled out his Keyblade and fell to the ground.

"BURST RONDO!"  
Amelia and Zel fired that spell at the beasty but it just bounced off.  
"You know that saying 'fight fire with fire'?" Cynder asked.  
"Yeah." they both replied.  
Cynder coated herself in her own personal darkness. "I think the same holds true with darkness." she flew up and slammed into Oscurita's gut. Oscurita laughed and swat her off. She crashed back next to Zel and Amelia. "apparently, it doesn't work." she groaned.

2:53.  
Oscurita flapped all 6 of his wings, creating a much more powerful gust of wind. This time, homes were ripped out of their foundations.

"This guy is really starting to get on my nerves!" Celestia yelled.  
"You too?" Jax playfully replied. "I thought it was just me."

Oscurita roared and fired two beams out of both mouths. Two beams means twice the damage, and boy did it show.

"We can barely put dents into that guy." Ash said as he continued firing. "and even if we do, he's one of those weirdoes who gets turned on by pain."  
"there are people like that?" Edge and Chrysalis asked.  
"So what do we do now?" Cadence asked.  
For once, Req had nothing. She and her friends never went up against something like this before. Well, except maybe Catalyst, but he didn't mutate or was indestructible. No, they're in some big trouble now.  
Oscurita roared and moved to attack.

Orochi chuckled as he peeled and cut a apple he took from the apple farm. "Check and mate." Ignis said before biting into a piece. "Farewell, you annoying bitch. May you rot in hell."

3:41.  
Oscurita roared as he powered up his beam attack again.  
In full-on Sol Mode, Aura slammed right into the monster's back, making him fire the beams into the air.  
"HA! Take that, you S.O.B.!"  
Oscurita snarled and swat Aura out of the sky with his tail.  
The dragon moved his tail across the southern part of town, taking out a number of buildings and nearly taking out ponies and the group.  
"This guy means business!" Cosmos yelled as he ducked.

Oscurita roared as he took to the sky. Time to finish this once and for all. He powered up his beam attack.

4:45. End Song.

"Hold it right there!" Satoshi yelled.

Begin Song: watch?v=ojJmutNHq_M Tenrai ~ Divinity II - Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Soundtrack

0:00.  
The Orion flew out of nowhere and rammed into the Dragon, slamming it into a mountain. Both the main cannons and normal cannons fired, causing a lot of destruction that basically destroyed the whole rock formation.  
Oscurita flew out of the smoke and dust and up into the air. He powered up and fired a fireball attack at the ship. It grew in size but the Orion was able to move before it hit itself.  
The fireball struck the ground outside of Ponyville, eradicating some of the tornados.

0:52.  
Oscurita was surprised by the level of destruction he caused. He didn't think his fireballs could do that much damage but, apparently, it can if you're high enough. That gave him a evil idea.

"uh-oh." Req gulped.  
"what?" Trixie worriedly asked.  
"He just found out the golden rule for fireballs." Oscurita smirked and spread his wings wide. "the higher you are, the bigger they get."

Oscurita flapped his wings and flew higher into the air.  
Satoshi didn't even have to wait for Req and the other members of their group to put the ship in space mode. "Satoshi-"  
"Already on it, Req." he said.

1:19.  
The ship quickly entered space mode and ignited his engines. It turned up and shot towards the monster like a rocket. The Orion shot though the dark clouds, clearing them up.

The ponies, who didn't get on the ship because they had a feeling they'd do this, watched from the ground as both the demon and the ship headed up into the sky.

Oscurita heard the rumbling of engines and looked down to see the Orion chasing it. He just scoffed and kept flying up. What good are they going to do

"Can't this rust-bucket go any faster, Satoshi?" Fox asked as he and the others held on for dear life.  
"I'm going at max speed!" he replied.

The dragon shrieked as it shot past Cloudsdale, confusing the Pegasi on it. The Orion rocketed past and continued it's ascent.

Both flyers flew out of the atmosphere and right into space itself. Oscurita could breath in it; one of the benefits of darkness.

2:00.  
He spun around and prepared more fireballs.  
The Orion struck it with it's left wing and continued flying up. It turned right for a peg, then banked left to make a massive u-turn.  
The engines kicked into high gear and slammed the monster right in the gut.  
It attempted to recover but in the confusion, the monster was able to pull off one of the wings.

2:15.  
Both of them burned up as they fell into the atmosphere.

From the ground, they looked like a pair of large meteors.

The wing burned into dust upon re-entry, making reattachment impossible.  
"ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Hot. This burns. Ow. Ouch. Ow." that was the general reaction from everyone as they fell to their doom.  
Satoshi, however, was still in some control of the ship. He pressed the fire button and fired it's cannons. It struck the monster but didn't do anything to kill it.  
Irritated, Oscurita grabbed ahold of the ship and didn't let go. He powered up his beam attacks, ready to take these nuisances out.  
Jax, who spotted this, looking around and grabbed Req's sword and Aura's lance.  
"Jax!" they both yelled.

2:47.  
Yeah… not really sure how to work with this kind of music. Um…. Just go ahead and ignore it.

2:55.  
Jax ran to the edge and jumped off the ship. She threw the sword right into it's left eye, blinding it in that eye.  
She spun the lance around her back and pointed it right at the beast. "DRAGON SLAVE!" the spell shot out and struck the monster right in the chest.

3:07.  
The monster fell faster then the ship, roaring loudly as it fell.  
It hit the ground with a violent force, it caused a earthquake. The spell caught up to it and exploded as huge as always.

The Orion entered normal mode and turned up just before hitting the ground.  
Jax flipped though the air and landed right-side up on the Orion.

A secondary explosion followed, adding more destruction to the monster.

3:35. End Song.

"holy crap, that worked." a surprised Jax laughed.  
Aura angrily took his lance back as the sword reappeared in Req's hands. "You might want to warn us before doing stuff like that."  
Jax shrugged. "it was a spur of the moment thing."

Begin Song: watch?v=tCtq36LcwAk Infusion - Mass Effect OST

0:00.  
They all looked at the smoldering crater where that monster had landed. The dark clouds disappeared and the tornados dispersed.  
"holy… they did it." Celestia gasped. "such raw power…" she chuckled. "Jeria may've banished them but… these ones aren't that bad."

Orochi reappeared above the crater and gave a scoffing chuckle. "idiots…" he rose his hand and powered up a orb of darkness. He aimed down into the crater and fired.

Suddenly, the dark clouds returned as quickly as they disappeared.  
"you have got to be kidding me." a disbelieving Sora said.

0:36.  
Lightning shot down from the clouds and into the crater.

Oscurita rose from the ashes and roared loudly into the sky. The lightning surged into it's body though it's mouth.  
"God, I hate that part in horror movies." a grossed out Bahamut said.

It got even worse.  
The body began to distort and convulse. It's arm began to twist around. You can even hear the bones crack and snap.

"oh, god. Now what?" Req whined, worried about what's going to happen next.

Oscurita's roar even distorted and twisted, turning into something inhuman. Whatever's going to happen, it's not going to be good. Not going to be good at all.

To Be Continued…

1:30. End Song.


	127. Blinding Twilight

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Chapter 42

Blinding Twilight

Begin Song: watch?v=cj107qyeEnY Brooding Omen - Tales of Vesperia OST.

Lightning and tornados crashed down all around them, stretching from Ponyville all the way to Canterlot. The rich snobs of Canterlot were lucky; they only have to deal with the bad weather. Ponyville and everyone there had a much larger and more terrifying threat to worry about.

Dark Oscurita roared as it's new body began to painfully take shape. Bones snapped and limbs grew so out of place, it was borderline horror. Even the most hardcore among the group felt sick to their stomach.

The finished product was so… eh…. For a lack of a better word, scary. you could hardly tell this was Oscurita anymore. And trying do describe such a horrid sight would be difficult, so I recommend clicking the picture link.  
albums/zz224/monsterlord-18/Album%201/wazzy88_s_if_they_were_in_comics_discord_by_  
It would save both of us a lot of trouble cause I honestly have no clue how do describe it. And to my readers, because I know they never show the domain name, it's from Photobucket.

Pores opened up all over his body and tendrils shot out of them, adding more nastiness to the grotesque sight.

"my…. God…" a disgusted Req said.  
"So… horrible…" Jax said in the same tone.

Orochi appeared just in front of the mutated Oscurita, happy and eager as can be.  
"See this? See this gorgeous form?" Tenebrae  
"Gorgeous!?" a disturbed Fox yelled.  
Orochi ignored her and kept on talking. "this- this is what happens when you let the power of darkness deep into your heart. That bastard eTu`nes could've had this if he just let go of that dumb mare." on the ground, said dragon snarled at Orochi. "This can still be yours, Jax, if you open up to it."  
Confused, Req looked back to the mage. "Jax, what the hell is he talking about?"  
Jax shrugged. "I honestly have no clue. He keeps trying to recruit me into his ranks but I keep saying no. he's one of those bastards that never listens. Why me, I'll never know."  
Orochi sighed and sat back like he was on a lawn chair. "it's such a shame that you can't open up to the darkness." Aqua said. "A few of your friends did and look how well it worked out for them."  
Riku and Lina got ready to turn the bastard into dust. "If being like that thing…" Jax pointed to the mutated Oscurita. "…is what I have to look forward too, then I'm gonna say 'HELL NO!'. I want to keep my sexy looks, thank you."  
Orochi rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Very well then…" Glacies said. He spread his arms and rose up to the monsters eye-level.  
"Oscurita! The time has come! The time has come to subjugate this world and defeat these pathetic worms! Just make sure they suffer."  
Oscurita confirmed his orders. "subjugate… spread darkness… destroy…" he repeated like a emotionless computer. His eyes glowed yellow as his back bulged. "DESTROY!"  
His back opened up in a painful and disturbing sound and sight. Darkness shot out of his back and into the air. It absorbed into the clouds already in the sky and began to spread.

From the emptiness of space, one could see a large black cloud forming over a rather large part of the central continent. The cloud was so big, it even stretched as far as space.  
The darkness began to spread across the entire planet, covering it's skies so no light could break though.  
In just a few short moments, the darkness covered the entire planet from pole to pole. Nothing could get it and nothing could get out.

From a castle located in the artic north, a mysterious figure watched the clouds spread from the shadows of his own palace. He wasn't worried a bit. He still had his own plans to take care of.

A glyph of two crossed swords piercing the infinity symbol appeared in the sky above them.

End Song.

Begin Song: watch?v=nff3Bj09glk It's Our Fight - Transformers: Dark of the Moon Soundtrack

0:00.  
"ILLUMINATION!"  
A ball of light as bright as the sun appeared in the sky above Ponyville. Another one appeared above Canterlot, another above Manehatten, and dozens more over every city on the planet. It was the biggest Illumination Jax did, or that anyone did. Seeing the monster, however, made her wish that she didn't know that particular spell.

Orochi laughed evilly as a plan long in the making came to fruition.  
"You have no chance now! Give up while you still have a chance!" Lucis laughed. "and maybe I'll forgive you for playing with our toys."  
Wait! What did he say? "Toys?" Req angrily repeated. "Toys!? You were treating these innocent ponies like toys!?"  
"why not? That's what they're made for." Ventus said.  
They all could not believe what they were hearing. This… monster was treating these ponies like… like playthings.  
"We are not toys!" Twilight yelled from below, yelling loud enough for him to hear.  
Aqua just scoffed. "we beg to differ, you piece of trash."  
That pissed Halo off. He fired a magic beam at Orochi, who blocked it with his hand. "That's my Marefriend you're talking about!"  
"Shut up." Tenebrae snapped his fingers, wrapping Halo in a cocoon of darkness.  
Jax gripped her rings tightly, drawing blood. "you… these ponies are not playthings for you to mess with! They are living beings, just like me and the rest of my friends! And we won't stand for this!"  
"Yeah!" the humans all agreed. They got ready to do battle with this soulless… thing.  
Terra scoffed. "they're all yours." he told Oscurita before vanishing.

Oscurita roared and moved to do battle with them with a loud and terrifying roar.  
Satoshi spun the wheel and moved the ship. Those with wings got ready to fly.

The Orion moved to face the monster, who is currently summoned more tendrils to decimate them with.

1:17.  
"Take this!"

The cannons, both main and secondary, fired at the monster. The secondary cannons projectiles hit the beast all over it's body, causing a lot of damage that was quickly getting healed.  
The barrage didn't stop. They just kept on firing.

The beast counter-barraged with it's tendrils, striking the ship, piercing though the wood and causing a ton of damage.  
The Orion just kept shooting away, not letting up on it's barrage.

Req flew off of the ship, spun her sword around, and fired a contained 'Judgment Ray' out of her blade. It cut though his bottom-left arm but it quickly got replaced.

More tendrils struck into the ship, causing more damage. Riku pulled out his baton, summoned up the Lightcycle, and revved across one of the tendrils, with Lloyd and Ash running right behind him.  
Emil jumped off the ship and cut though a tendril that had punctured the bottom half of the ship.

In just a few seconds, only Sora and Satoshi were left on the ship.  
The main cannons fired, hitting it in the face. It didn't faze the monster. Any wounds it caused were instantly healed.  
"now that's just cheating." Satoshi commented.

2:17.  
"FREEZE ARROW!"  
Zel, Lina, and Amelia fired arrows of ice into the monsters chest, which Gourry slammed his Sword of Light in. it broke though and sliced though it's heart. Unfortunately, this monster doesn't have a heart.  
Oscurita simply roared, sending the 4 of them falling to the ground.

One of the tendrils retracted from the Orion and flipped around them all. Lloyd, with newly refurbished katanas courtesy of a little reversal magic from Req, cut though it. The tendril stiffened and 2 more took it's place.  
"Great. He's like a Hydra." Lloyd commented. The two new tendrils slammed into him, pushing him to the ground.

Aura slammed his lance into the back of the monster. Fire shot out of it and careened all throughout the beast. Spyro added his own flavor into the mix, for what good that will do.  
Oscurita didn't even faze. He just kept right on going. He grabbed the 2 of them and chucked them right into the ship.

3:15.  
The battle could be seen all the way in Canterlot. They can see the giant monster and all the explosions around it.

It wasn't much better from the Ponyville perspective. Having a up-close seat to the fight isn't exactly glamorous. There was always some miss-placed shot or a tendril going out of control. There was nothing any of them could do to stop this. And even if they could, they were ponies going up against a giant hell-beast. They wouldn't even be able to lay a scratch on it. But… they didn't want the humans doing all the work. This was their world and they want to do something about this. But what?

eTu`nes watched with a stern but defeated look as the battle raged on. This was all his fault. If he hadn't run away 8 years ago, then that monster would never have come, and his dark self wouldn't be attempting to destroy the world as they knew it. This was all his fault, and he needed to set this right. Without anyone noticing, he snuck away and took off away from Ponyville.

4:13.  
The Orion continued to fire it's cannons relentlessly at the beast but was taking too much damage itself. A few more blows and it won't last long.

More tendrils came and punched though the decks. One hit the engine room, causing the engine to short-circuit.

The ship violently shook as another barrage of tendrils hit it. Satoshi felt something wrong with the ship and accessed the diagnostics. "uh-oh."  
"uh-oh? I don't like uh-oh." Sora said.  
"Seems that last attack took out our engines."  
"Meaning?" she worriedly asked.  
"we're going down."

4:47.  
A small electrical explosion came out of the back of the ship, which began to list.

"Satoshi!" Bahamut yelled.  
"Sora!" Jax yelled louder.

The Orion groaned and shrieked as it fell from the skies. It also didn't help that the tendrils were forcing it down into a crash landing.

"Get off us!" Satoshi yelled. He pulled out his gray brick thing, it changed into a rocket launcher, he took aim, and fired, taking out the tendrils but didn't stop the ship from falling.

The mighty vessel crashed into the ground and skipped once. It hit again, this time screeching to a violent and deadly halt. It flipped and tumbled side over side before slammed into a large hill, stopping it before it went further.

5:54.  
"SORA!" Jax jumped off of the tendril she was on and bolted for the crashed ship. Everyone ignored the fight and retreated back to the vessel.  
Satoshi was able to pull himself out, Sora with him. "that hurt." she lightly chuckled before groaning in pain.  
The ground shook as the monster sluggishly made it's way towards them. This was a perfect opportunity to take them out; distracted thanks to their friends.  
More tendrils came from Oscurita, striking into the ground and causing a lot of damage.

6:33. End Song.

eTu`nes flew as fast as he could to Canterlot. There was only one way to end this and it lies back in the capitol. The only time he'd ever been there was as Oscurita so it's gonna be difficult to try and find them.

Oscurita roared as more tendrils slammed into the ground like whips, intent on taking the humans out.

Begin Song: watch?v=Bna9R11cBHQ Princess of the Sun~The Final Lesson - by Youtuber Adar Nasivkh

0:00.  
The whips began striking against a invisible barrier that came out of nowhere. The monster stopped his attack and snarled at them all. What could've…  
Req, now in full goddess mode, rose out of the dust. She swung her blade, clearing it away. Despite being injured, the humans were still ready to go and take this bastardo out.  
The monster roared as it sent more tendrils at them. Like before, they bounced off a invisible barrier.  
"if your master can still hear us, then be sure to tell him this-" she told the savage beast. She pointed her blade to Oscurita. "these ponies are not his to use as he pleases." she took up her battle pose, as did the others. "they deserve to live their lives without someone as evil as him interfering!"

0:40.  
Oscurita just roared and fired his beam attack at them. Jax's chakram flew up in front of Req and cast a barrier over them all. The beam was absorbed into the shield. The shield shot it back to Oscurita, blasting it though the chest. But, as always, it didn't even faze it.

"DRAGON SLAVE!" Lina fired her signature spell at Oscurita, hoping that that powerful of a spell can kill it. Oscurita just swallowed it and chuckled as it harmlessly exploded in his stomach. Lina's mouth fell to the floor. "not fair."

Emil jumped up into the air, his blade glowing purple. "Ain Soph Auer!" he shot his own blade beam at the monster. It hit, cutting off 2 of his hands. Like before, they just regenerative.

Orochi watched from high above, trying to figure out what these humans would continued to fight against impossible odds. He's seen it countless times before but could never figure it out. They're up against a demon that can't be killed and yet, despite what he's witnessed with Orion going down yet again and every one of them getting injured, they still fight. Why? Why do they fight despite knowing they will die?

Elsewhere, not that far from the battlefield, Tsylatac walked though the fields and approached someone on the ground who was fading away.  
"Well, look who finally decided to show up." he coldly said as he stared at the creature. It weakly groaned and tried to blast him with what magic he had left. "Save your energy, old man. You'll gonna need it for your new body. I think you'll like; I heard you liked Gryphons."  
Tsylatac and the person he was talking to disappeared in a flash of fire.

Oscurita fired another beam, trying to swat Toothless out of the sky. The Night Fury was too fast for him to hit as he flew circles around the demon.  
Ash jumped in front of the monsters eyes and fired into them, blinding the creature, but only temporarily. They instantly healed. Oscurita roared as Ash jumped off. Toothless flew over and picked him up.

2:09.  
The ponies looked on in wonder as they watched the fight unfold. These humans, these strangers for foreign worlds, are fighting for a world that isn't their own. Well, not by themselves. Celestia spread her wings wide.

2:21.  
Bahamut somersaulted though the air and rammed the monster right in the neck, hoping to at least decapitate him. No luck.  
Oscurita roared, grabbed Bahamut and threw him away.

Req stopped in mid air and panted. "This… is getting us nowhere."  
Toothless flew up and joined her. "what do we do, Req? we're not making any sort of headway with that thing." Hiccup said.  
"I… I don't know."

2:47.  
Suddenly, a swirling rainbow stream shot from between them and struck the monster in the chest. Where it came from was confusing but what happened next surprised them more.  
The rainbow turned into 5 lights and each struck a different part of the monster's body. Each light belonged to Celestia, Luna, Cosmos, Cadence, and Chrysalis.

A very powerful magic blast from the ground struck Oscurita in the face. The Unicorns pooled their magic and fired again.

With one collective buck, the Earth Ponies sent barrels full of black powder at the beast. When they hit, they exploded with such a fervor.

The remaining 6 catapults and cannons moved into position and fired, hitting the monster all over the left side.

The airships from the Winter War flew though the air, bypassing the humans, and fired their own cannons at Oscurita.

The monster was beginning to be overwhelmed by the combined force. The humans didn't put up much of a fight but with the help of these pathetic ponies…

"they're helping?" Req asked herself as she and the rest of her friends watched the ponies spring into action.

3:42.  
A tendril sent Celestia right next to them. She screeched to a halt and panted.  
"What are you guys doing? Leave us to handle this!" Ash said.  
"Not a chance." she replied. "This is our world and we're gonna fight to defend it!"  
"but you could get killed." Req said.  
"And so could you, but that's not stopping you from fighting for a world that is not your own."  
she had a point there. Req and her comrades came to the help of their friends and their world, even though it wasn't their fight. That always seemed to be a bad habit of theirs.  
A tendril almost wracked all 5 of them out of the sky, snapping them out of their talk. "how about we deal with ugly hear first?" Ash asked. He jumped onto the tendril as it pulled back to it's master.

4:22.  
In Canterlot, the wild tornados and lightning fell around them, as they did in every city and town around the world. The citizens screamed as they ran for their lives.  
eTu`nes just flew though all the mess like it was nothing. A lightning bolt came from above and almost hit him. Almost. He rolled to the right and kept on flying.

He reached the palace, touched down, and ran inside the hall of the Elements of Harmony. He winced when he suddenly remembered, "Crap. I forgot, I need a key. Chrysalis couldn't get in because she didn't have a key."  
He didn't have to worry about finding a key because it had just arrived in the form of a tendril. It slithered in, almost crushing eTu`nes, and crashed into the door at the other end. It retracted and began destroying the city.  
eTu`nes got up and looked at the doorway the tendril had opened. "thank you, dark me." he said. He flew in, grabbed the box containing the elements, and left.

The mane 6 felt a disturbance in the air. Something had happened to the Elements of Harmony, they were sure of it.

5:10.  
The Pegasi dodged the tendrils and dropped barrels of water down onto Oscurita's face. If anything, they'll blur it's vision pretty badly.  
It worked to some degree. It lost some vision but it quickly fixed itself.

Riku cut though tendrils faster then you can say 'Keyblade' as he made his way towards the guy's face.  
Oscurita felt the gnat moving and struck him with his own hand, knocking him out cold for a few moments.

Spyro encased himself in a icicle and pierced the monster though the back of the head and out though the front. Hopefully, it's brain will go bye-bye. It did not. Whatever Orochi did made this thing indestructible. He's even more of a challenge then Catalyst, and he was a real pain.

eTu`nes dodged tendrils as he flew back as fast as he could to Ponyville. When he got close, he saw that the ponies had joined in on the fight. Great. That's gonna make finding the wielders much more difficult. He looked at the box and came up with a idea. Or maybe not.

"HEY!" eTu`nes called out as he continued flying on over. "I THINK THIS WILL BEAT HIM FOR GOOD!"  
"eTu`nes?" Derpy curiously said. He was just right beside her a few moments ago.  
"How did he even get them?" Luna wondered. Only she or Celestia can open the lock.

Oscurita heard his former self and snarled. He took aim and sent the majority of his tendrils towards the dragon.  
Derpy saw this and ran over to him. "eTu`nes, Look out!"

6:24.  
She pushed him out of the way and took the blow herself, being rammed into the hillside.  
"DERPY!" eTu`nes yelled. He didn't want to lose her. Not again.  
"MOMMY!" Dinky yelled as well.  
It wasn't what Oscurita expected but he worked with it. He pulled his tendrils back. He wrapped one around the dazed Derpy and pulled her back as well.  
"No!" eTu`nes yelled. He dropped the box and ran over to her. He grabbed her hooves and tried to pull her out of the monster's grip. But then he remembered that he was now a weakling again.  
Oscurita roared and slammed eTu`nes with that same tendril, breaking his wings. He still didn't let go of Derpy as they were dragged to the monster.

6:50  
Derpy and eTu`nes yelled as they were dragged to the monster by his own tendrils.

"eTu`nes, Let go! Save yourself!" Derpy pleaded.  
"No!" he replied. "I lost you 8 years ago and I'm not going to lose you again!"

As they neared the monster's mouth, Derpy got all teary-eyed. If this was their final moments, then she should tell him. "eTu`nes… I know I'm 8 years too late but… I love you."  
eTu`nes was stunned at first but then smiled. He waited a very long time to hear that.

Thanks to all the chaos, nobody was aware that the Elements of Harmony box was violently shaking.

The tendril positioned itself above the monster's head. He looked up and opened his mouth wide as he let them go. They both screamed as they fell towards the mouth, both unable to fly.  
"DERPY!" The ponies and humans yelled.  
"MOMMY!" Dinky cried.

7:15.  
A rainbow-colored beam of light shot out of the box and straight into the air. The beam turned right and headed straight for the falling lovers.  
The elements reached them both in time. They spun around them in such a dizzying speed, the two of them vanished.

Derpy and eTu`nes reappeared a few feet above the ground near the Orion. They were gracefully set down by a unseen force.  
The Elements broke and shot to their owners in their own respective color; blue for Rainbow Dash, pink for Pinkie Pie, white for Rarity, orange for Applejack, yellow for Fluttershy, and purple for Twilight Sparkle.  
Surprising to everyone, a gray beam shot straight for Derpy and hit her.

When the light cleared, they looked to see a necklace around Derpy's neck with her bubbly Cutie Mark.  
"is that… a Element of Harmony?" Celestia gasped.  
"a 7th Element?" Twilight gasped.  
"I heard rumors about a 7th one but… I never knew it existed." Cosmos said. "the Element of Love."  
Love? Her? Derpy lightly chucked and closed her eyes as she held the necklace close. Well, she is a prime example of love. Her love for her friends. Her love for her family. Her love for Dinky. Her love for eTu`nes. She was a perfect fit and she felt it. This… this was met for her. And that crazy man said that eTu`nes was a biological experiment incapable of love until he met her. Well, this would be a good explanation why.

8:10.  
This is unprecedented. Orochi never heard of a 7th Element of Harmony. "time for Plan R." Fulmen said as they disappeared.

Oscurita roared loudly as it sent tendrils their way. The unicorns and human magic users collectively put up a barrier that not only deflected the tendrils, but also disintegrated them.

Jax snapped her fingers and made it disperse. "Games over, you freak." was she referring to Oscurita or Orochi? That was something they never figured out. "you using innocent lives is over now and forever." her chakrams glowed as she powered up her magic.  
The humans and ponies got ready for what is going to be their final battle. Win or lose, Equestria's fate will be decided.  
"This is the end for you!"

9:50. End Song.

Begin Song: watch?v=h7eXKsZv2gI Ibitsu {TV size} - Tales of Symphonia OVA OST.

0:00.  
Epic freeze frame of the monster roaring at the humans and ponies as they prepared to do battle.

To Be Concluded…

0:20.  
The Final Battle for the fate of Equestria is on, but will a 7th Element of Harmony be enough to turn the tide?

And what of this new mysterious ally of Tsylatac's and Orochi's?

Just who are those 2 and what do they want?

All this and more will been revealed in the final chapter of Friends from Unexpected Places

0:50.  
Anime stills of the past major events, such as the events of…

'Of Ponies and Humans'…

'Matchmaker'…

'A Changeling's Lament'…

And 'Discordian Troubles'…

Ending with a still of the major bad guys. And I'm not talking about Chrysalis or Discord.

1:30. End Song.


	128. Friends from Unexpected Places

Begin Song: watch?v=XhHaP4LXIrc Morgana Fight - The Sorcerer's Apprentice Soundtrack.

0:00.  
Oscurita roared, sending more of his tendrils towards the heroes, coupled with his own beam attack.

The tendrils and the beam hit, causing a big ol' explosion that covered the entire battlefield.

He happily snarled, finally glad to be rid of those pathetic humans. Yeah, not so much. A pulse shot out and struck the monster, making it writhe in pain.

0:24.  
The pulse was brought to us by 7 Elements of Harmony, each one glowing bright of their owners respective colors.

Req jumped out and swung her sword, shouting 'Seraphim Blade', sending a sword beam to Oscurita that cut though it's neck. Toothless shot a fireball into the wound before it healed over.  
It exploded, causing more pain but the monster liked it.

0:44.  
The airships moved around the creature and fired their cannons, hitting it on key points that would cripple him. But, since he's indestructible, they quickly healed over.  
One of the ships fired at it's back, where the darkness was shooting out of him to make all those clouds that are covering the sky. It hit the rim, causing the monster to roar in pain and agony. It looked back and snarled at the ship that did it. He sent his tendrils and took it out of the game.

"wait. How did he yell in pain?" Luna asked.  
"that ship." Ash said. "It hit it in the back, near where all that dark stuff was coming out."  
"wait, so the back is the weak point?" Dash asked.  
"looks like." Ash pulled out his pistols and fired at a attacking tendril.  
Celestia nodded. "all ships, aim for the back! Now!"

The airships complied and fired at the back. The monster yelled in more agony that it forced some of them to cover their ears.

Ventus gulped when they saw what was going on.  
"did you… expect this to happen, Glacies?"  
"no. but I do know what will happen next." he sinisterly said.

Cynder flew up from beneath a ship and fired a blob of poison into the big hole in it's back. It hit and began to spread, adding a lot of burns to the list of pain.

1:39.  
The dark clouds began to spread away from the planet and covered everything in the system. It already reached the moon and covered it up completely in 10 seconds flat.

Jax jumped onto the top of one of the ships and let it fly up into the air.

The cannons from the Orion, still in working order, fired at Oscurita, distracting it while the ships and the magic users went to work firing at it's back.

Jax jumped high into the air and held that position. Her chakrams willingly moved out of her hands and began to spin around her. She closed her eyes and concentrated as a silver-blue glyph appeared beneath her.

"Powerful Force of nature, untamed and ever free…"

Oscurita roared and slammed his tail into one of the ships, breaking it into two.

"…I call upon thee to aide me in my hour of need…"

Cosmos launched a sphere into the monsters legs, destroying them. They quickly heal but the dragon still staggered.

"…turn my foes into ash with your might crack and bellowing roar. Turn them into nothingness!"

2:21.  
Jax snapped her eyes open and grabbed both her rings. She spun around then thrust her rings down. "INDIGNATION!"

A powerful and mighty blast of lightning came out from beneath and glyph and shot down towards the monster.  
Oscurita noticed this and fired his beam at it.

The two collided in mid-air, causing a shockwave to shoot out and send everyone to the ground.

"Not this time!" Jax yelled as she used her own life to power up her spell.

Indignation grew stronger and cut though Oscurita's beam.

The lightning struck the back, causing it to glow and the monster to yell in pain and agony.

A bright light extended out and covered the monster, who was still yelling out in agony. It also forced everyone, including Orochi, to cover their eyes.

3:01. End Song.

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic  
Final Chapter  
Friends from Unexpected Places

Jax flipped though the air as she fell towards the ground. She flipped right-side up and landed as gracefully as a swan. The darkness had stopped erupting out of Oscurita's back but the clouds were still there.  
"Think that did it?" Halo asked.  
The ground shook as the monster stirred inside the smoke and dust.  
"nope." Applejack dully said.  
"that should've done it." Jax said. "that was my strongest spell…" Celestia gave her a look. What about that spell from just a few hours ago? "okay, second strongest, but it still should've taken him out."  
The monster flapped it's wings, clearing the dust, and roared again. "(this isn't good. Nothing we do can defeat him.)" one of the tendrils crashed down next to them. "how can we…"  
Just then, Jax had an idea. She looked to the ponies and smirked. If Oscurita was born out of heartbreak and neglect, then the opposite can probably kill it.  
"wait. Haha! That could work!" she cheered.  
"What could work?" Lloyd ask. A tendril slammed into him but he quickly cut it into small steaks.  
"If Oscurita was born of the Heartbreak and Sorrow of eTu`nes heart, then maybe the exact opposite can kill it."  
"what, you mean kill it with love and compassion?" Aura asked, wondering if Jax had maybe lost her mind.  
"yeah."  
"well, if that's true, then how is that going to work?" Riku asked.

Begin Song: watch?v=obJ21k3Hylo Twilight Sparkle Stage Theme - My Little Pony: Fighting is Magic OST.

0:00.  
Jax looked to the ponies and smirked. "well, we got 7 Elements of Harmony and 4 ultra-powered Alicorns; 6 if you count Chrysalis and Dis. Power up one of my spells with their power and we can say good-bye to Oscurita!"  
That… was a good plan. It was the best idea they all heard so far. But… there is a chance it can backfire, too.  
Derpy and eTu`nes looked at each other and nodded. "Let's do it." the newly christened Element of Love said with confidence.  
Jax nodded back and grabbed her chakrams. "You guys just keep that thing off us long enough to cast it." she said. The chakrams flew out of her hands and carved though the earth, making a glyph big enough for all of them.  
"will do." Req said with a smile.  
Both girls nodded and went to work.

0:25.  
Jax began to cast her spell as the rest of the ponies and humans went to work, distracting ugly so that the primo magic users can cast the souped-up spell.

Oscurira roared and fired his beam attack. Req swung her sword and deflected it up into the air, where it harmlessly exploded.

"GAAV FLARE!"  
A blast of fire shot out of Lina's hands and struck the monster right in the chest. The spell exploded, exposing his innards, of which he had none.  
That still didn't stop Riku from firing a Dark Firaga into the hole before it healed over. From the inside, the chest exploded again.

The glyph began to glow a rainbow color as sparkles ascended from it into the sky.  
"you sure this will work, Jax?" Twilight nervously asked.  
Jax wasn't sure herself. There was a possibility it could backfire, but… "you have any better ideas, I'm all ears." For once, Twi had none, and it showed. "Trust me, Twi. We're gonna win this." Jax confidently said.  
Twi knew this to be true and nodded. Jax hasn't given up on them and she's not about to give up on her. She, the rest of the Elements, and the royalty, closed their eyes and concentrated.

Fox stabbed his staff into the monsters head along with Emil and Aura. Oscurita roared and tried to grab them. He grabbed Fox and tossed him aside. Emil and Aura drew their weapons out of the monsters skull, Emil grabbed Fox's staff, which was still in the skull, and jumped off.

Req flew though a array of tendrils, cutting though them with a great show of force. She stabbed her blade into the monsters crotch area and… I don't need to go into any more detail, do I?

The glyph shone brighter then before. The royalty and the elements pooled their power into Jax, who powered up the most powerful spell she knew, other then you-know-what. She might not be as skilled with it as Req is but, with the power she's getting, it's going to go smoothly.  
She hopes…

The Pegasi flew around the monster with break-neck speed, tying a large rope around it. The wings and the tendrils were all caught by it and were pulled into the monster's body.  
Req twisted her sword's handle in a certain way, making the blade itself fall out and fall about 50 feet, which is about the length of the chain it's connected to. She flew around the monsters' mouth, wrapping the chain around it.  
The mouth clamped shut thanks to the chain. It struggled to get it off but it's hands were tied by the rope.  
She landed on the monster's snout and looked into it's soulless eyes. "there's one thing we learned during out stay here… and that's 'you don't mess with ponies.'" she flew off and left the monster to struggle.  
"Jax! Now!"

1:54.  
The glyph's glow reach it's zenith as Jax and the ponies opened their eyes, all of them glowing the same blue glow. Jax grabbed her chakrams, crossed her arms into a X, and slowly parted them in front of her.

"ELEMENTAL RAY!"

A Element of Harmony and all-powerful princess powered Judgment Ray fell from the sky, parted the clouds it fell though. It swirled in rainbow colors as a Alicorn tipped it.

It fell with unparalleled speed, quickly reached the monster as it still struggled to get out of it's confinement. For the first time in it's brief existence, Dark Oscurita felt fear.

The beam hit the monster, punching though it all the way to the ground. The beam exploded from the inside of the creature, causing it to roar in pain as it faded away into nothingness.

A rainbow-colored explosion followed, quickly covering the area from Ponyville to Canterlot.

2:47. End Song.

The dark clouds above disintegrated in as little as 5 seconds. The entire planet-wide dark storm took only half a minute.

It took awhile for the explosion to clear but, when it did, they saw that the spell didn't work and Oscurita was still there.  
"no…" Jax panted and fell to her knees, tired as hell. "why didn't that kill him?" she looked up and saw that he wasn't moving. He was frozen stiff. No. not frozen. Turned to stone.  
A arm crumbled and fell off, crashing and turning into dust on the ground. The whole body cracked and immediately disintegrated. The ash and dirt fell, causing a large 'woohf' of dust to fill the sky.  
"it… it worked?" a stunned Jax said. The ponies and humans cheered as the monster that had stranded them 12 months ago, the cause of a whole lot of problems to the natives- the true Biological Experiment… was finally dead.

"We did it!" Derpy cheered. eTu`nes, also happy that his dark side is long gone, grabbed Derpy, spun her around… and kissed her fully on the lips.  
"OOH!" the girls all exclaimed.  
eTu`nes went wide-eyed, realizing what he was doing, and broke it. Derpy, who was also stunned, blinked. "un… sorry, sorry Derpy. I un… I know how much you…"  
Derpy smiled and lightly chuckled at his embarrassment. "Just shut up and kiss me, eTu`nes." she kissed him fully on the lips. He didn't fight it. He closed his eyes and kissed back. Took him 8 years and a very horrible transformation but he finally got what he wanted- a kiss from the love of his life.  
"whoa, mom." Dinky chuckled.  
Derpy slowly broke the kiss and looked to her daughter. "Dinky. Um…" she looked at eTu`nes for a moment, then back to Dinky. "um… listen, Dinky, I've been wanting to tell you this for a while but…"  
"eTu`nes is my father?" Dinky finished for her with a smug smile.  
"I'm what!?" eTu`nes exclaimed in surprise.  
"you knew?" a surprised Derpy asked.  
"well…" she looked back to her mom's friends, who whistled, coughed, and chuckled nervously. "I got a few hints over the years saying that Clockwerk wasn't my dad. And, truth by told, I felt that dad… wasn't my real dad. I just figured out who my real dad was a few hours ago."  
Derpy lightly smiled. "Dinky… you really are one of a kind."  
"no, I think that belongs to you, mom." Dinky chuckled. "and someone else also belongs to you." she looked to eTu`nes, who was still stunned when he found out he was a dad.  
"I'm a dad…" he said to himself, still trying to accept that.  
Derpy chuckled and put her hooves around his shoulders. "you sure are." she kissed him on the cheek, making him blush.

Orochi reappeared over the site where his creation was destroyed. All 8 personalities were angry beyond compare.  
"Those… insolent droles…" Glacis snarled. His eyes glowed all 8 colors of the elements they all represent, as did his body.  
"They will pay for this!" all 8 personalities yelled as his body glowed brightly.

"Everyone…" eTu`nes announced, getting their attention. "I'm… sorry for all the trouble I caused while I was still Oscurita. I just… I had no control. That… thing, that true monster… he was just so powerful, I couldn't resist. And he… he said he would bring Derpy to me if I cooperated. He even threatened to kill her if I refused. And I…"  
"forget about it." Aura said.  
eTu`nes was surprised to hear that. "what?"  
"We know you weren't yourself. That crazy man was to blame." Fluttershy said.  
"and it was heartbreak and your longing to be with Derpy that made you do what you did. Even I would accept his offer if I was that defeated." Lyra said.  
Jax placed her hand on his shoulder. "nobodies perfect, Dragon boy."  
"eTu`nes…"  
"whatever. The fact is that anyone can be tempted by evil. Heck, even a few of my friends went down that road." the guilty members chuckled nervously. "but we forgave them because it was thanks to situations like yours- or even worse - that made them turn to evil and darkness. Trust me, kid. You weren't the first and something tells me you won't be the last."  
eTu`nes knew what she was saying and lightly chuckled. More like him? Well, they can't be worse then what they just fought, right?

Suddenly, the ground shook violently.  
"what the hell?" Ash said.

Begin Song: watch?v=8hnpPXJsN3E Prologue B - Xenoblade Chronicles OST

0:00.  
Cracks in the earth spread out from within the dust cloud, covering a large portion of the battle field. The cracks reached the group, forcing some to go to one side or the other.  
"What in the world is going on here?" Hiccup yelled as he hanged on to Toothless for dear life.  
The earth rose up from the middle of the cracks, adding dizzying plateaus into the mix.  
When the shaking and the plateau raising stopped, it gave everyone a chance to breath. For about a few seconds.  
8 different pairs of eyes shone from inside the dust cloud, each a different color.  
"What in the world?" Satoshi gasped.  
The 8 pairs of eyes moved up and a loud and powerful flap of wings shot the cloud in their direction. It washed over them and dispersed far away.  
"what did…?" Spike said.  
Spears of electricity came out of it, striking all but the earth-based members of the group. The humans and ponies were sent rolling near the Orion, where a force-field was instantly erected, preventing their escape.  
"what's going on?" Zilver said in fear.  
A loud screeching roar echoed from behind. They all looked and yelped in fear.

A large Mt. Everest-sized 8-headed bipedal golden dragon stood over them all. Each head and neck was made out of a different element.  
Where the arms would be were 2 heads; light on the right, darkness on the left.  
5 heads; fire, water, wind/air, earth, and electricity, stretched out where a normal neck would be.  
The main head, the leader, made out of ice, stretched up from the back and screeched.

"Holy! I thought we killed Oscurita!" Trixie exclaimed.  
The water head chuckled. "And what makes you think we're Oscurita?"  
Jax recognized that voice as one of the ones used by that lunatic with the multiple personalities but she wasn't sure.  
"who the hell are you?" Bahamut asked.  
Glacies chuckled sinisterly before answering; "Death Incarnate."

1:33.  
Ventus powered up and fired a blast of wind towards them all. It stuck in the center of the gathering, sending the 7 of them flying to other parts of the plateaus. Then, Terra used his powers to mess with them.  
"Whoa!" Aura fell with one plateau while another split open and clamped down on Bahamut.

"You think of yourselves as heroes, but you are far from it..." Ignis said in a booming tone.

Sora grabbed onto the edge of a plateau, only to be tossed off when it began moving.

"in truth, all you did was make the worlds much more worse for ware…" Tenebrae continued.

Water and fire wooshed up from below, filling in the cracks in the plateau's.

"in truth, what you have done have left the worlds in even more sorry states then when you arrived…" Aqua said.

One plateau split open and swallowed Satoshi up.

"And now, you must pay." Glacies finished.  
Orochi spread his wings and took off into the air, creating a hurricane-force wind that ripped trees off the ground.  
It rose high into the atmosphere until it looked like a distant devil.  
7 of the 8 heads pooled their elements in front of them in the form of a large orb.

Jax yelled as she fell from a great height. She slammed her rings into the rock, only to have the rock itself descend.

Once it was fully powered up, Glacies took it in his mouth and added his own power into it. "And now…" the orb glowed with all 8 colors of it's masters and shook in power. "You will all die."  
The main head shot forward and fired the orb down to them.

The orb fell at amazing speeds, moving too fast for everyone to try and avoid. And even if they could, the plateaus were moving so violently, they couldn't stay on their feet for 2 seconds.

All 8 heads evilly smiled as they waited for the nuisances' to perish.

The humans closed their eyes as they waited for the end to come…

Then something unexpected happened.  
Tsylatac suddenly appeared and slashed at the orb, cutting it in two and making it explode harmlessly.

2:39.  
"You!?" Lucis exclaimed. Orochi descended from the sky and landed on the ground. "What are you doing?"  
"Did you forget Lady Kyra's orders? She wants Ashlin alive!"  
"Who cares?" Ventus said in anger. "you just messed up our chances of killing these… things."  
"so? And did you happen to forget that we need the key this world is hiding? Killing the natives won't help with that." all 8 heads snarled angrily at him. "besides, you're gonna have your hands full helping our new friend integrate with his new body. Remember?"  
All 8 of them had forgotten that. "Fine! Just make sure they suffer!" Fulmen said.

The entire body ignited on dark fire, then vanished into thin air.

3:19. End Song.

Tsylatac turned around, facing the humans, and snapped his fingers. The plateaus glowed then disintegrated. The earth humans fell to the ground, which was quickly put back. All 7 of them crashed into the ground and groaned.  
"Not… what I was expecting." Req groaned. She and everyone else got up and looked up at the floating knight.  
"Who are you?" Celestia asked. The force field was still up so the others weren't going anywhere. "Are you related to that… thing? Who are you? Just what do you want?"  
The knight stayed silent for a moment. He snapped his fingers and summoned up a glass pearl. "the key this world is hiding." the pearl began to glow.  
"What is he…?"  
"DYAHHHHHH!"

Begin Song: watch?v=qyHeUtacaNc The Key - Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep OST

Derpy fell to her knees and held her chest as she breathed in pain. She glowed a faint white glowed. Tiny sparkles slowly ascended from her body and into the pearl.  
"Derpy!" eTu`nes exclaimed. "What's…"  
"AH!" Dinky fell to the ground, suffering the same thing.  
"Dinky!" Applebloom and Pipsqueak exclaimed.  
Before they knew it, Rainbow Dash, Octavia, and Lyra began to suffer from the same thing. They weren't the only ones.

Sparkles began floating in from select individuals all over the planet. All of them suffered from the same effects.

One in particular caught Twilight's ear; the sound of a baby crying. "Starlight!" she tried to run to her daughter, only to be met with the barrier. She tried to use her magic to break loose but it was cast tight.

Those suffering by what the knight was doing to them fell over and spasmed in pain.  
"Not again." Riku said.  
"This happened before?" a worried Bonbon asked.  
"Yeah. Some crazy chick came and did this same thing to me, Sora, and Kairi. that was before the others arrived in our realm. We never figured out why, though."

"What are you doing!?" Jax yelled.  
The knight looked down to her and chuckled. "reforming the key this world had been hiding for so long."  
"the key?" Req muttered. Why does that sound familiar?  
"What key?" Ash asked.  
Beneath his helmet, the knight smirked. "I'm afraid I can't divulge any more information on that, Ash. Only for that it's something of great importance."

The sparkles began to diminish, then stop completely. The pearl glowed a bright white and took the form of a key. Tsylatac took it and looked it over. "yeah. That should do it." he put it away and turned to leave.  
"NO!" Req pulled out her blade and swung it, firing a sword beam at him. It hit but bounced off. It got his attention, though.  
The knight chuckled. "did you seriously just do that?" Req's answer was another sword beam.

End song.

The knight chuckled evilly. She really did just do that. "well then…

Begin Song: watch?v=oEgjc7a2Jx0 Fate of the Unknown - Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix OST

0:00.  
The knight slowly descended from above, loose clothing lightly flapping as he did so. He evilly chuckled as he did so.  
He summoned up his sword and pointed it at the gang. They drew their weapons and got ready to do battle with this raving lunatic. It was just the 7 of them so they're gonna have to make it count.  
The other humans and ponies tried to break free of the barrier but it was too tough.  
he landed as gracefully as possible. The knight chuckled evilly and swung his sword behind him.  
"who are you?" Req demanded. The knight ignored her and swung his blade.

0:34.  
He took a step back and then charged, moving and disappearing in a blink of an eye. It was like he disappeared.  
He reappeared behind Ash and elbowed him in the back. He grabbed the gunner's cape and swung him into Sora.

Satoshi yelled as he fell from above, spinning his scythe around like a helicopter blade. He swung down at the knight and hit air. Tsylatac reappeared behind him and beat him up good and senseless.  
He ended with grabbed his hair and tossing him into a tree.

Bahamut slammed into the knight in the gut. It didn't faze the dark knight but it gave Bahamut one hell of a headache.  
Tsylatac grabbed the dragon by the horns, spun around, and sent him head first into the barrier.

A chimera slammed into the knight from behind, sending him spinning though the air. For about 2 seconds. The knight regained himself and stabbed the chimera in the chest. The beast glowed and broke back into the unconscious forms Cobalt and Fenrir.

Aura and Jax yelled as they swung their weapons on the bastard.  
He summoned up a pole-ax and blocked both attacks.  
He flipped the pole-ax around and pulled back on it, forcing Aura's lance out of his hands. The knight grabbed it, spun it around, swept it under Jax's feet, and slammed it down over her right foot, breaking her ankle.  
He quickly dodged a punch from Aura then returned the favor by giving him a a uppercut to the face.

Req swung her blade to the knight's face but was met by a invisible barrier. The knight chuckled and swung his own at her. She quickly jumped back and split it into two. The knight summoned his pole-ax back and spun both weapons around.  
The two had a brief but epic sword fight in which the knight emerged victorious.  
He spun to the right and swung his pole-ax up into her wrists, breaking them and forcing her to drop her swords.  
Tsylatac then jumped over her head and kicked her hard in the back, sending her crashing into the ground.

1:58.  
"No!" Twi exclaimed as she and the others tried to break out of the barrier.

Tsylatac laughed as his weapons went away. The gang grunted and groaned as they tried to get up. They were too beat up and buckled under the pain.  
"This… this is all I could expect from those that took down Catalyst? Pathetic! You could barely leave a scratch on me."  
He walked over and picked up Req's blades. "perfect balance and weight." the two glowed and merged back into Nexus Ultimus.  
Req grunted and groaned as she opened her eyes. "how are you… able to hold that… without getting electrocuted?"  
The knight laughed and weighed the blade in his hands. "there's a lot you don't know about me, Requiem." he flipped the blade backwards and slammed it down in the ground, right in front of her face. "and I want to keep that a secret."  
He turned around to leave but was stopped by a fire blast from Bahamut. He looked back to see that the dragon still had some fight left.  
"Well… aren't you the fighter?" he summoned up a ball of darkness and shot it into the drake. It hit, causing him pain and pulling him over. "you know, I was planning to go easy on my next target but, because of that, I think I'll give her pain."  
"h-her?" Bahamut weakly asked.

2:48.  
The knight threw the dragon to the ground and summoned up his pole-ax. He pointed it at him with a orb of darkness appearing on the end.  
"I hear that Sapphyre's are a rare gem on that world."  
"Sapphyre…?" Bahamut came to the realization that he wasn't talking about a gem. "no. no, you can't."  
The knight walked back a few feet and chuckled. He raised his pole-ax, the orb at his eye-level. "but I will."

He aimed the pole-ax back behind him and fired the orb out of it. It exploded in mid-air, causing a portal to appear. And on the other side of that… was Warfang.  
"no! Stop!"  
The knight turned around and chuckled. "see you later… failure."  
He slowly backed up into the portal, watching as Bahamut struggled to get up and stop him.

He backed in and it closed on him. The portal then exploded outward, hitting everyone, including those in the barrier, right in the heads, knocking them out cold.

3:23. End Song.

Jax yelled as she bolted up in her bed.  
"oh. Oh, thank goodness. It was… just a dream. A… very real one."  
"JAX!" Req called out from above. "Hurry up. You're gonna be late for the wedding!"  
"Coming." she replied. She quickly got out and ran to the door with a noticeable limb.

3 weeks have passed since the final battle with Oscurita and everyone was very relaxed that it was all over. Of course, they had a new mystery to figure out.  
After the final battle with Oscurita, they all blacked out in a moment and woke up to see the earth-members of the group in a lot of pain. No one knows what happened, but they all have the same feeling; something horrible happened but what, they can't remember.  
During those 3 weeks, Rainbow Dash got herself pregnant with Shadows' child. It may have been a accident but they couldn't be happier. She already came up with 2 names; Soarin' Cloud if it's a boy and Eris Shine if it's a girl.  
Halo proposed to Twilight who instantly said yes.  
And Dis found a way to send the other humans back to their worlds to the same exact time they were summoned to Equestria by Eris, with their memories of these past 6 months still intact.  
The Orion has been fully repaired and ready to fly again but there was something important they had to do before they all left.  
Something that had been put off for a long time.

In a field inside the Everfree Forest, only her closest friends were invited to her wedding which, of course, meant almost everyone in Ponyville. The flower girls just made it down the aisle as the groom started getting nervous as hell and tugged at his tux.  
"Nervous?" Ash asked.  
"yeah. I think I'm getting Cold Feet." the dragon replied.  
"trust me. It happens to everyone." Spyro said. "I got cold feet when I married Cynder. But I was able to overcome it."  
"you were?"  
"Yeah. And it was the best decision I ever made."  
The dragon smiled but gulped. He was still nervous.

The Wedding March played and the bride walked on down. The Dragon blushed as he saw his bride to be come down to her. Screw Cold Feet, he was going to go though with this or die trying.  
The bride arrived and had a clear smile on her face. The dragon removed the veil and smiled at his future wife. "thank you for being there for me."  
"thanks for being there for me too, eTu`nes." Derpy said with a smile.  
Celestia lowered her head and smiled. "Ready, you two?"  
They didn't have to think. They wanted this for a long, long time. "ready." they both said in unison.  
Celestia smiled wider and cleared her throat. "Mares and Gentlecolts, and Ladies and Gentlemen…" she wasn't forgetting the humans for this. If it wasn't for their help, this wedding may not be happening. "We are gathered here today to join this Mare and this Dragon in holy matrimony."  
Dinky smiled. Her mother had found her true love again. And she had a father again. She misses Clockwerk and his funny personality but she is eager to get to know eTu`nes as well.  
"the Bride and Groom have prepared vows that they wish to share. Who would like to go first?"  
"I would." eTu`nes politely said. He didn't need a note; all this was from the heart.  
"Derpy… ever since you saved me all those years ago, I was happy that someone would take their time to ever care for me. When I first met you, I thought you were this odd Pegasus who was such a klutz. But… as time passed, I saw your beautiful eyes, your loving smile, your gentle laugh. Those are the reasons I fell in love with you for you and I don't want you to change."  
"Aww…" the girls all said. eTu`nes playfully rolled his eyes at their emotional outburst. "Derpy?" Celestia asked. Derpy didn't need a note as well.  
"eTu`nes… when I saw you inured here in the Everfree Forest, I never would've imagined the impact you would've had on my life. Helping me with my bullying problems, being there when the going got tough, comforting me when I felt at my lowest. That kind, sensitive, loving Drake is what I fell in love with. Though the following day may have been our worse, I will never forget the wonderful night we had together. For that night gave me the best thing that ever happened in my life…" Dinky smiled at her mother's love for her. "… and I was, and still am, very, very happy to have shared it with you."  
Celestia smiled at Derpy's love for eTu`nes and her daughter. She truly is worthy of that new Element of Harmony. She knew she made the right choice saving the 7th element for her. "so…" she chokingly said. "eTu`nes, do you take Derpy to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love and to cherish, as long as you both shall live?"  
"I do."  
"And Derpy, do you take eTu`nes to be your lawfully wedding husband, to love and to cherish, as long as you both shall life."  
"I do."  
"Then I now pronounce you Husband and Wife. You may now kiss the bride."

Begin Song: watch?v=s1eVYL04dLQ Love is in Bloom (Full Version) My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Soundtrack

Derpy and eTu`nes lovingly looked at each other and then kissed. Those gathered applauded and cheered.  
"About time!" Colgate chuckled.  
They broke their kiss and just looked at each other. Celestia looked to Pinkie and winked. Pinkie 'squeeled' and zoomed to a turntable. She pulled out Vinyl and laughed. "Let's get this party started!" she grabbed a mike and tossed it to, who else, Twilight. She caught it with her magic and began singing.

Twilight:  
Love is in bloom.  
A beautiful bride, a handsome groom…

Requiem takes over:  
two hearts, becoming one.  
A bond that cannot be undone because…

Twi and Req:  
Love is in Bloom.  
A beautiful bride, a handsome groom.  
I said Love is in Bloom.  
Your starting a life and making room for us…

Derpy and eTu`nes looked at each other and smiled. It may be early but may as well get their dance in. they took each other's hooves and claws and danced.

Twilight:  
Your special day.  
We celebrate now, the pony way…

Requiem:  
your friends are all right here.  
Don't let these moments disappear…

Twi and Req:  
Love is in Bloom.  
A beautiful bride, a handsome groom.  
I said Love is in Bloom.  
Your starting a life and making room for us (for us) (for us)…

The song ended and the loving couple took their bow.

End Song.

Begin Song: watch?v=gIOWOPfTUUA SOMEDAY (Kingdom Mix) - Kingdom Hearts 3D: DreamDropDistance OST  
(also known as Jax's theme for the Requiem Trinity)

Less then 2 hours after the wedding, the Orion's propellers spun up. Satoshi directed the ship up to a cliff in Canterlot so the gang can get easy access.  
"are you sure you have to go so soon?" Derpy asked. "I mean, with those crazy people gone, we can have fun now. And you can stay."  
"that's the point." Req said. "as long as that knight and that crazy person with the multiple personality disorder are still out there, no world is safe. We may have stopped them here and on our friends worlds but the universe is a big place. They could be anywhere, causing troubles worse then what they did here."  
"Besides. We got to find that girl that took that sword." Ash said. "something about her felt familiar and I aim to find out what."  
"and your sure we can't come and help? You could use the extra help with Sora out of it for awhile." Hiccup said.  
"no. those 3 want us and that's what they're gonna get." Sora said. "Besides, I think we can manage. It's not like one of them can transform into a dragon or something."  
"she has a point." Fox said. He and the other foreigners looked at each other and nodded. "Okay. If we can't change your mind, then we wish you good luck. You may need it."  
"Thanks, Fox. And thank you." Satoshi and Fox shook hands and nodded.

"you be careful, okay Sora?" Emil demanded.  
"yeah. You still got that bum leg." Lloyd added.  
"I will. And thanks for your help." Sora said.

Riku and Ash slammed their hands together and solidified their handshake. "you be careful out there, okay Ash?"  
"I will Riku."  
"And you take care of that girl of yours."  
Ash chuckled. "I will. I will."

"tell everyone on Berk I said hello, okay?" Aura asked Hiccup.  
"will do." Hiccup said. Toothless growled in agreement.  
"And you take care of Cupid, okay?" Toothless again growled in agreement.

"Spyro… Cynder… when you get back, tell Sapphyre that I'm thinking about her every single day, okay?" Bahamut asked.  
"Will do." they both said.  
"And take care of her. Please?"  
"We will." Cynder chuckled.

"you guys look after Lina. A destructive girl like her needs to be kept a eye on." Req joked.  
"What?" Lina exclaimed.  
"She's right, you know." Gourry agreed.  
"Gourry!"  
"she's getting destructive already." Zel and Amelia joked. The 4 of them had a laugh at Lina's expense.

With their good-byes said, they were ready to go back home.  
"well... Time to go." Fox sighed. "Dis?"  
The Draconequus nodded and quickly remembered what he needs to do to send them back. "remember that you are going back to the same point in time you arrived here so… it would probably be a good idea to remember what you were doing when you appeared."  
They all did that and quickly got it. They weren't doing anything out of the ordinary for their worlds. Dis concentrated and snapped his fingers.  
In a flash, they were all gone to their own respective worlds.

Fox found himself back under his Ar-wing, making repairs to it's G-Diffuser Systems. "Right. Completely forgot." he chuckled. He grabbed a wench and went to work.

Lloyd and Emil found themselves outside of Iselia, with a picnic table and blanket beneath them. "oh, that's right. We were meeting Marta and Colette for a picnic." they both said.

Riku reappeared, falling towards the Gygamantis. He flipped and slammed his Keybalde down into it's back, destroying it. "right. Forgot about this Dream Eater and this world." he chuckled and regained his sense of his surroundings.

Hiccup and Toothless reappeared flying up over Berk. A white streak flew by at super-sonic speeds with a green trail behind it.  
"Oh, right. We challenged Zach and Cyclone to a race." he made sure the tail was ready to go and looked down to Toothless. "Ready?" he didn't wait for the Night Fury to answer as they shot after the streak.

Spyro and Cynder found themselves back in their own home, in their own bed. They weren't doing anything special; they were just sleeping.  
"Think Sparx missed us?" Spyro asked.  
"to him, we've only been gone 4 seconds. I'm sure he managed."

Lina, Gourry, Amelia, and Zel reappeared on a path leading towards a city. "that Seyruun?"  
The gears in their brains ran for a moment then. "ZANIFAAR!" they all exclaimed in fear. They bolted to town, ready to do battle with a deadly demon.

Back on Eqrestria, the humans were getting ready to leave. "Well, guess this is good-bye." Bahamut sighed.  
Celestia shook her head. "No. it's not good-bye."

"fate brought you hear for a reason and I'm sure it will do it again. So this isn't good-bye. Just… until the next time."  
yeah. Yeah, until the next time. That was good. That was something they can all agree on.

The Orion lifted off the cliff and hovered their.  
"We'll be sure to come back for a visit!" Req yelled.  
"We'll hold you to that!" Luna replied.  
Derpy, not wanting to say good-bye like this, ran to the edge. "Jax!" that yell got the human's attention and caused her to look back. "Thank you for everything you've done for us! We won't forget it!"  
Jax smiled and waved back. "it was no problem. And you take good care of your hubby, you hear?"  
"I will! And again, thank you!"  
The ship moved out of range and flew up into the sky. "no… thank you, Derpy. For helping me get over my irrational behavior to you all."

A portal appeared in the sky and the Orion flew towards it. It fired a cannonball to the side of it.  
It exploded, turning into a heart.  
The ship flew in and the portal closed.

On the mantle in the captain's cabin, 2 new photos were added to the horde they had already. One was a Jax specific picture with her in a group shot with all the ponies they knew.

The other one was a group shot of them all with their other friends. For the ponies, only the major players were present; the Mane 6 and their families, the princess', and Derpy & eTu`nes.  
Derpy, eTu`nes, and Jax were near the center, holding each other like true friends.

End Song.


	129. Credits

In the midst of hardship and self-sacrifice…

Begin Song: watch?v=_DetmBQCSas The Next Awakening - Kingdom Hearts 3D: DreamDropDistance OST

0:00.  
Having the best of friends can help you though the toughest times imaginable…

As the Final Battle between Light and Darkness rages on…

Young eTu`nes hung upside down on a upper-case T, swinging around like a child on a swing. Young Derpy lightly tapped it, causing to fall.

Astrid kicked a ball over to her friends, who ran under a lower case h to get it.

Sora used his magic to try and bring a Heartless over it's doom but instead brought over a lower-case e, much to his surprise and confusion.

Erys floated on though the sky, still in touch with some of her old Draconequus powers. She used them and summoned up a upper-case R.

Adolf knocked on a lower-case e like it was a door. He knocked again, only to have it slam open on him and crush him against a wall.

Gabriëlle powered up his magic and fired it out of his axe. It hit, turning the poor sap into a lower case q.

Discord sat back in the nape of a lower case u, feeling bored. He snapped his fingers, making them both disappear.

Chrysalis rose out of the ground in a portal of green fire and laughed. She used her magic and summoned up a lower case i.

Pakota laughed as he hung off Lina's back. She growled, grabbed him and threw him into a tree. He fell with a groan, along with a lower case e.

Playing a game of wrack-a-mole, Snotlout and Zelos slammed their mallets into the game as hard as they could, creating a lot of dust and smoke. When it cleared, the game had turned into a lower case m.

Fox and Satoshi fell from the sky and splattered down on a upper-case T. they both groaned and rolled to the side and continued falling.

Sora, Lloyd, and Emil had their weapons drawn and attacked a unseen foe. The foe turned out to be a innocent lower-case r, which fell over.

Ash leaned back on a lower-case i on one side, with Riku on the other side.

Aura used his Sol power to burn a piece of wood. Hiccup and Toothless walked by and gazed in confusion when it turned out to be a lower case n.

Bahamut and Sapphyre hung underneath the prongs of a lower case i, having a kissing session. Spyro and Cynder suddenly appeared, making them yell and fell.

Req and Lina powered up a joint spell, which had Amelia, Zelgadis, and Gourry worried. They duck and covered, only for those 2 to surprise them with a lower case t. they both laughed, while the other 3 yelled.

Jax slept within the nape of a lower case y. a sudden yell from Derpy, eTu`nes, Twilight Sparkle, and Rainbow Dash woke her up and made her fall onto the ground. The ponies and dragon laughed. Before long, Jax joined in too.

3:03.  
Eris, both baby and teen, appeared, along with Starlight, Glade, Electronic Symphony, Filigree, Soarin' Cloud, Eris Shine, Fire Ruby, Cotton Candy, Golden Fly, Pound Cake, Pumpkin Cake, Peppy Pines, and Season's Edge.  
The teen tried to take command of the babies, telling them what to do and where to go but they just sat there with adorable faces.  
The baby took command and they listened. Eris walked off and the babies walked after her. Teen Eris just stood in confusion, wondering how she did that, before disappearing into sparkles.

3:51.  
Thought a flash of Dark Fire, Catalyst appeared in all his menacing glory. He summoned up his sword, spun around, and slashed at the camera, destroying it completely.

The girl from Manehatten appeared and swung her scythe around with speeds that would make Satoshi jealous. She spun it up and placed it on her shoulder with a evil little smirk.

The mechanical gryphon from Nightmare Moons fortress appeared but something was… different about it. It flew up, spun around, and shot scores of shadow out of every opening. It landed and a pair of red eyes glowed from behind it, and from it's eye sockets.

Orochi sat back, playing with a deck of cards. He spotted us and got up. He put the cards away and glowed all 8 colors. He roared and, in a flash of light, transformed into a giant 8-headed dragon.  
It flew up into the air, powered up it's joint spell, and fired it.

Tsylatac had his back to us, not really caring.  
He looked back, summoned his pole-ax, and fired a beam of darkness into the camera. It tilted and fell over. Just before going out of commission, it caught the knight taking his helmet off and revealing him to have brown hair.

A being made entirely out of darkness just stood there with his back to them. It glanced back and his eyes glowed both yellow and red.

5:18.

Story:  
Zach Wood

Editing:  
Zach Wood.

Song Choices:  
Zach Wood

Cast:

Requiem Hikaru  
Rebecca Shoichet

Aura Aesir & Emil Castagnier  
Johnny Yong Boush

Jacqueline 'Jax' Yggdrasill & Lina Inverse  
Lisa Ortiz

Sora Yggdrasill  
Hayden Penntiere

Bahamut  
Russell Brand

Ashlin Geroma Arapaho Silverton (Ash)  
Steve Burton

Satoshi Tanaka  
Haley Joel Osment

Twilight Sparkle  
Tara Strong

Applejack & Rainbow Dash  
Ashleigh Ball

Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy  
Andrea Libman

Rarity and Princess Luna  
Tabitha St. Germain

Princess Celestia  
Nicole Oliver

Spike  
Cathy Weseluck

Teen Spike  
Jaleel White

Applebloom  
Michelle Creber

Sweetie Belle  
Claire Corbett

Scootaloo  
Madeleine Peters

Halo's Light  
Simon Pegg

Zilver's Light  
Ricky Gervais

Marble Cake  
Seth Green

Storm Shadow  
George Lopez

Mirror's Edge  
Sam Riegel

Shining Armor  
Andrew Francis

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza  
Britt McKillip

Trixie Lulamoon & Chrysalis  
Kathleen Barr

Soarin'  
Matt Hill

Spitfire  
Maryke Hendrikse

Leon  
Doug Erholtz

Friction  
Mae Whitman

Gilda  
Maryke Hendrikse

Jason  
Jason Adkins

Zaltan  
Ike Amadi

Lloyd Irving  
Scott Menville

Fox McCloud  
Steve Malpass

Riku  
David Gallagher

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III  
Jay Baruchel

Spyro  
Elijah Wood

Cynder  
Christina Ricci

Gourry Gabriev  
Eric Stuart

Zelgadis Greywords  
Crispin Freemen

Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun  
Veronica Taylor

Discord  
John de Lancie

Shine Dash  
Tisha Campbell-Martin

Adolf Hikaru  
Ty Panitz

Eris/Teen Eris  
Miranda Cosgrove

Orochi:  
Tenebrae : Paul St. Peter  
Lucis : Gerard Butler  
Aqua : Shanelle Grey  
Glacies : Liam O'brien  
Terra : Quinton Flynn  
Ventus/Aero : Greg Cipes  
Ignis : Lance Henriksen  
Fulmen : Ali Hillis

Tsylatac and Catalyst:  
ME! (i sound like a cross between Yuri Lowenthal and A.V. Kennedy(Laguna from Dissidia 012)

Dinky Whooves  
Ariel Winter

Derpy Whooves  
BaldDumboRat  
(i don't know her real name, just her youtube handle)

Young eTu`nes  
Veronica Taylor

eTu`nes  
Antony Del Rio

6:45.  
Requiem and Catalyst stood back to back, not even moving for a moment.

After about 10 seconds, they looked back, saw each other, and jumped away. They drew their weapons and attacked each other.  
Their blades connected. Catalyst swung at her head but she dodged it. She flipped over her demon brother and kicked him in the back. She spun in mid air and send a Sword Beam his way. It hit, sending him back a ways.  
Req landed and all her friends joined him, each ready to do battle with this insane threat.  
Catalyst snapped his fingers and all his other allies, the bad guys mentioned before, appeared beside him.  
Both sides readied themselves then charged.

The person made entirely out of shadow watched with a evil grin.

7:39.  
The sun shone down on Equestria, illuminating it for all to see.

Twilight sat under a tree, holding her new daughter close. Little does she, Starlight, or anyone knew but Starlight was going to play a very important role in the coming years. A very important role indeed.

Thinking she heared the shriek of engines, she looked up into the sky and saw a flying ship in the clouds.

The Orion flew though the tunnel, heading back to Warfang. Bahamut had a feeling that something bad was going on there and the letter they received from Spyro and Cynder wasn't exactly pleasant.  
They moved with all haste and get back in time.

8:31.  
To Be Continued…..

In The Requiem Trinity.

8:57. End Song.

The Requiem Trinity and it's Characters are Copyrighted by Me.

Star Fox is Copyrighted by Nintendo

Tales of Symphonia is Copyrighted by Namco

Kingdom Hearts is Copyrighted by Square Enix

How To Train Your Dragon is Copyrighted by Dreamworks

The Legend of Spyro is Copyrighted by… whoever owns it now

The Slayers are Copyrighted by Funimation

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is Copyrighted by Hasbro.

any OC characters of any series featured belong to me.


	130. Epilogue

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Friends from Unexpected Places

Epilogue

3 years have passed since the humans had left. 3 incredibly long years. A lot of things have changed with the heroes.  
Twilight and Halo married in a incredible ceremony perfect for them both.  
Pinkie became a mother to a filly as hyper-active her and Marble which they named Cotton Candy.  
Sweetie Belle was discovered by a talented singer named Sapphire Shores and is wanting to go to school to learn how to be a professional singer. After a year of pleading, her parents and sister said yes.  
A.J. is currently pregnant with her and Zilver's first child, which they are planning on naming Peppy Pines.  
Applebloom went on to become Fluttershy's protégée with Helios helping her with the animals, which is difficult when you're a crystal dragon and all the animals are afraid of you.  
Fluttershy is at full term with twins and is eager to see her's and Edge's new son and daughter, which they are planning on naming Golden Fly and Season's Edge.  
Scootaloo discovered her special talent as a reporter and went on to become a skilled reported for the local paper. She hopes to become a television reporter before she hits her 30's.  
Rarity and Spike got married not long after the humans left and she had a daughter which they named Filigree. They're planning to have a second one which they are planning on naming Fire Ruby.  
11 months after the humans left, Dash gave birth to a baby colt she named Soarin' Cloud, after her dead brother. When she gets a girl, which she hopes is soon, she's gonna name her Eris Shine, after her mother and adopted daughter.  
Dinky and Pipsqueak, while on a play date with the other members of the CMC, fell down a hill and ended up having their first kiss. They've been going out ever since. And speaking of Dinky, her dragon wings finally came into being. They looked just like her father's, although a lot smaller. The two of them also discovered their special talents; Dinky was skilled as a teacher like Cheerilee and Pipsqueak was good at fixing things.  
Trixie and Luna had 2 fillies, both looking like their 'father'. Trixie's foal looked like Luna and was named Woona. Luna's foal looked like Trixie and was named Marian which, in Equestrian, means 'skilled magician'.  
With them having discovered their cutie marks, they were worried that they were gonna have to dispan the Cutie Mark Crusaders. But, seeing a few fillies and colts trying to find there's, they came up with a idea. They officially created a organization dedicated to help young foals find their Cutie Marks. They kept the name the Cutie Mark Crusaders.  
Erys became great friends with her niece Starlight and helped put up a play date for her and the other foals. She wants to make more friends and she wants Starlight to make more as well.  
Twilight and her friends worked hard to keep Starlight from discovering her powers over time. Better said then done. 4 weeks ago, she discovered her powers. Her mother forbade her from using it again but Starlight was a rebellious filly. She usually snuck out and practiced in secret, being careful not to go overboard.  
And she's not the only one interested in her own powers.

Begin Song: watch?v=PpY58DygVvs Full of Unrest - Tales of Vesperia OST.

3 years earlier, just moments after Starlight was born…

A pair of demonic red iris' opened wide and glowed. They were surrounded by green eyes tipped with purple fire coming out of it.  
"Starlight…"  
Fire ignited in torches lined up on the walls of a long dark hallway. It showcased a coffin at the end of it. It opened and a dark pony rose out of it.  
He stretched and regally walked down the hallway into a massive audience hall. He walked to his throne room and sat down in it.  
Flashes of dark fire spread throughout the air in front of him, turning into screens that focused on multiple towns and people. He tapped down on a button on the arm rest, making all the screens focus on one certain newborn Alicorn filly.  
"a bit obsessive, don't you think?"  
The pony looked to see the Dark Knight Tsylatac walk out of the shadows. "how did you get in?" the pony asked in his own demonic way.  
"I came in though the front door." the knight walked over and looked up at the screens. "are you sure she's the one?"  
"positive. All the others came out as normal ponies. She was born a Alicorn. With a Cutie Mark and powers given by you. How did you come across that watch, anyways?"  
The knight pulled the pocket-watch from the train during the Winter War. "I… 'procured' it from a Time Lord. Guy got away but I was able to pilfer this."  
"I see." the pony returned his attention to the screens.  
The knight put it away and turned to leave. "Just remember your part of the deal, okay? I got a few minor diversions to finish before we meet back up."  
"whatever." the knight disappeared in flashes of dark fire. The pony reached up to one of the screens as if to grab the filly.  
"see you in 17 years… my darling Starlight…"

To Be Concluded in Starlight, Starbright.


	131. To The Readers

to all readers of Friends from Unexpected Places. the sequel is out. look for Starlight, Starbright on my channel. reason it's not on the same story as FFUP is because... i didn't feel like it. plus, better way to get more followers.


End file.
